Padding and cinching | Transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children
This blog post is a part of the resource – Supporting Transgender, Non-binary and Gender diverse Children & Young People, created by Felicity St John and Felicity’s collaborator and fellow Master of Sexology student Lindsay SmithFelicity, during a placement with Sex Ed Rescue in 2024.
Felicity St John has a Master of Sexology (Professional) with Distinction and a Bachelor of Human Services – Child and Family Studies. She currently works for an NGO as a supervisor of four practitioners, coaching and case managing families facing complex challenges. Felicity also offers professional development and consultancy. Her professional interest areas are sex education, puberty, LGBTQI+ people, child development, transgender/non-binary/gender-diverse people, relationship coaching, family coaching, and parenting psychoeducation. Felicity has a passion for supporting people to step into their capacity. When she’s not working Felicity loves to laugh, play, be with loves ones, rock climb, SUP board, explore nature, read, write, hike, cycle, swim, and laze about like a cat. You can contact Felicity via email.
Some transgender/non-binary/gender-diverse (TGD) people use padding and padded underwear to give form and increase size to breasts, bottoms, and/or hips.
Some TGD people already have some chest/breast tissue, and others do not.
Some reasons TGD people may use padding and/or cinches include:
- Gender affirmation.
- To reduce gender dysphoria.
- For a feminine gender expression.
- To increase safety.
- For aesthetics.
- To boost confidence.
- Control over how others perceive them. To increase the likelihood of being read as a woman (trans women).
- It’s more accessible and affordable than surgery, or surgery isn’t available yet.
- To experiment with different breast sizes and shapes.
- To help clothing fit better.
- To reduce incidences of discrimination.
- To feel more comfortable in their body.
The breast/chest area can be padded by inserting padding, prostheses, or breast forms into a bra/bralette/pocket bra. Some people use a padded bra. Some people make their own padding and others buy commercial options. Prices vary, with silicone prosthetics being more expensive than padding.
Some people use silicone breast forms or silicone nipple pads, which can be used with or without a bra. They can be stuck to the skin using adhesive designed to be skin-safe.
Some types of padding look more like fabric, and others look more like the human body. Some types have details, such as anatomically correct nipples; others do not.
Padding comes in a range of colours, shapes and sizes.
Some TGD people use padded underpants/panties to create wider and/or curvier hips and thighs and to make fuller bottoms. This can be done with padding or padded underpants/panties. Some people make their own padding, and others buy commercial options.
Cinching is the use of shapewear, corsets, waist cinches, and shaping camisoles to bring in the waistline.
Caregivers can support TGD youth around padding by:
- Supporting access to more than one bra/padding as bras/padding requires cleaning.
- Understanding how to pad.
- Support access to gender-affirming underwear.
- Support access to padding, prostheses, and breast forms.
- Support access to skin-safe adhesive if the person is sticking breast forms to their skin.
- Learn how to make padding.
- Affirm the young person’s gender in other ways which support their emotional well-being. Such as using their pronouns, supporting them in accessing clothing and hairstyles that align with their gender, and using their name.
- Support the person in accessing gender-affirming medical care if this is available.
Resources/References
- A Guide to Bras by Gender Construction Kit. https://genderkit.org.uk/article/bras
- Binding, Packing, Tucking, and Padding by Trans Care BC 2024. https://www.transcarebc.ca/explore-transition/binding-packing-tucking-padding
- DIY Breast Forms by Sid 0 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbVUx7Oa21w United States. Low-tech tutorial. 00:17:26.
- Shapewear by Transgender Map 2023. https://www.transgendermap.com/guidance/social/clothing-accessories/shapewear/
- The Trans Woman’s Ultimate Guide To Bras by urBasics 2024. https://urbasics.ca/pages/the-trans-woman-s-ultimate-guide-to-bras
- Transgender Breast Prosthetics by Transgender Map 2023. https://www.transgendermap.com/guidance/medical/prosthetics/feminization/breasts/
- Prosthetics by Trans Hub 2021. https://www.transhub.org.au/prosthetics
Shops which sell padding and/or shapewear
- Enfemme -beast forms, bras, silicone, clothing, shapewear https://enfemmestyle.com/collections/breast-forms
- Rago Shapewear – shapewear – https://ragoshapewear.com/collections/transgender
- Sock Drawer Heroes – padding, lingerie, skorts, underwear https://sockdrawerheroes.com/collections/tucking
- Trans Tool Shed -breast forms https://transtoolshed.com/collections/breast-forms
- Trans Tool Shed -shapewear https://transtoolshed.com/collections/shapewear
- Unclockable – bra buds https://unclockable.com/products/unclockable-bra-buds
- UNTAG – breast padding forms https://untag.com/collections/breast-padding
Find practical tools to educate kids about sex education in the Sex Ed Shop