Trans Swimwear, Part Two: Swimsuits for Trans Men and Other Transmasculine People
Welcome to spring! As part of an ongoing quest to find great lingerie for trans and genderqueer people, I’m tackling swimwear. This week is Part Two: Swimsuits for Trans Men and Other Transmasculine people. Read part one, swimsuits for trans women and transfeminine people here.
Swimwear is like lingerie except that, for reasons obvious to no one, we are all supposed to be cool with being this naked at the beach in front of strangers.
Trans men and transmasculine people can especially struggle with swimwear since traditional male-oriented swimsuits are topless, and if you haven't had top surgery, this can be...vexing. There are also concerns about packing, and whether or not you want to do that in a swimsuit. Luckily, today's swimwear industry has a range of options for trans men and other transmasculine folks. Hopefully, you'll see something you like.
Binders
There are a few different binding swim tops on the market. Unfortunately, a lot of them suffer from the same problem as binders in general: plain designs and conventional styling. But they get the job done, and I've also found one or two that exceed expectations.
Note: please be very careful when binding while swimming. You're compressing your chest, so if you're having any trouble breathing, please take a break or take your binder off for a bit. If you don't want to fully bind while swimming, or you want more coverage, try a rash guard (those surfer shirts). You can find them here.
Underworks, an old standby in binder world, makes a binding swim top that looks a little bit like a rash guard or part of a wetsuit. Its a very basic design, but if what you're looking for is coverage, it's a good bet.
Sleeveless Swim Top via Underworks.
Over at Danae, where the swimsuits for trans women are not my favorite, there is a great-looking swim ensemble for trans men. The Trans-Vormer top is a binding swim top that is cut like a muscle shirt, which makes it look like something you'd want to wear to the beach anyway. It comes in three neutral colors: black, navy, and grey.
Trans-Vormer 301 Top via Danae
Outplay (not to be confused with PlayOut) makes a few flattening swim tops that seem geared toward masculine-of-center folks, and which may work for trans men as well. Their styling is more androgynous and less overtly masculine, but their products are still for compressing and "flattening" chests. They have a full-coverage and chest-only version of their binding swim top.
Flatsea Swim Top via Outplay
Finally: this merman binder, by Shapeshifters, is made of Spandex and could work for swimming. Truthfully, I have a hard time imagining something I'd want to swim in more. If you like the idea but aren't sold on the scale motif, it also comes in a range of other colors and prints.
Custom Merman Binder via Shapeshifters
Trunks/Bottoms/Shorts
Swim trunks for men are available everywhere, and if you're not concerned with packing, you can buy any pair you like.
If you're looking for something you can put a packer in, you'll probably want some trans-specific trunks...although there are a few other options. You can certainly always use a packing jockstrap in combination with any other kind of swim trunks. You can get packers and straps here (warning: link is not safe for work.)
For trans-specific trunks, I really like the Trans-Vormer shorts that Danae sells. It's a short European-style swim trunk designed to hold a packer. Ignore the language on the page, which includes some "male bodied/female bodied" wording, as well as the supremely unsexy phrase "a closable compartment for a prosthetic penis." The page is translated from Dutch. I think something got lost along the way.
Trans-Vormer 303 Swim Shorts via Danae
Underworks also makes swim trunks to go with their swim top. They are described as "compression" shorts, and may or may not have room for a packer. Their ad copy includes the ambiguous phrase "an inner pouch for comfort," which may or may not be the same thing.
Compression Swim Shorts via Underworks
Coverage Garments
I talked about this in Part One as well: a garment to wear over your bathing suit is a good extra thing to have with you at the beach always, in case you're feeling insecure or getting sunburned. For men and masculine people, a t-shirt or a button-down is a great option. That way if you need to unbind for a bit to catch your breath, you have something you can go change into. Please be safe out there! There's no reason to risk your health, guys.
How do you do swimsuit while trans? Are you planning on trying any of these options? Let us know in the comments!
