Breathe, Journeys to Healthy Binding,

by Maia Kobabe and Sarah Peitzmeier, PhD.  Published by Dutton Books, 2024.

This is a well written illustrated guide to chest binding with real-life stories and research-backed advice.  Breathe arose from the need for an accessible resource for those who are considering chest binding as part of their gender-affirming care.  Dr. Peitzmeier interviewed twenty-five people of different ages and backgrounds about their journeys with binding, and then she worked with Maia Kobabe to combine excerpts from the interviews along with evidence-based resources on binding to create an easy reading and approachable guide.  Kobabe’s comic book style illustrations make the information more readable and enjoyable.  

The guide begins with a brief interview with author Sarah Peitzmeier, who explains that after learning through her interviews that binding was a daily activity for many people, but that there had been little research on the health impacts of binding, she wanted to write a book like this. Next, come the stories that have been stitched together from the twenty-five interviews.  Details have been changed to protect confidentiality, but most of the words in the stories are direct quotes from the people she interviewed.  The “Binding Stories” include  A: 22 years old, they/she, B: 30 years old, he/him, C: 19 years old, he/they, and D: 56 years old, they/them. 

The next section of this guide is labeled “Tips & Tools for Healthy Binding.”  This section explains how binding can affect many areas of a person’s body including skin, spine, ribs, and lungs.  This section includes daily exercises which will help people who use binders to expand their lungs, stretch tight muscles and ligaments, and increase mobility in their joints and spine.  These exercises were developed by a physiotherapist and licensed massage therapist.

Additional interactive sections of the book recommend “Journal Prompts” and “Reflection Questions” to help the reader get in touch with their personal experiences and motivations for binding, which can change over time.  Other interactive sections include “Strategies for Reducing Pain and Side Effects,” “Mapping Your Binding Journey,” and a pie chart which can be used by the reader to draw and evaluate additional tools for their gender affirmation.  There are examples listed: friends, name and pronouns, clothing, media, my partner, and the trans community. 

Breathe is both a practical resource for trans and nonbinary folks and an engaging and perspective-broadening read for anyone interested in what it means to be on a journey of expressing one’s gender in ways that are joyful, healthy, and affirming.  At less than 100 pages, it will be especially appreciated by teens, young adults, and their loving and supportive friends and families. 

Maia Kobabe (e/em/eir) is the author and illustrator of the award-winning and bestselling Gender Queer: A Memoir, the most banned book in America in recent years.  Maia and eir work have been featured in Time, NPR, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and many other outlets.  If you would like to watch a wonderful  interview with Maria Kobabe with MLive about a variety of topics including the writing of Gender Queer, book banning and eir love of libraries visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KFSI3TWq90.

Sarah Peitzmeier, PhD, MSPH (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and School of Public Health.  Her mixed-methods research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of gender-based violence, as well as LGBTQ+ health and HIV.  She is best known for her research to understand, screen for, and intervene to reduce intimate partner violence in transgender populations, as well as for her work about the health impacts of chest binding in transmasculine individuals. 

This book review was submitted by Stand with Trans
advocate Barb Shumer, who is a past board member and
retired public librarian.