Facebook friend was ranting about how problematic companies were because while things like binders and packers were easily found online and from numerous manufacturers, she felt that because there wasn't as big an array of stuff targeted for trans women, such as breast forms and gaffs. This friend was a cis woman married to a trans woman. Do you think this is the case? If so, what can we do? If not, why? I'm actually struggling to understand her argument but I guess I don't know what the issue is. I'm not a trans woman and I know breast forms are pretty commonly available. But I also don't know if the demand's the same with trans women and breast forms as it is with trans men and AFAB non-binary people with packers and binders.
I think the difference is that most decent breast forms are a few hundred dollars or more (or way more!), where as binders at least are more inexpensive and probably easy to manufacture. So of course this leads to more binders being around and made by more companies as they are less of an investment money wise to the consumer, more widely used and easier to manufacture. I don't really know too much about packers to be honest but I bet they can get pretty expensive, especially ones that have STP function as well. Either way I don't really think there is any sort of bias with companies when it comes to transitional supplies. The whole market is already pretty niche in the first place so of course no matter what you are looking for there won't be as many options as other types of apparel. This is more just me speculating but I feel as though breast forms aren't commonly used by many trans women comparatively to binders. It may be more akin to packing for trans men. Maintaining breast forms (and I assume packers) is a pain in the butt, they may be uncomfortable, move out of place, or just sometimes not look natural. For trans women specifically, once you have been on hormones for a while you grow breasts and the need for breast forms is no more. So it is fair to assume it isn't an appealing option for some trans folk. On the other hand we have things like binders and gaffs, which are way cheaper for the most part while also serving to reduce dysphoria. They are cheaper and easier to care for and are probably more comfortable than forms/packers (although I hear binders can be quite uncomfortable), which makes them more convenient of a tool to be using. When I was looking for some gaffs to try out I found a nice site geared towards trans women and cross dressers that offered a decent selection of both. When I got my order there was even a cute handwritten note in the package! In the end it probably comes down to supply and demand, the demand isn't there for breast forms so of course there won't be as many models and companies that sell them.
Not really. The demand is higher than FtM supplies, I would think, but it's mostly used for drag shows, so it becomes more of business.
Binder is easy to produce because any clothing company can make one without much effort. For most things like breast forms you need to be fairly specialized and maintaining proper quality is a bigger issue. On top of that, most of the clientele for all those accessories are drag queens who I bet are a customer group that in general is willing to pay more for their equipment.
I have no problem finding breast forms or prosthetic vagina gaffs... but from a medical supply standpoint yea, I'd say there are no formal outlets.
Ok, prosthetic vagina gaffs... Maybe TMI, but I'm just a regular tucker. I've seen them advertised, but what's the deal with these? Is it for wearing with yoga pants/swimsuit or something so you get the "perfect" outline? I don't think anyone is starting that hard at my crotch to need a purely visual prosthetic vagina, but maybe I'm missing something. Can someone 'splain this to me?
What I've noticed (girlfriend is MTF) is that stuff is out there for transwomen. But for the most part, you'll see it in sex shops. There are different places to get binders and packers and stuff (mostly online) that cater specifically to those needs, even LGBT specific shops, but things like gaffs and breast forms are treated like fetish play material. Even online, most of what I found to meet MTF needs is in sex shops. I'm not sure if that equates to bigotry or not, but it does show a skewed kind of marketing.
Good breast forms seem to me to be at about the same price point and availability of 2 or 3-in-1 packers. It's expensive and hard to make nice fake body parts.