Tr*mp’s latest attempt at Epstein distraction? Woke trans undergarments!

Transmasc binders are the latest trans healthcare device to come under attack

The Epstein files are set to release tonight by 12 midnight, but instead of focusing on the blowback from that, the Tr*mp administration is focusing on the real issue impacting most Americans: access to trans-affirming binders.

As reported by the Seattle Times, and highlighted by trans cartoonist Kody Okamoto, the FDA is coming for the vast majority of retailers that sell chest binders and other transition tools for trans men.

In addition to this administration trying to kill kids, and they're also coming for our binders? OUR BINDERS.

[image or embed]— Kody Okamoto (@kodyisover.com) December 18, 2025 at 12:42 PM

The FDA is targeting companies like TomboyX, TransGuy Supply, For Them, and others businesses with a majority trans clientele with warning letters stating that the binders on sale are misrepresenting their claim to medical use specifically by marketing them toward trans people suffering from gender dysphoria.

How about we take this to the next level?

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It's been pointed out that this paragraph about the FDA issuing warnings to binder manus is now missing from The Seattle Times article from which I took this screenshot this morning; the FDA website DOES have its warning letter to TomboyX publicly viewable, however. www.fda.gov/inspections-…

[image or embed]— Kody Okamoto (@kodyisover.com) December 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM

These warning letters are a naked attempt to do what this administration has been doing since January: make it harder for trans people to access gender-affirming care, tools for transition, and general well-being.

While many companies have sprung up in recent years to address specific transmasc needs for tools like binders, packers, and STP devices, the fact that they’re marketing to trans people is exactly what’s allowing them to be targeted. It’s not just an attack on trans men of all ages: it’s a disruption of queer businesses specifically serving not only trans men, but nonbinary people, butch lesbians, and anyone who uses a binder.

“I’m so tired,” wrote one commenter, who is certainly not alone in that feeling.

“This is like calling scented candles medical devices because the manufacturer suggests they might help you destress,” another pointed out. “Surely that’s coming,” joked another poster. Not only do they not want us to have nice things, they don’t want us to have liveable lives, period.

“Without access to healthy/safe binding, people are still gonna bind their chests, it will just be with bandages or tape or multiple sports bras,” wrote one poster in response to the news. “The fear mongering around binding is so f*cking contrived bc if people actually cared they’d just make safe binding more accessible.”

Trans men have been binding long before there were companies specifically committed to producing compression vests, usually with Ace or other medical bandages. While this is considered an unsafe way to bind, for decades it was one of the cheapest and most accessible options.

It's not just TomboyX, by the way! Trump's FDA has sent these warning letters to 11 companies that sell Binders. – TransGuy Supply – ShapeShifter Apparel – GenderBender – gc2b – TomboyX – FLAVNT Streetwear – Early to Bed – TOMSCOUT – For Them – Fluxion – UNTAG www.fda.gov/inspections-…

[image or embed]— Kody Okamoto (@kodyisover.com) December 18, 2025 at 7:44 PM

The silver lining here is this: this is not only a textbook case of discrimination, it’s also a fool’s errand. There are plenty of independent creators on Etsy and other marketplaces who make these devices, as well as companies that make the same product, but market them to cis people. Missing from this list, for instance, is the company Underworks, which primarily serves cis men with gynecomastia.

Ultimately, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and people will always find a way to be trans no matter what the FDA says or does.

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