We met some awesome people while we were at Philadelphia Trans Wellness. One of those people Frances Reed is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) who identifies as non-binary. While working as a massage therapist, Frances realized that many of their colleagues had a low awareness of their identity and LGBTQIA identities in general. As a massage therapist and member of the binder weaing community, Frances knew that the LGBTQIA community and people who wear binders have unique physical challenges and needs.
Frances wanted to create some resources for their community. First they created Freed Bodyworks as a solo practice in DC that meets a need for inclusive wellness in the DC area. Freed BodyWorks is a place where all non-conforming people can receive services without having to explain, defend, or educate health practitioners about their body, lifestyle, or ability. Freed Bodyworks offers a range of services including massage, whole-body wellness education, movement classes, and holistic healing services. For a complete guide to their services visit Freed Bodyworks website https://www.freedbodyworks.com/
Their combined experience over multiple years as a massage therapist and member of the binder wearing community also led them to create a website called HealthyBinding.com which is at https://www.healthybinding.com/. Frances is working towards publishing their tips for healthy binding and starting a blog.
In the meantime, Frances was interviewed by Queer MEDucation in episode 27 of their podcast which is titled “The Basics of Chest Binding ft., Frances Reed, LMT (they/them). Queer MEDucation focused on improving the quality of health care for LGBTQI +GNC people. The website link for Queer MEDucation is https://www.queermeducation.com/.
Frances was interviewed for this podcast before they met us at The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference. However after evaluating our product at our booth and asking us many thoughtful questions on why and how we designed the B.UR.SLF Breathable Binder, Frances incorporated our product into their product recommendations in the show notes for this podcast.
Frances was kind enough to send along the podcast of their interview on the Basics of Chest Binding as well as the show notes so we could share these excellent resources with you. We hope you find this helpful and we thank Frances for his many contributions to his communities.
Elliott and Gayle for B.UR.SLF
https://www.queermeducation.com/podcast/2019/episode-27-the-basics-of-chest-binding-ft-frances-reed-lmt-they/them