Help this trans man swim!

April 4, 2017 4:30 PM

I'm looking for a better solution for a top for swimming (both laps and just playing). What should I wear? Difficulty level: sensitive skin (but no binding needed).

I'm a fairly flat chested trans man who likes to swim laps and also to play with my kids at the pool. I haven't had surgery, so still have some breast tissue and unusual nipples.

For lap swimming, I had a reasonable solution. I would wear only jammers (men's mid-thigh tight swim shorts) and then be just be a bit shy and keep a towel around my neck and then hop into the water and swim without a shirt. This is great in all regards, but since the election I just haven't had the courage.

For playing with my kids - I've been wearing a wicking shirt which is okay, but actually fairly crappy. They are getting to be big enough that I want to move around and not be towing along a buch of loose material. I have swim trunks I like.

Long ago, I wore a rash guard, but it just really doesn't work for me. The little collar that is supposed to protect your neck just irritates mine. The arms were never quite as well articulated as I'd liked. (The irony of a rash-guard giving me rash is not lost on me). A sleeveless rash guard that doesn't 'guard' my neck sounds about right though.

What I'm looking for is something somewhat tight fitting with little drag, but not binding. I mostly want to appropriately cover my breasts in way that is discrete but still clearly gendered male. I really want to be able to breath welll to swim well. Most of the trans-specific tops are really aimed at binding which I don't want.

I've found these:
https://www.danae.info/en/tsv302
http://outplaywear.com/product-category/swim/tops-swim/tops-full-coverage/
https://www.swimoutlet.com/p/nike-mens-solid-sleeveless-rashguard-8151519/?color=9325
(I've also looked at triathon outfits which aren't great because I don't want padding).

Is there something else I'm missing? Some hidden supply of shirts appropriate for swimming that aren't women's swim tops?

posted by lab.beetle to Health & Fitness (15 answers total)

This has a little bit of a collar but might work.
posted by brainmouse at 4:39 PM on April 4, 2017

What about competitive one-pieces? There are open water suits (e.g. this one, sorry it's a European link but these must be made in the US too. It isn't neoprene and won't have triathlon padding, but is full body and coded male. Since it's bodytight though it may be poorly fitting in other places (and you can't pick separate sizes for tops and bottoms).

Same with the Phelps-c.-2010-style suits that got banned from competition; because they're banned they might be hard to find now, but a little googling shows this which looks similar.

Pool competition suits though are freaking uncomfortable even if you're cis (unless they've gotten massively better since my own experiences, at this point c. 2 decades ago); the openwater one is meant for longer distances so is likely to be less constricting.
posted by nat at 4:49 PM on April 4, 2017

My thoughts went straight to Under Armor tank tops. They have a masculine look, they are snug but not binding. They're not specifically for swimming but have a fitness gear look that wouldn't be out of place in the water. This is their "surf" shirt that might work since it's a little roomier. This sort of tank even though it's men's might not read that way but I bet it's comfy. This is not Under Armor but is rash guard without the neck. Not sure of the scoop neck would work. Googleable terms that might help include "surf shirt"
posted by jessamyn at 4:49 PM on April 4, 2017

There's also less competition-y one pieces like this one; looking for UV protection wear seems useful.
posted by nat at 4:51 PM on April 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

I found this sleeveless rash guard with a crew neck. Here's another one. There are similar ones linked in the "customers who looked at this also looked at ..." links.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:02 PM on April 4, 2017

Triathlon singlets (just the top half of a full tri kit) might work, since you won't have to fuss with the padding in the shorts. Here are some examples.
posted by rebekah at 5:14 PM on April 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

quicksilver has this sleeveless one.
posted by xo at 5:56 PM on April 4, 2017

Second in triathlon wear!
posted by mskyle at 7:14 PM on April 4, 2017

My husband and I both have swim shits from crazyshirts.com, which are very comfortable. Maybe something like this one?
posted by leahwrenn at 8:02 PM on April 4, 2017

A good search term is "tank rash guard", the tank gets rid of the sleeves and the high neck.
posted by FirstMateKate at 6:10 AM on April 5, 2017

Hi I am a trans man who had the same issue (I'm post-op now). Adidas makes a swim shirt that is definitely coded male. It's not tight fitting but it will cover everything. I wore it to a waterpark resort and no one gave me a second glance (I wore it with men's board shorts). Caveat: it gets a bit heavy when it's wet.
posted by AFABulous at 7:46 AM on April 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh - I would get a size smaller than you normally would. I would have needed an XS for it to be form hugging, but the smallest size they offer is S so it looked like a normal casual t-shirt on me. It's pretty stretchy so if you usually wear a men's M shirt, a S should still be comfortable w/o binding.
posted by AFABulous at 7:50 AM on April 5, 2017

The TomboyX swim line looks like it's not emphasizing binding too much, and is relatively masc. Also one of them is covered in jellyfish, which seems like a bonus to me.
posted by dizziest at 9:36 AM on April 5, 2017

Response by poster: Thank you all. These are great suggestions. Exactly what I was looking for.
posted by lab.beetle at 9:39 AM on April 5, 2017

Just saw this Beefcake Swimwear kickstarter and thought I'd add it to the pile. Not exactly what you're looking for, but might fit other needs. And they look really great.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:41 PM on April 11, 2017