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Look at the pain in her eyes. Look at mine. Feel the joy as she follows the yellow brick road. But watch her shortened breath as she dances over the cracks. See the tears well just behind her eyes. And hear the throb in her voice. Then watch as I gasp, stepping off the bus. See tears flow as I tread the cement footpath to work. And hear me sob as I pass colleagues en route to my desk. Eight hours at work, then home on the bus and only once inside can I unbind and breathe free. But my toes disappear until morning. The surgeon pincers a fat measurement of my breasts. “You have an impressive pair there,” he says, hands warm as he cups them. “Shame they’re on a man though.” He sits behind his desk as, holding the binding close with one arm, I start winding it ’round my torso with the other. “Still,” he says, flipping through the pages of his operating diary. “They could be nice little earners on the freak show circuit.” I fasten the binding under my armpit. “Judy Garland was too old for the part in The Wizard of Oz,” I say. “So they bound her breasts too.” The doctor scribbles on the page. “But she would’ve seen her feet at night when she took the binding off,” I add. “April 1st there’s an opening.” He smiles. “And just think, after the reduction you’ll be able to see your cock again too.” |
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Bound by Matt Potter
Filed under Matt Potter
52|250 A Year of Flash 
Let me go out on a limb here…I had to read, then re-read, then read this story again. It’s disturbing on different levels, the sadness inherent in the protagonist. And the way the doctor treats him made me angry. First I thought it was about a sex-change operation? But then there is the comment at the end that indicates that the penis is to stay. Oh, Matt! Help me, I’m still confused.
He has large breasts for a man – man boobs (horrible term) – and binds them so you can’t see them. In the second half, he is at the doctor arranging to have breast reduction surgery, and the doctor is treating it a little too lightly. BUT he is also equating his experience with Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when they bound her breasts to make her look younger. Perhaps there is way too much in the story … and not enough.
I think the doctor was a jerk.
Poor man. Just because the man has a medical condition doesn’t mean he wants to be a woman. I’d be looking for a different doctor if I was him.
Matt, i read it just like that.
These are a couple of interesting characters, and this makes me want to hear more about them.
Thanks Guy – had begun to think this story, the structure of which is unusual for me, was unfathomable, maybe even to me. So thank you for getting it!
I feel for this man and his breasts. I got the story, and my heart broke. And I wondered about the complexity of the character, and well, wanted more. So hang on to this one, put it in a drawer, then pull it out again and finish it up. Peace…
Thanks Linda – I usually think my entries here are ‘done’ once they are up, even if others do not think so. But this time, yes, I think what you suggest is right.
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Oh Matt, this is so heartbreaking and real, though I wouldn’t expect a doctor to be quite so flippant (though cold, yes). There is a special story here and though I like it as it is, you may want to extend it a little into his loneliness and fear.
Thanks Susan – yes, I think I will sit on it for a while and return to it later, as you and others have suggested.