A Short History of Packing, Penises and Pieces of Affirmation for trans men:

 A Short History of Packing, Penises and Pieces of Affirmation for trans men: 

Trans men (and other transmasculine individuals) have long existed on this planet. But what isn’t often recorded is our history, particularly, our affirmation seeking history in the form of dysphoria relief. I am in fact, referring to packing- the practice of trans men, transmasculine people, female-to-male spectrum people and many nonbinary people giving ourselves penises. 

Packers come in many shapes and sizes (just like their cis counterparts) and most trans people’s first packers are homemade, makeshift solutions to the empty space where a penis should be. Those with the cash can opt for soft body-safe silicone packers made by dedicated shops online, which offer an array of skin tones to match the user’s body. This is a hallmark of 21st Century trans society, the 18th, 19th and 20th Century trans men generally stuck to the homemade type. 

Anders Magnus Åhrman (1777-?) was a trans man born in Uppsala, Sweden in the late 18th Century [1]. His personal life and marriage are the subject of much contention in Swedish history, but what is known is that Åhrman, in order to pass better as male, had put cloth in his trousers for a ‘man’s sign’[2]. This came about in unfortunate circumstances (he was on trial for ‘fooling’ people into letting him marry as a man), but, this exemplifies one of the continuing traditions of transmasculinity, which is the creation of something by which to alleviate one’s own bottom/lower dysphoria. 

Before the advent of surgery, packing was the go-to for many trans men and otherwise transmasculine individuals. Neophalluses were the next big step in transmasculine affirmation history. Though they are frequently regarded as temperamental, neophalluses do hold a significant place in transmasculine surgery history. 

Michael Dillon (1915-1962) was a trans man born in Kensington, England in the early 20th Century [3]. He was the first trans man to undergo genital reassignment surgery and have a neophallus constructed by the procedure of phalloplasty (the other, newer method being metoidioplasty) [4]. Dillon (later Jivaka after adopting a Buddhist name following his conversion in India) underwent thirteen separate surgeries starting in the summer of 1945 [5]. Dillon/Jivaka’s procedure was the first of its kind ever performed on a non-cis dyadic man and marks the second step in transmasculine affirmation history. 

But what is next for trans men and transmasculine people? We are perhaps at the advent of the next step for affirmation options: bionics (and all the cyberpunk ideas which come with it). 

Lee Carter (b.1968), a trans man from Edmonton, England was the subject of a lot of media invasion in recent years. His first time making love to his partner was at the age of 49 in 2017, with the help of a bionic penis [6]. Similar packing devices which provide a non surgery option for bionics exist as well, such as the Transthetics Bionic* which combines packing, peeing, playing and pleasure [7]. 

All in all, it may be a subject that many shy away from, but the innovation of the medical and transmasculine community should be celebrated for its endurance over the last few hundred years of transgender history.

Sources:

1. Upplandsmuseet, Om queera minnen och glömda rum, (tr. “about queer memories and forgotten rooms” ), 2017, https://konstmuseum.uppsala.se/utstallningar/tidigare-utstallningar/utstallningar-2017/upsaladarling/kartaupsaladarling/?hide-cookie-alert=Close (Swedish), https://www.upplandsmuseet.se/globalassets/hogerspalter-pedagogerna/map-and-stories-eng.pdf (English) 

2.  Edlund, Ashplant & Kuismin, Reading and Writing from Below, Umeå University, 2016, pp. 152-153

3. Dillon, Michael (or Lobzang Jivaka) Out of the Ordinary: A Life of Gender and Spiritual Transitions 1962, published 2017

4. Rubin, Henry, Self-Made Men, 2003

5. Dillon, Michael, SELF:A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology, 1946

6. Daily Gazette/Essex County Standard, Transgender Clacton man says 'now I can be my true self', 2017 https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/15180549.transgender-clacton-man-says-now-i-can-be-my-true-self/ 

Straayer, Chris, Trans men’s stealth aesthetics, 2020