Chest binder

A chest binder, or simply a binder, was a type of clothing that fastened one's chest. During the High Republic Era, the human pilot Sky Graf used a chest binder to ease their anxiety.

Description

Chest binders, also known as binders, were a type of medical clothing. They were used during the High Republic Era to bind a person's chest if they were distressed by the shape of their body.^[1]

History

Sky Graf, whose father gave them a binder

Around 385 BBY,^[2] when Sky Graf, a human member of the Graf family, was twelve years old, their father gave them their first chest binder after a panic attack while attempting to put on their brother Helis Graf's old pilot vest. Graf had told their father that the panic attack was caused by their fear of not being able to become a pilot if they could not fit into a pilot vest. When telling them that vests come in different shapes and sizes for all kinds of bodies, Graf's father found out that it was not the fear of not being able to be a pilot that troubled Graf and that they were actually distressed by how their body was different from their brother's. The chest binder thus helped them ease the anxiety.^[1]

Three years later, in 382 BBY,^[2] Graf joined the Hyperspace Chase with Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani and prospector Dass Leffbruk to reach the mysterious Planet X that Graf's father had been obsessed with finding before he disappeared a year earlier. The chase was a contest sponsored by the San Tekka clan and the Graf family to map hyperspace routes. Graf was certain they would find their father if they found Planet X, and while attempting to make their way to the planet, Graf remembered how their father had given them their first binder when they were twelve.^[1]

Behind the scenes

"Thank you! The art is gorgeous! I don't know if this is the first canon binder—I haven't read all the books either, LOL! But several other readers think it is. <3"

―Tessa Gratton^[3]

Chest binders were mentioned in Quest for Planet X, a junior novel written by Tessa Gratton and published in 2023 as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia campaign's^[1] Phase II.^[4] After Gratton reposted a fan art of Sky Graf on Twitter, they were asked if Graf is the first canon Star Wars character to use a binder. In response, Gratton said they did not know if that was the case but acknowledged that several readers thought it was.^[3] At the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2025,^[5] Gratton discussed their creation of Graf. The author indicated that they had never received any pushback for including a non-binary character who wears a binder; instead, they were actively encouraged to be more inclusive and push boundaries.^[6] In the real-world, binders are used to flatten the chest.^[7]