Just a thought: Renaming Gynecomastia

[Plarkin]

Better than gynecomastia, which sounds like a female mastodon to me. Not sure if it is, technically, syndrome, though.

[Paa_Paw]

Get real, Changing the name will not change reality.

It is what it is.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Get real, Changing the name will not change reality.

It is what it is.

True, very true!!!

GB

[Hypo-is-here]

It sounds so girly with the Gyne, like a gynecologist. Can't we rename it like MACE, Male Chest Enlargement or something, and the surgery CRS or something. That might make it (a little) easier for people to talk about it, no? Sufferer sometimes rename or acronymize their aliments. I know it would mean a lot of work for Merle, but one has to start somewhere. Might help the destigmatize.

Excellent point and I agree entirely.

Re-naming the condition, effectively re-branding the issue could help eleviate many of the issues related to it, both in the minds of patients and the media and wider world.

With a physical condition that has so much of its impact on a psychological level, the psychological impact of its naming should not be underestimated.

Also the re-naming/re-branding of medical condtions is something that has worked many times in the past in terms of improving peoples perceptions.

e.g

Mongaloid or Downs Syndrome?

Great post and point....




 

[Hypo-is-here]

well when i first went to my salon to get laser hair removal on my chest, i explained to the girl the reason I had breasts was a hormone imbalance. She was really cool about it & said " most of my clients have breasts" ( meaning most were women!) she put me completely at ease.
ergo: breasts ARE breasts there is no reason to invent a new name for them. women AND men have legs, arms, noses etc etc... but we dont have different names for them on each sex do we?
 DONT BE SO F......G DAFT!

I beg to differ the condition is called gynecomastia, NOT breasts and it is the feeling of some people (me included) that this name is maybe not helping matters.

Changing the name from Mongoloid to Downs Syndrome did not change the nature of the condition one iota, but it did alter peoples perceptions of it and there is no reason to say that this could not also be true by renaming this condtion.

Also comparing women to men when considering breasts is not appropriate, it would be like considering moustaches or beards on women in the same light as them being on men.

Most men find gyencomastia psychologically scarring just as most women find facial hair psychologically scarring.

The reason for these psychological issues are due to how it calls into question our own feelings of our 'gender identify'.

Having a feminine sounding name does not help men deal with this condtion, just as it would not help women deal with facial hair if we called that condition mascubeardia (yes it was made up for effect) or something sounding very male in nature.

P.S

Whether you agree or disagree with people you could try speaking to others with a bit of respect and dignity.

[Plarkin]

Get real, Changing the name will not change reality.

It is what it is.

True, very true!!!

GB

Ah, amazing, I detect in some of the older members here, to wit: Paw and Grampa, the resistance to advertising and brand change that is common in that age demographic. (Which is why the 18-34s are usually the prime targets of any campaign and the over 49s are ignored, except as a special niche.) Fascinating.

[Plarkin]

well when i first went to my salon to get laser hair removal on my chest, i explained to the girl the reason I had breasts was a hormone imbalance. She was really cool about it & said " most of my clients have breasts" ( meaning most were women!) she put me completely at ease.
ergo: breasts ARE breasts there is no reason to invent a new name for them. women AND men have legs, arms, noses etc etc... but we dont have different names for them on each sex do we?
 DONT BE SO F......G DAFT!

Actually, collectively as a society, we decide to call things what ever we want them to be called; I am sure there are similar parts, diseases, maladies that have different nicknames (albeit not clinical ones) depending on gender. But I'm, honestly, not going to spend the time to do the research and make a presentation here.

[Plarkin]

It sounds so girly with the Gyne, like a gynecologist. Can't we rename it like MACE, Male Chest Enlargement or something, and the surgery CRS or something. That might make it (a little) easier for people to talk about it, no? Sufferer sometimes rename or acronymize their aliments. I know it would mean a lot of work for Merle, but one has to start somewhere. Might help the destigmatize.

Excellent point and I agree entirely.

Re-naming the condition, effectively re-branding the issue could help eleviate many of the issues related to it, both in the minds of patients and the media and wider world.

With a physical condition that has so much of its impact on a psychological level, the psychological impact of its naming should not be underestimated.

Also the re-naming/re-branding of medical condtions is something that has worked many times in the past in terms of improving peoples perceptions.

e.g

Mongaloid or Downs Syndrome?

Great post and point....




Thanks Hypo. I used to do branding and renaming professionally, so I know what I'm talking about, and where the resistance comes from. I suspect if there was an actual support and research organization for gynecomastia, with a board and did fund rising and all that, this name issue would be something it would tackle.

That said, good to see you again; we first chatted on here in 2004! I have been on and off on different names, and you were helpful in a lot of endo questions, most of which are still unresolved, though.

[Plarkin]

I lost track of the posts on here with all the quoting going on, but someone did mention something about changing the name to HIMCE instead of MACE, with the 'HI' standing for Hormonally Induced. The problem with that is that not all cases are hormonally induced.

How about Schwartzenegger Syndrome or something associated with bodybuilders. Fabio-itis. Just joking, guys.

[Plarkin]

Are there any other body parts where an enlargement of that part(s) in one gender is a serious embarrassment to the have among those in the other gender?

[Plarkin]

hey whatever works for you.. but I think a lot of guys on here would feel more comfortable calling in about MACE, or chest enlargement or something that didn't say breasts or gyne. Not all but many. Perhaps even most if given a realistic choice, somehow.