bullied

[lenewyorkais]

gynecomastia runs in my family, but I was always the 1 with the severest case.  at the age of 40, I had liposuction, and am doing ok 20 years later.
as a kid and teen i was bullied by everyone: school bullies, friends, family, even by my family doctor who squeezed them and blamed me for being overweight and causing this myself.  more than once a bully would squeeze my boob hard---I have NEVER before or since been so humiliated and shamed, I hoped I would pass out.  I cried for days, telling no one why, afraid to keep the story alive.  I begged God that I would accept anything as relief--I would have gladly traded in my brains for relief.
when I started dating and sex, I was happy to see that at least SOME girls were not grossed out.  to make matters WORSE, my gynecomastia was even worse with clothing, especially suits.
My advice:  parents, never under-estimate how much your boy is suffering. get him to open up to u in private.  then help him as much as if he had a severe illness.  the shame and sadness is like no other.  I never told my parents when kids called me 1/2 man, 1/2 woman.  Do not let him bear the pain alone, but be discrete about it.  do not force him to talk about what is, by far, the greatest pain of his life.

[Paa_Paw]

Sadly, many parents do know about Gynecomastia but say nothing because they do not wish to embarrass their sons.

This means that the young men will have to get bold enough to open the dialog themselves. It is not easy, I know because the first time I spoke to my mother about it the conversation was about my sons. It actually turns out that the condition is common in the family.