I have talked to more people about gynecomastia this past few weeks than I have in my whole life. I've talked with only women about this as so much has been said that it is because of the response of women the the operation is needed. Women will talk about it comfortably. Men on the other hand can't talk about it even at a nudist club. Many of the recently developed breast wearing men have also developed textile society reactions; slumped forward, shoulders pushed down and forward, crossed arms over chest.
The woman's responses were 100% of the "are these guys nuts?" category. A woman who just had a double mastectomy for cancer and then had the remnants of one breast explode with infection, literally all over the place. Another woman said "I had no idea they mattered at all to guys" in telling her the hell I went through in school with D cup breasts in jr high school and beyond.
I have lost about 30 pounds in the past 6 months bringing my chest way down to 48 with a D-cup and a 35 inch waist, a very substantial drop compared to the usual 4-6 inches chest to waist. I have no spare tires and my ribs and muscles have some definition. I have very broad shoulders and my sternum is 12 inches high laying flat on my back so it is a six inch drop to my stomach lying on my back. An interesting thing has occurred. I am being treated differently by the trim middle aged ladies this year. I'm getting a lot of good hugs (and some kisses) this year from the ladies who don't hug anybody where the first point of contact is belly, most excellent. Also comments on my "amazing chest" as one of them put it and they were not talking about my breasts. They are just looking right past them like they didn't matter at all, which they don't. This is the first time in my life I have ever had any such comments.
So it turns out much of my acceptance problem is about FAT, not breasts, which I have known for a long time. FAT is discriminated against. There is no culturally defined discrimination against men with breasts. At most they are objects of humor culturally. Let's look at it without the assumption of discrimination and other such despising. What does it take to be physically noticed.
In the textile world supermarkets we did a little exercise of having a subject walk around and have several follow far enough behind to watch the effect of being noticed. I had a pair of DDs pushing put my shirt quite obviously. 100% of people surreptitiously watched as I passed and observed by the others. When a 6'9" guy was the subject, 100% watched. When a beautiful 30 year old woman was subject 100% watched.
So what does it take at a nudist club? A 400 pounder will receive near 100% discrete double-take. A woman with a 2" clitoris poking out will receive near 100% double-takes. A man with a 10 inch flaccid penis will receive near 100% discrete double takes. A man with shaved D or DD cup breasts receives about a 50% double take score amongst those who have never seen him before or first time when newly shaved. A man with B cups or less isn't noticed noticeably. However, this is a "notice-ability" index more than anything. A guy formerly bearded who has shaved will receive near 100% noticability. There is no open discrimination based these items noticed, whatever is noticed. The only pronounced discrimination is the societal discrimination against fat folks at the same time as doing things that cause them to be fat.
It seems like any number of woman are trying me out to see if I know how to hug with breasts. Women hugging women have to do a little parking maneuver to fit their breasts together comfortably. They seem to prefer my shaved breasts to hairy ones for that. Last year before shaving they didn't do that little unconscious maneuver. This year shaved, they all perform it. I have to admit the first time I saw myself in the mirror after shaving my chest I did a double-take too. I really had no idea exactly what they would look like. The smooth skin on smooth skin is more sensuous. And they are willing to hug long enough to get a really good heart to heart chakra link. That is so great.