First, I'd like to commend Merle Yost on having evolved to such a wonderful website. I had the pleasure of working with Merle many years ago when he was just starting the original forum. I had transcribed boxes of questionnaires into a usable database for him, even had two-three phone calls with him at the time. Truly, a deeply committed person.
I'd like to share some wisdom from a person with this condition for about 56 years now.
Speaking only as a straight male to the youth with this dreaded condition, who are worried about dating or eventually marrying a girl, I say Don't Worry. Unless you have tons of cash , you aren't going to get a NY model. Stick to your neighborhood, at the girl next door.
Everyone has physical problems, and the more severe, the less self-esteem one will have.
You will simply gravitate to a girl /spouse with a self-esteem level that will accept you for who you are. I offer two case in points. I have a very noticeable condition; my wife had very poor teeth. We are now married 46 years.
Trying to deal with this condition is much more difficult for a juvenile than as an adult. At age 13, I embraced BDSM as an "out". Some will grab a cigarette, alcohol, meth, heroin, etc to deal with this social stigma. We all need a mental release to cope with this condition.
I thought that I had discovered something quite erotic putting alligator clips on my nipples then hanging steel nuts on them, not knowing that was something extremely common in BDSM circles
At age 16, I read an ad in a copy of NY's Village Voice, a rather artsy, avant-garde weekly paper,.of a BSDSM club forming in lower Manhattan. ( I believe this is the group that evolved into the now well-known Eulenspiegal Society formed in the early seventies)
I stayed for a year and a half with them. I had truly found acceptance. No one harassed me, and no one subjected me to public ridicule. I was befriended by a couple in their fifties, and learned quite a lot from them. That was the first time I had fully undressed in view of a woman, then a stranger to me. Again, no ridicule. I found friendship !!