Are Masculine Men in Danger of Becoming an 'Endangered Species'?

[42CSurprise!]

I did a search on the topic of men experiencing hormone imbalance and came upon this piece that talks in the broadest terms about how we are challenged by chemicals that have arrived on the scene in the last few generations that are affecting our bodies in disturbing ways.  It is worth reading.  Here is the first paragraph...

Recently I heard about yet another older man who has suddenly developed womanly breasts (known as gynecomastia), and has made an appointment to speak to his doctor about his problem. The funny thing is that this is not a rare event any longer. All over the world, but especially in the more advanced societies, men, especially older men, are having to fight against encroaching femininity. The strange thing about the guy I recently heard about is that he is just 52. What is happening?

http://www.ukapologetics.net/07/fallingspermcounts.htm

[MarcoB]

Good article; and it was from 13 years ago, making me wonder what it would be like if it had been written this year.  I have no doubt things have progressed significantly in that direction since 2007.

[boobs are normal]

I No longer sure what a "masculine man" is.
1.Genetically speaking we are all somewhere on a masculine - feminine spectrum. Masculine men will still for instance have Oestrogen in us - Partially responsible for our boobs.

2.Attitudes and feelings (often far stronger than facts) are something else and will also be mixture of male/female in different proportions

I have a number of medic friends and had some professional but very unofficial tests.
In section 1. I come out around 80% on male side. Section 2 sees me about 70% on female side.

I am very male in my sexual drive and interests and am not interested in anything other than presenting to the world at large as a 100%  heterosexual male.
However, My female attitudes and feelings may well explain a lot about me that I won't go into here, but it probably is why I find it easier than some on the forum to accept my breasts and my pragmatic outlook on so much -  including items of clothing that are traditionally regarded as womens' wear.

Interesting!

[42CSurprise!]

I No longer sure what a "masculine man" is.

1.Genetically speaking we are all somewhere on a masculine - feminine spectrum. Masculine men will still for instance have Oestrogen in us - Partially responsible for our boobs.

2.Attitudes and feelings are something else and will also be mixture of male/female in different proportions...


Interesting!

I'm with you completely on the spectrum as well as on attitudes.  Attitudes differ, of course, depending on the place in which one is born.  Those of us living in Western countries have a long history of demeaning anyone who is different.  What this articles is saying, of course, is that mother nature aided by our profitable chemical and pharmaceutical companies are taking us places that will challenge social mores.  Perhaps we're in the vanguard of those who will make that challenge real simply by accepting our breasts and not cutting them off.  I'm with Marco in wondering where things stand now in terms of male fertility.  That seems to be the most easily defined measure of the shift.  I doubt anyone is keeping track of male breasts, except on sites like this...

[boobs are normal]

Size of breasts is also a spectrum thing and the whole range seen within and between the sexes, though distribution curves would vary. All sizes are normal. The question is, as you say, are environmental factors abnormally skewing the male distribution curve re breasts and more significantly in many other very important but not so visible ways? 

[42CSurprise!]

Someone posted an observation that may be relevant.. that the breasts we discover on our chests will likely correlate to the size of our mother's breasts.  That may be entirely fanciful or perhaps even oedipal wish fulfillment, but it may be true.  My mother was a slender, though large breasted woman.  My breasts are certainly not gargantuan but they do fill up a C cup quite deliciously.  Obviously, I'm not complaining.  The photo I post above is now in the middle of my 27" desktop...

[taxmapper]

Were in a dynamic flux as a species. Is it chemical and self induced or some kind of evolutionary aspect? 
Is God playing a really bizzare joke on us? or is Gaya getting even with men? 

first the concept of "masculinity".  biologically speaking the term refers to anything male and the attributes known and recorded as 'masculine" or "that of the male" for thousands of years. 
Now in the last 20 years of man's existence were experiencing a dynamic change in our world. No longer is the gynecomastia aspect simply a b*-breasts thing for a unfortunate few Arnold wannabes.  

The core of this is that the hormones in our bodies are changing, rapidly! 

Environmental is a huge player, but statistically speaking it doesnt make alot of sense based on the current arguments. 
Ergo: that those who have strived to hold a balanced, organic, and non-chemical lifestyle theoretically should be mostly devoid of such things unless deliberately applied. 

That however is not the case and more men are reporting the condition in countries like India and various asian countries.  

But european countries and the UK are coming onto the raidar more and more. The US (outside of hormonal therapy aspects) the regular joe (myself included) has now seen an uptick in cases. 

15 months ago I had only tiny possibilities of breast buds that were more a middle age annoyance than anything else. I am now a solid B cup moving to a C. 

The experience is showing me things I would have never known, and even had a co-worker  tell me they "want those". (male...Long story). 

But here is the pragmatic point. 
Its here, its done, its life. 
Why try to say it violates some aesthetic of "masculinity", when its something beyond your control? 

If you dont have the massive pectorals and look like a Spartan at Thermopylae, so what!  
Think of it this way.. 
you could be the first in a new species of man where 'masculinity" is redefined by some evolutionary querk. 


Grab a towel and don't panic! 

[Dale Warnio]

I can only speak for myself, but nobody would call me masculine.  I have a body much more like a woman, for starters

[brock123]

I can only speak for myself, but nobody would call me masculine.  I have a body much more like a woman, for starters

I'd die to be able to rock that profile pic like you do.  Yes, it's the Estrogen talking, but seriously ... damn dude. Jealous.

[Johndoe1]

Just a curiousity. The photo you posted, I am assuming, is you. If so, do you normally wear assessories that enhance your bust? If so, what and how is that received? Nice bust by the way.

[42CSurprise!]

Just a curiousity. The photo you posted, I am assuming, is you. If so, do you normally wear assessories that enhance your bust? If so, what and how is that received? Nice bust by the way.

It just dawned on me that this question was directed at me.  I've not spent a great deal of time on the site of late.  Yes, that photo is me but it is not generally how I present myself to the world.  My breasts are always with me, of course, and they have definitely been growing the last year or so, but brassieres are a more recent experiment.  A well designed underwire brassiere without padding does remarkable things to my breasts... as you can see in that screenshot.  Funny that I find myself wearing that mala often when I'm wearing a brassiere, as I am as I write this.  It doubtless calls attention to the fullness of my bosom.  But such games are really for myself rather than for the general public.  It is hard for me to imagine that I'd be as forthcoming away from my home.  Unlike some who post here, I'm not experiencing back problems or excessively sensitive nipples that would call for wearing a brassiere all the time.  The sensitivity of my nipples has a more erotic character to it.  Instead it is more play for me... play that is occasionally hinted at on this website but not much talked about.  Yes, I am rather mesmerized by my breasts when held by a brassiere... acceptance, right?

[42CSurprise!]

I can only speak for myself, but nobody would call me masculine.  I have a body much more like a woman, for starters

I think you've announced that fact Dale by the avatar photo you added to your account.  I've said that about myself as well.  I've never had a hard male body... there has always been a certain softness to it.  It isn't surprising that men who have more feminine breasts on their chests are likely on the more feminine side when it comes to hormone balance.  That can be a challenge growing up and isn't always easy as adult.  We're presented with standards for what it means to be a man and if we don't fit it can cause considerable discomfort.  The theme of acceptance in this forum is really important, not only about the reality we have breasts but also the question of how we wish to present ourselves in the world and how we wish to live our lives.  More power to you if you wish to present a more androgynous person to the world.  Brassieres will surely lead one in that direction.  Enjoy yourself Dale.  Life is too short to live it for other people rather than for ourselves.

[Johndoe1]

It just dawned on me that this question was directed at me.  I've not spent a great deal of time on the site of late.  Yes, that photo is me but it is not generally how I present myself to the world.  My breasts are always with me, of course, and they have definitely been growing the last year or so, but brassieres are a more recent experiment.  A well designed underwire brassiere without padding does remarkable things to my breasts... as you can see in that screenshot.  Funny that I find myself wearing that mala often when I'm wearing a brassiere, as I am as I write this.  It doubtless calls attention to the fullness of my bosom.  But such games are really for myself rather than for the general public.  It is hard for me to imagine that I'd be as forthcoming away from my home.  Unlike some who post here, I'm not experiencing back problems or excessively sensitive nipples that would call for wearing a brassiere all the time.  The sensitivity of my nipples has a more erotic character to it.  Instead it is more play for me... play that is occasionally hinted at on this website but not much talked about.  Yes, I am rather mesmerized by my breasts when held by a brassiere... acceptance, right?

I understand completely. I too present male, but my body is not a macho male physic and it never was and never will. Before COVID I was going to the gym at least 3 times a week with a trainer and even though I was leg pressing over 400 lbs and bench pressing 125 lbs, I didn't have bulging muscles. Wearing a bra with a 36 band should tell you right there that I am no "He-Man" no matter how hard I try. It's a hard fact that my body operates more like a women's body, than a man's. And I truly believe it is due to the simple fact of the balance of estrogen to testosterone in my body that has been that way since I entered puberty. Has that effected me emotionally and mentally? I would have to say yes. I too would rather not hang around jocks but rather women. I used to chalk that up to the fact that I "liked" women. While I still do, I am very heterosexual, I have also come to understand that I "get women" in a way other men don't. I always have. I have several women who I would call best friends where I have no male friends who I would say fall in that same category, even though I have very good male friends. It amazes me how my female friends who know of my breasts can instantly tell if I am having a bad bra day. Just the other day at work I had a hook digging into my back all day and I had tried to get it to sit right with little luck, short of taking my bra off and rehooking it, something I didn't want to do at work, I just put up with it and after work I saw one of my female friends who knows and she asked discretely, "How's your straps hanging?". I said my straps were fine, but my hooks are killing me. She laughed and said, "I could tell something wasn't right, just the way you were holding your body." And then finished up the thought sarcastically saying, "Aren't boobs just great!?"

Well, yes! I have come to believe boobs ARE great! For years I hated them and wanted nothing more than to get rid of them, Now I don't want anything to happen to them. I have come to finally accept them and I want to experience all I can about them from sensory to appearance. The "what is it like to have breast?" experience. It's an experience that my other male friends will never know or could imagine. So yes, I too enjoy looking at my bosom either in a mirror or looking down. And yes, I do enjoy experimenting in dressing them, like many women do. I sometimes can't believe they are hanging on my chest. Around the house I am not as concerned if they appear very feminine or not. No one but my wife and me see them. If I go out in public, I am certainly more modest in their appearance. And I have mixed feelings about that. In the summer it really sucks because even an unlined mesh bra can still be hot and sweaty and cause rashes under total cover but I still have to keep the girls covered and out of sight because society says so because I don't have a vagina. But I am not trying to be feminine, even though my chest looks as feminine as any woman's. I don't know which sucks more, the fact that bras can be problematic at times or I have to keep the fact hidden I have breasts and wear bras. That doesn't make me any less male than anything else. It just makes me, me and I am not trying to reinvent anything. I am just trying to live my life as comfortable as I can. An example, just today, I saw a guy out wearing a hoodie and shorts (WTF!!! It's December in the North Hemisphere dude!) and women's strappy ankle buckle fashion thong sandals. He was able to pull it off though and no one gave him a second glance if they gave him a glance at all. So why is a guy with boobs such a disaster? I don't know.

[42CSurprise!]

Definitely tricky John... but then those of us who have contended with diminutive breasts since adolescence understand all of that.  And I understand some among us have been dealing with much more than diminutive breasts since their teen years.  I think those doctors that counseled families that boys will outgrown this phase are pointing to a natural developmental process.  Our bodies at that age are definitely going through hormonal changes.  I was five feet tall when I was twelve years old and I was twelve or thirteen when my voice changed.  That was a big deal since I was a boy soprano who often sang solos at the church choir.  I told the director of music that it was about to go and wouldn't you know it happened in the middle of a solo.  But obviously, mother nature works from more than one blueprint, so some boys go through this process and end up with flat chests and muscular bodies.  Others end up with soft bodies and small breasts on their chest.  And here we are.

I regularly spend time with four women and we jokingly consider me one of the girls.  I've told all of them about my breast adventures and two of them were very interested in seeing my brassiere... which I showed them during a Zoom get together.  One women said "You've got boobs."  I do.

As I've said before, this whole adventure is a bit different for a single fellow.  My erotic journey is a very personal one and the fact I'm enjoying brassieres and celebrating these breasts that seem to be growing on my chest adds an interesting dimension to that.  Yes, this is what acceptance is looking like for me.  I've been enjoying wearing a tight rayon tee shirt and took a screenshot a few moments ago.  I'm wearing a brassiere but because shopping through E-Bay is always a crapshoot, this one arrived with much too much material in the cups... so I cut the material out and simply use the remaining brassiere to hold my breasts... so these are my breasts with a layer of rayon over them.  The rayon treats them very nicely.

[Johndoe1]

Your breasts are similar to mine. Mine are just a little trickier to hide because I need the support.