Thank you for helping me to start accepting

[42CSurprise!]

As comments here make clear, acceptance is not a one size fits all thing.  We know that resisting reality creates all sorts of problems and all sorts of attempts at solving them.  That is where surgery comes in, or compression vests or the myriad ways we try to hide "our condition."  At the same time, acceptance likely ranges from tolerance to celebration.  What I appreciate about this side of this website, is the willingness of most men here to respect the choices others are making as they explore what acceptance looks like in their lives.  No doubt we each go through a very personal process and will come to very personal responses that likely evolve over time.  I spend much more time wearing a brassiere today than I did when I first arrived at this site.  I also spend more time wearing a brassiere when I'm away from home, though that is definitely experimental.  When wearing a brassiere I never become unaware that my breasts are held in silky unlined cups.  The only time I'm unaware of my breasts is when I'm NOT wearing a brassiere.  I know that is contrary to what men here often say, but as I'm mentioned before, my relationship to breasts and lingerie is complicated by early sexual abuse.  THIS is my journey of finding acceptance.  One size does not fit all...

[aboywithgirls]

A bra can be worn  for either function or fashion. I wear  one for both. The comfort and support are on the  function side while shape and the athsetic.

I can understand the "guy code" thing but I also think that it's overrated. It was way too much work for me. I think  that  it really comes down to what ever works for the individual. I know what works for me and most others here probably have no desire to follow my path. I am very grateful for all of the ideas that are represented here and having the opportunity to share my own.

❤️Sophie 

[tryingtoaccept]

Aboywithgirls, I agree with you and all the others who have expressed the same idea.  This is a personal journey for each of us and we all choose a slightly different path but in the end that path should lead to personal happiness.

[gotgyne]

I think the "guy code" is one of the worse things that me face as it makes us worry about things that don't matter.

The "guy code" can even be harmful in some cases. I knew a man who developed pancreatic cancer some decades ago. At that time he was offered an experimental hormone therapy with a synthetic estrogen. We all know that this cancer is uncurable in nearly all cases, even today. But the therapy could prolong the life span nevertheless. (Androgen blockers which are now used not for pancreatic cancer but prostate cancer in late stages, often with metastases, did not exist at that time.) This man refused only for the reason that a well known side-effect was a pronounced gynecomastia. He was quite a normal man, not a macho or redneck (what in Germany would be named a "Hinterwäldler" - i.e. backwoodsman). But he refused.
I am on the other side of the spectrum. I welcome my gynecomastia.