New Study of Male Feminity Addresses Gynecomastia

[Johndoe1]

In 2023, a study of male femininity was published by New York University Press called "Male Femininities"
Edited by Dana Berkowitz, Elroi J. Windsor, and C. Winter Han. Chapter 10 "Unexpected Breasts, Unexpected Pleasures, Exploring Cisgender Men’s Breast Development and Bra Wearing" by Dr. Katelynn Bishop was devoted to gynecomastia and bra wearing. Fourteen men were interviewed by Dr. Bishop. Her research shows some interesting findings, some we have discovered here.


The opening paragraph of chapter 10 is:

Male breasts, or breasts that develop on the bodies of cisgender men (disparagingly called “man boobs”)
1 are often mocked and represented as unattractive, funny, or embarrassing.
2 This bodily development is associated with fatness and aging—commonly objects of fear and disgust
in Western culture.
3 And because breasts are popularly regarded as feminine, they are seen as “out of place” on male bodies.
4 But, far from an anomaly, male breast development actually affects a significant
proportion of cisgender men, particularly (but not exclusively) during puberty and older age.
5 These men’s perspectives have rarely been considered in the academic literature on gender, masculinities, and embodiment, though their experiences raise important questions. How
do they feel about their breasts, and how do they manage them? How does their development of breasts impact their sense of masculinity? Do they ever regard their breasts positively?



https://ebin.pub/male-femininities-1479839612-9781479839612.html

[Parity]

Johndoe, Thanks for posting that.  I thought I would skim it over and was taken in with it.  I felt it was so true.  For me and form the post written by many here.  I myself have never thought I lost my masculinity in my breast development and like those interviewed here found a way to maintain it.  Like those interviewed I too started out with plain nude bras seeking  a utilitarian outlook to them to later accepting and taking a broader approach to style and function incorporating softer fabrics and colors. 

I actually feel better about myself having read this.

Here are two quotes I liked:

...From a feminist perspective that sees the loosening of the constraints around gender expression as a form of social progress, the unexpected pleasures experienced by these breasted men are encouraging. They seem to gesture toward a world where there is wider latitude to challenge gender expectations, and where creative forms of gender expression and bodily pleasures emerge serendipitously

... 13 Anne Fausto-­Sterling, “The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough,” Sciences, March–­April 1993, 20–­24. Although medical professionals typically use the term “disorders of sex development” (see Davis, Contesting Intersex), I use “intersex” to convey my perspective that these bodily states are benign biological variations, rather than “problems” to be solved.

[WPW717]

Had to giggle re this read when I came across the fellow’s breast gynecomastia realization via a bump to the breast that caused pain. It’s exactly how I first felt mine too. Christmas decoration box into a door frame that caused a stunning apneic pain for 4-5 seconds and I couldn’t believe how much pain it caused. A few days later I got out of bed and saw what I thought was swelling but no… it was bilateral. Yep, it was the start of a rapid onset of gyne.

Have to say the author is spot on in this chapter and the interviewees we honest and believeable, not to mention  I have experienced many of the same experiences as them. I feel that this site has allowed me to move through some of the stages of acceptance much more quickly and effectively than I could’ve on my own. It really does help to have a wife that isn’t freaked out about this and has helped to get me to an appropriate state of support physically and mentally.
Worth a read.

[Justagirl💃]

Had to giggle re this read when I came across the fellow’s breast gynecomastia realization via a bump to the breast that caused pain. It’s exactly how I first felt mine too. Christmas decoration box into a door frame that caused a stunning apneic pain for 4-5 seconds and I couldn’t believe how much pain it caused. A few days later I got out of bed and saw what I thought was swelling but no… it was bilateral. Yep, it was the start of a rapid onset of gyne.

Have to say the author is spot on in this chapter and the interviewees we honest and believeable, not to mention  I have experienced many of the same experiences as them. I feel that this site has allowed me to move through some of the stages of acceptance much more quickly and effectively than I could’ve on my own. It really does help to have a wife that isn’t freaked out about this and has helped to get me to an appropriate state of support physically and mentally.
Worth a read.

My 'breast buds' started at about 12ish. I remember the sensitivity and how I would hold my chest while in front of the mirror wondering how big they would get. Frankly I was quite excited at the time.
I didn't really have a problem with my chest (or hips) until about 17 when my father took over my upbringings and him and my stepmother beat the idea that I was deformed into me (Grandma just let me be me).
Of course locker rooms were a problem, but much of that was for being intersex and not having the thing below. They were right, I was in the wrong locker room.
Funny how something you are taught to believe in high school can effect you for decades afterwards. I was made to believe I was ''deformed' and I had to hide it from the world.

We are who we are, and exactly as we are formed. There is no shame in being ourselves.

[blad]

This article parallels many of my own experiences, the difference being that it seems non of the men referenced developed breasts in their teens as I did.

Trying a bra on for the first time in my teens resulted in an unexpected positive reaction to wearing a bra. I liked the feeling and support of wearing one right away. I started to like my breasts when I wore a bra. It just seemed more appropriate to wear a bra once I realized that I fit one. I became increasingly satisfied to have breasts when I wore a bra.

Similar to some of the comments in the article, wearing a bra as a teen was also a bit erotic.

[42CSurprise!]

I kept wondering as I read the article whether any of the men she spoke with told her about this website or the We Wear Bras site that some of us participate in.  It is wonderful the subject is being discussed.  We've found our way to acceptance but that doesn't mean it is easy to be in the world with our breasts.  Thanks JD for sharing the link.  I've found her email address and may send her a message.  I participated in a study being done by a lovely young woman who was completing her master's degree on the topic of male sexual abuse survivors.  It was a very positive experience.  I've no idea whether this women will pursue this subject further, but if she is I would be happy to participate.  My experience as a sexual abuse survivor has complicated my relationship with both my breasts and the wearing of a brassiere.  There definitely is an erotic element in the experience for me.  But I've said that before... no need to repeat it.

[Johndoe1]

Good luck. She hasn't responded back to me.