I would just like to thank everyone who helped/contributed to this site. My story is similar to many of yours as I have read. My gyne began when I hit puberty and I always attributed it to being a bit chubby. I could cover it with shirts, even t-shirts, without much of a problem but my posture suffered and I would never take my shirt off in front of anyone (It was very obvious with my shirt off).
It became a big issue in high school where looks are very much important. My friends would make fun of me jokingly from time to time for it (We made fun of each other over everything, like guys do) and I would brush it off, insult back, and laugh with them. I learned to cope, although I always hated having it. I managed to stay confident socially and I had lots of friends, and even a few girl friends. I was still not comfortable with my own body, which stunted how much action I recieved during my relationships.
Flash forward to college. I am currently attending college to become an actor. Now there are two things an actor must have to be successful, confidence in his skill, and confidence in his body. The first I had, the second I did not. Throughout my freshman year many things became clear to me that my gyne was hurting. My vocal growth (Musically) was stunted because it requires good posture, which includes raising the chest out to allow for respiratory expansion. Obviously, with gyne, it took me a while to allow myself to let lose and do this. Eventually I reaized that having a singing voice capable of landing me parts was more important to me than people finding out I had man boobs.
Being comfortble with my body wasn't easy, but it became easier. I took dance, which required tights and a tight shirt so that the instructor could see what our bodies were doing, and it took me a while to be able to dance with good posture (Although I did enlist the aid of tight undershirts beneath my dance shirt for this). This posture crept its way into my everyday life, as I was forcing myself to come to terms with my own body and to be comfortable with it.
Over the course of college I lost a lot of weight. Through walking uphill to my dorm several times a day, dancing, and lack of eating due to other plans I came to the realization that while my stomach fat had been diminished, my breast tissue had not. I decided to do some research on google, and I found your site. It was a feeling of enlightenment unlike any other. All of your stories I could relate too and I realized that I wasn't some freak of nature.
Luckilly, my father is a general surgeon so one day when I built up enough confidence I just calmly walked up to him and said "Hey dad, ever hear of Gynecomastia?". He was very understanding, having had patients with it before (He never even knew I had it until I mentioned it, took off my shirt and showed him). Now I'm scheduled for surgery over the summer, and I'm ready for this new life.
I can't thank you guys enough for bringing this condition to light, and I wonder why it isn't taught in school around the age when puberty begins. If this information was taught publically it could save many junior high and high school children the shame of feeling different from their peers. I'm just glad I found this information out when I was 19 and could change it in time to continue my education with confidence.
I felt Masterless Man was a good name to use. In old times, actors were called Masterless Men because they were one of the very few professions that didn't involve working in the service of a noble. Now, with confidence and a new respect for myself and my body, I am free and "masterless" of my own inhibitions. It is a feeling I would not trade for anything else in the world.
