1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff Mom Never told you? 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: From House Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Kristen and I'm Caroline, and today we 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: are talking about Gina Coomastia, which is probably better known 6 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: as man boobs or moves or moves unfortunately, and I 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: would say that the pop culture kickoff for Gina Coomastia 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: man boobs, even though of course it was certainly not 9 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: referenced as such in this episode. But I'm talking about Seinfeld, 10 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: that episode where Cramer devises this male chest support undergarment 11 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: which he calls the bro. Hilarious the bro also known 12 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: as the man's ear. Yes, and if you if you 13 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: google this, you you can uh come across some actual 14 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: bros and man's ears that do exist out there. But 15 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: we're not here to talk about uh chest spanks for men. 16 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: We're talking about Ginna Comastia and man boobs. Because while 17 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: man boobs might sound like a funny little thing where 18 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: we're poking fun of it, there was a image of 19 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: representative Barney Frank, for instance, it went viral because he 20 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: was wearing Um, he was testifying before Congress and was 21 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: wearing a typing shirt and he had some saggy pectoral 22 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: chest areas. See I'm trying. This is hard to describe. Yeah, um, 23 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: he had some he had a move issue. Okay, I'll 24 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: just say it. He did, and it sort of caused 25 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: an uproar. Yeah, because on the one hand, we think, oh, 26 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: men with breast like appendages. That's hilarious and let's make 27 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: fun of it. But for the many men and young 28 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: guys out there who are dealing with either gynacomastia or 29 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: pseudo gynacomastia, which we will soon explain, man boobs are 30 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: really not something to laugh at at all. Their target 31 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: of bullying and of major psychological issues because they're having 32 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: to deal with having breasts essentially, yeah, gender atypical things 33 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: growing on the front of you. It actually, it's it's 34 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: really psychologically difficult for a lot of teen boys to 35 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: deal with. So let's talk about what gynacomastia is. Yes, 36 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: let's According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a swelling 37 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: of the breast tissue and men and boys caused by 38 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: an imbalance of estrogen and testosterone, and it can affect 39 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: one or both breasts, So I'm just imagining how even 40 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: more difficult it would be to deal with one enlarged 41 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: breast as opposed to both. Symptoms include swollen breast, gland tissue, 42 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: and breast tenderness. But it's really in the articles you'll 43 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: read about this, it's really not. There aren't a lot 44 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: of physical complications. I should say, um, it's mostly mental. 45 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: But if you are someone you know is experiencing more 46 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: than just a little swelling and tenderness and actually experiences 47 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: pain and discharge, you probably should get yourself to a doctor. 48 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: A discharge from a nipple in either one or both breasts. 49 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: Correct head to the dock. And what I did not 50 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: know about kind of comascia is how common it is 51 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: at certain phases in male development, starting with newborns. Get this, 52 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: over fifty of male babies are born within large breasts 53 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: thanks to estrogen from the womb. Now it goes away 54 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: after a couple of weeks, but then when puberty comes around, 55 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: breast development male breast development is common. That might sound 56 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: instincts we're thinking about puberty and testosterone, but no, no, no, 57 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: you might have a swelling in the chest area and 58 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: it too quickly again goes away on its own in 59 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: six months to two years. But if you are a 60 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: boy going through pubertyes, we'll talk abou talk about more. 61 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: That two years can be excruciating, right exactly, lots of teasing, 62 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: not wanting to go swimming, that kind of thing. And 63 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: then of course this all comes back around as men age. 64 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: The condition peaks between ages fifty and eighty, and at 65 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: least one in four men are affected during this time 66 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: because one of the causes of this kinda camastia in general, 67 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: but especially in older men, is a drop in testosterone 68 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: compared with estrogen. And you know, testosterone levels decline as 69 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: you get older, and this can lead to increased body fat, 70 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: reduced muscle, bolt muscle bulk, and swollen slash, tender breasts 71 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: and gina. Camastia is linked to hormones in addition to 72 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: medications such as anti androgens, and androgen's are derivatives of testosterone, 73 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: which might be used to treat prostate cancer, um antabolics, aeroids, antidepressants, antibiotics, chemotherapy, 74 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: some medications for aids, anxiety, ulcers, and heart conditions. So 75 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: pretty much the entire population almost at some point or 76 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: another UM. Alcohol and drugs have some effect. Drugs specifically 77 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: like illegal ones, amphetamines, marijuana, heroin, methadone. UM. There are 78 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: health conditions that can affect us, like hypogonadism, which is 79 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: a condition that interferes with the sex hormones, aging like 80 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: we've talked about, tumors, hyper thyroidism, kidney failure, liver failure, 81 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: and malnutrition. Interestingly enough, because you know, there's this societal 82 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: kind of connection that we think that if you're if 83 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: you're overweight, you're more likely to develop breast, whether you 84 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: are larger breast, whether you're male or female. But actually malnutrition, 85 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: when you're depriving your body of adequate nutrition, it makes 86 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:56,280 Speaker 1: testosterone levels drop. So eat eat healthy out there indeed UM. 87 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: And then there are also some herbal products that have 88 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: been implicated, such as plant oils like tea tree or 89 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: lavender UM. There was a very small study in the 90 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: New England Journal of Medicine in two thousand seven which 91 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: found that symptoms of gyna coomassia were resolved in three 92 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: boys with normal testosterone levels. So this wasn't the typical 93 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: hormonally induced case where they stopped using products that contained 94 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: lavender and tea tree oils and the breast enlargement went away. Yeah, 95 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: it went away. And one of the researchers, the researcher 96 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: who spearheaded this very small study, is a pediatric interochronologist, 97 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: and so he had actually been seeing several boys who 98 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: had this very kind of unexpected common denominator, and so 99 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: that's why he he led the study with two other researchers. 100 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: They took these boys off of these oils that they 101 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: had been applying topically or they were in shampoos, and 102 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: within two months, the breast swelling had gone down. Now, 103 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: this should not be the signal for male listeners out 104 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: there to go and just throw out everything in their 105 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: medicine cabinets and quit drinking alcohol. Although if you're onto 106 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: the harder stuff, you know what we think about that 107 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: that's not good kind of comascia or not. But because 108 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: most of the time it is a hormonal issue, UM, 109 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: and if we're talking about treatments for it, there have 110 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: been some medications for breast cancer patients UM that have 111 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: been found to be helpful in reducing that tissue swelling, 112 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: but the FDA has not approved it for use. And 113 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: then of course there is surgery like liposuction and amastectomy 114 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: that actually removes um that breast gland tissue right. And 115 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: in some cases when the breast tissue has gotten rather large, 116 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: they might have to actually reposition the nipple, in which 117 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: case you would lose sensitivity in your nipple. So there 118 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: can be there can be certain complications to to any surgery. 119 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: Let's also touch on two things that come up a 120 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: lot when we hear about man boobs, gynaco mastia, which 121 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: is the medical condition, and the pseudo gynaco mastia, which 122 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: is just that name for extra fat on the chest. Um. 123 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: What one thing that is not a cause that you 124 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: might have heard of before is soy. Now, the whole 125 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: idea of soy being connected to this male breast enlargement 126 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: is that soy contains these chemicals called iso fla bones, 127 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: which um contain estrogens in them. So they're thinking, if 128 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: you're eating a bunch of soy, then you're getting all 129 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: this estrogen in your body and it's tipping the hormonal 130 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: scales and you developed breast which, incidentally, I believe it 131 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: was in two thousand nine Entourage actor Jeremy Piven blamed 132 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: a sudden a bout of man boob on his habit 133 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: that he had acquired of drinking twelve count of twelve 134 00:08:53,880 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: glasses of soy milk every day. Jeremy Piven that a 135 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: lot of soy milk. Well, this uh, this men's fitness 136 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: advice column that talks about soy and the fact that 137 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 1: it's a myth, does mention a case study from several 138 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: years ago where the man was drinking upwards of a 139 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: gallon a day of soy and and once he removed 140 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: that from his diet. And I think we even mentioned 141 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,199 Speaker 1: that in our soy podcast. We did, we did. But 142 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: but clinically, there's there's nothing to fear. Vegan men out there, 143 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: don't worry. You are not You're not at risk of 144 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: gina comascia, even though there was one. There was a 145 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: pita ad um advertising vegetarianism by depicting a male very 146 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: large belly and in large breasts, which was insensitive to 147 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: gina comastia. But yeah, it was using basically man boobs 148 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: as incentive to cut out meat from your diet and 149 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: lose weight. Right, But some studies say that obesity is 150 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: not necessarily a cause of kind of comastia either. And 151 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: in the Annals of Plastic Surgery. This was in May. 152 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: They said that while many view obesity as the root 153 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: cause or a root cause, the role of obesity is 154 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: actually poorly understood in ganna comastia. And they looked at 155 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: adolescence with the condition and found that fifty one percent 156 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: of the sixty nine patients were obese, but the next 157 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: highest category three we're at a normal weight. Uh, there 158 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: was a sixteen percent who were actually overweight. But yeah, 159 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: there was that split. Other potential origins for gana camastia 160 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: were found in twenty seven percent of those patients. Yeah, 161 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: and I think it's important to distinguish um the impact 162 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: of weight gain um an obesity on gina comastia because 163 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: a lot of times the knegic response when you see 164 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 1: a guy with man boobs is to say, hey, buddy 165 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: wants she just wants you go to the gym. You 166 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 1: know once you need to work on those pecks. But 167 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: when we're talking about ganna comascia as opposed to pseudo 168 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,439 Speaker 1: gana comastia that might be more associated with weight gain, 169 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,199 Speaker 1: this is not All of the pectoral reps in the 170 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: world will not work those extra that extra tissue off. Yeah, 171 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: this is go ask Alice. The advice site described kinda 172 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 1: camastia in relation to studo ganna camastia, which is, like 173 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: Kristen mentioned, just extra fat men have on their chest, 174 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: but kinda camastia is the tissue just under the nipple 175 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: is usually less than an inch and a half across 176 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: directly underneath the nipples, so it's not necessarily like a 177 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: giant chest on a man um. But since we're talking 178 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: about weight gain and man boobs, one of the things 179 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: that was pointed out in that study from the Annals 180 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: of Plastic Surgery was that the obese adolescence in that 181 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: participant pool suffered greater psychological impact leading up to um 182 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: there either liposection or mystectomy surgery. Bullying right right, And 183 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: it's not just you know, even if you are a 184 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: of an average weighted boy and you develop these man 185 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: because you might not be as bully, but there's still 186 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: like all these anecdotes that you'll see about boys never 187 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 1: wanting to take your shirts off, never wanting to wear 188 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: tight t shirts, never wanting anyone to see that they 189 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: have these male breasts. And it seems like we have 190 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: culturally become far more body conscious when it comes to 191 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: this issue because this is coming from a February story 192 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,200 Speaker 1: out of Men's Health magazine. UM that sites from the 193 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,479 Speaker 1: American Society of Plastic Surgeons that male breast reduction surgeries 194 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 1: increased by six percent. Inn and six percent might not 195 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: sound like that much, but when we're talking about the 196 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: amount of surgeries that are happening happening for breast reduction 197 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:58,319 Speaker 1: among younger boys, these statistics are a little more staggering. Um. 198 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: This is from the New York Times, and umber of 199 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 1: boys ages thirteen to nineteen, and it was around fourteen 200 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,839 Speaker 1: thousand who had breast production surgery in two thousand six, 201 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: was equal to the total number of all men who 202 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: had the procedure just two years earlier in two thousand four. Yeah, 203 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: and that number was a twenty one percent increase over 204 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: the previous year for that age group. And it equals 205 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: also of all males who had such such surgeries that year. 206 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: So se of all the men having this surgery were 207 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: boys thirteen to nineteen. And I also found it interesting 208 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: that when we were searching for this episode, the article 209 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: titled Banish your Man Boobs is currently the second most 210 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,319 Speaker 1: popular story on Men's Health dot com. But The thing 211 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: about that story was that it was replete with move shaming. 212 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: It was it was just making fun of guys, saying, hey, 213 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,719 Speaker 1: Valentine's coming up. If you'd rather buy a brawl for 214 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: your girlfriend than for you, do these sweet reps that 215 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: we've got. I don't like that. Well, wasn't it written 216 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: by a woman? I thought it was written by someone 217 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: named Lara. Maybe it was if you want a girlfriend. 218 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 1: I don't know. No, maybe she does have a deep boys. 219 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: I don't know, but I just remember that when I 220 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: read that, I just remember thinking, like wow, that she 221 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: had a very strange lead. That was like you might 222 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: like to look at boobs, but not if they're on 223 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: your chest. Something weird like that, not very sensitive. There's 224 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: so much moove shaming, which seems like it's like man, 225 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: boobs get a pass, like there's somehow like still okay 226 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 1: to make fun of, whereas it's really not that okay 227 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: to you know, for smaller chested women to say it's 228 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: a insert insult about smaller chested women. You know. Well yeah, 229 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: and plastic surgeon rock sand Guy points out that boys 230 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: these days are much more in tune with trying to 231 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: look good, to look like the models on the cover 232 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: of fitness magazines. She says, be that good or bad, 233 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: some times they can go overboard, and in this sense, 234 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: they are beginning to resemble teenage girls. Yeah, listen to 235 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: this um. This is also from the New York Times 236 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: quote in large breasts are simply a part of adolescence, 237 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: most commonly caused by the hormonal fluctuation of puberty. According 238 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: to the National Institutes of Health, it's a normal part 239 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: of purity. Yeah. Well, so then what's going on with 240 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: all these surgeries? And this New York Times article talks 241 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: to a lot of plastic surgeons, a lot of doctors, 242 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: and it seems to be a combination of a couple 243 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: of things. So more like roxane guy points out, more 244 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: team boys are getting really body conscious because of all 245 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: those models on magazines. Obesity is on the rise, and 246 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: there seems to be, as they point out, a new 247 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: willingness among pediatricians and plastic surgeons to actually go ahead 248 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: and surgically treat enlarged male breasts. The problem, of course, 249 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: comes though, if you operate too early and there's still 250 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: development going on, and then you end up you have 251 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 1: removed tissue, but they're still tissue growing, and so all 252 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: of this combines to mean that adolescent boys are more 253 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 1: willing to resort to surgery because adolescence is really hard 254 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: and nobody wants to be bullied for you know, looking 255 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: away that you don't want to look, or you didn't 256 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: try to look. It's not your fault, you know. And 257 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: one one plastic surgeon compares it to acne, like, you know, 258 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: it's a it's an embarrassing it's a common condition, but 259 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 1: it's embarrassing and I wouldn't necessarily recommend that a kid 260 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: just waited out right. And but the thing about acne 261 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: is that it does not bring up some kind of 262 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: gender incongruent process you like that. I borrowed that. Uh, 263 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: this is from the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery UM 264 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: talking about why gonna comascia during adolescence is has such 265 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: a huge psychological impact for boys because they are in 266 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: that point in their lives of forming the self image 267 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: and their gender identity, and all of a sudden they 268 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: are sprouting bread us, which doesn't make sense on a 269 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: male body, where something like acne, yes, we would say, yeah, 270 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: that's a blemish, but it's you know, it's an equal 271 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: opportunity offender exactly. Actually, in reading about um kind of massy, 272 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: I read a couple of message boards where boys were 273 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: writing in and one boy actually said, um, I'm I'm 274 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: a male. I'm attracted to women. My genitals work just fine, 275 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: but in my intersect because I have breasts, And so 276 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: there seems to be a lot of confusion despite the 277 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: fact that this is a common condition in young men. 278 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: So there is that whole gender identity issue as you 279 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,640 Speaker 1: hit puberty and start to develop self esteem, or if 280 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:41,960 Speaker 1: you're in middle school, maybe you don't have self esteem 281 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: yet because it's very hard. Well, I think it's also 282 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 1: indicative of how um, you know, we've talked for so 283 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: long about how the unrealistic body images for girls are 284 00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: repeatedly thrown at them through models and magazines, models on television, actresses, anybody. 285 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: And now unfortunately boys are catching up to the same thing. 286 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: What do we blame. Do we blame the media, do 287 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: we blame metrosexuals? Who do we blame? We blame the internet? 288 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,679 Speaker 1: I don't know no either. But now there's the idea that, 289 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: whereas you know, women are soft, hairless, petite, men should 290 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: be hard and harry and have these, you know, chiseled 291 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: but not soft chests. Yeah. One person who points out 292 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: this whole uh binary gender issue is artist and performer 293 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: Matt Cornell, who wrote a column on May seven about 294 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: his experiences as an overweight kid with kind of comastia 295 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: and he was overweight. He ended up losing the weight 296 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: but keeping the man boobs, and so at nineteen, he 297 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: had surgery to remove them. First one didn't go so well. 298 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:48,199 Speaker 1: He had to go back for a second one to 299 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: reduce the lumpiness and everything ended up having to reposition 300 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: the nipple. He totally lost sensitivity. But now he is 301 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: definitely you can tell from his work and his writing, 302 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: definitely more comfortable in his own body. But he said 303 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: that this whole man boob issue or overweight issue or 304 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,120 Speaker 1: body hair issues really bring up bullying, the body police, 305 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: and lots of issues about gender identity and judgment. And 306 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,959 Speaker 1: Cornell also discusses what we mentioned earlier, the whole hoopla 307 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: over Barney Frank's chest, and he he talks a little 308 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 1: bit about posting on the Huffington's post about it and 309 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: that they removed his post, but he says that this 310 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: whole uproar over a man with a slightly saggy chest 311 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 1: really reveals cultures obsession with binary gender and what is 312 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 1: normal and appropriate for each gender. It doesn't seem to 313 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: make sense to people that a man would have breasts. 314 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense in their brain. Yeah, he says 315 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: that it confuses our normative sexualized bodies, kind of in 316 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:49,119 Speaker 1: the same way that women to be frank you know, 317 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,919 Speaker 1: there's this concern over laby ast size because you know, 318 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: you get like, what's guys are supposed to be large 319 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: down there, right, I'm saying supposed to be in quotes here, 320 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: you know, where as women are supposed to be small 321 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: and petite. It's the same thing of you know, we 322 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: it's we have these ingrained ideas about what men and 323 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: women should and shouldn't look like, and it's having harmful results. Now, 324 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,960 Speaker 1: as a small chested woman myself, I can say from 325 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: personal experience there, you know, there's nothing wrong with poking 326 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: fun of not not being the ideal shape you know, 327 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: of of not having those Maryland mono curves, and it 328 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: can make for funny jokes in the same way that 329 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: Seinfeld and Kramer and men's ears and bros and moves 330 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: and Barney Frank, you know, make for a couple of 331 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: chuckles every now and then, but it seems pretty clear too, 332 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 1: especially for these younger boys who are being affected by 333 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: it and who are so confused, you know, thinking that 334 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: their entire gender identity isn't in crisis because of a 335 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: normal process of puberty. Maybe we've taken the jokes too far. Yeah, 336 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: and the Mayo Clinic really are a people to to 337 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: go to support groups, you know, even if that's online, 338 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: if it's a virtual support group or in person, to 339 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:09,239 Speaker 1: not just sit at home and be really bummed out 340 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: about it. Right, because gana comascia, like we said earlier, 341 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: rarely poses any kind of physical threat. Um. I mean 342 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: you should still go and have the breast issue checked out. 343 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: There is a chance that men can develop breast cancer 344 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:24,920 Speaker 1: as well, but usually it's just it's more of an 345 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 1: aesthetic thing. Um. So, so maybe we should stop all 346 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: the body policing. Excellent idea. Yeah, and and not point 347 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: laugh at people when they take their shirts off at 348 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: the pool. So with that, guys out there especially, this 349 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: one is for you and we want to hear what 350 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,679 Speaker 1: you think. Men who have experienced gana comascia or pseudo 351 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: gyna camascia. Young boys out there whose bodies are changing, 352 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: that has got to be confusing. It was confusing for 353 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: me when breasts were sprouting, and that was an normal thing. 354 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: So let us know your thoughts, mom. Stuff at Discovery 355 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: dot com is where you can reach us. And in 356 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 1: the meantime, I've got an email here from Carrie who 357 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: feels like we left something out in our episodes on 358 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:19,120 Speaker 1: addiction and Rehab. Recently, she writes, according to the CDC, 359 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: painkiller addiction is at epidemic levels in the US, and 360 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,719 Speaker 1: the reality is that in many cases, when an addict 361 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: cannot obtain prescription opiates, they turned to heroin to deal 362 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: withdrawal symptoms until they can get a pain killer fixed, 363 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: which are all symptoms are shocking and scary and sometimes 364 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: worth cautioning your young listeners about if they have ever 365 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,880 Speaker 1: considered experimenting with prescription drugs. There are some celebrities doing 366 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,480 Speaker 1: real good in the realm of addiction awareness, and although 367 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: he's not a woman, Chris Heron is really putting himself 368 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: out in front of the cause in a major way, 369 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: especially for athletes. I felt that the podcast was a 370 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: great start on this issue, but it is one that 371 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: is particularly meaningful to me, and I felt that there 372 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,199 Speaker 1: were times when the subject matter was treated in a 373 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 1: flippant manner that implied that your listeners only encountered rehab 374 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,400 Speaker 1: in the realm of pop culture, which in my case 375 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: just isn't true. So thanks Scary for pointing that out. 376 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 1: And this one is from Allison about our slut Walks episode. 377 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: She says that as a nineteen year old university student, 378 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,880 Speaker 1: I am probably right in the ideal demographic for this campaign, 379 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: as I'm at the stereotypical age for getting myself dolled 380 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: up and going out on the town. But in actual 381 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: fact I hate the idea of these protests. I live 382 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: in Australia and I know there have been SlutWalk events 383 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 1: here as well, but personally I think they seem to 384 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: be going about things the wrong way. My major issue 385 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: is with this idea of reclaiming the word slut. To 386 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: reclaim anything implies we have had ownership or control of 387 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: it to begin with and are fighting to get it back. 388 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 1: As far as I'm aware, the word slut has never 389 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,159 Speaker 1: been a positive descriptor for a woman, and so I 390 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: don't see why we feel the need to reclaim it. 391 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: Surely the focus should be to devalue the word slut 392 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,159 Speaker 1: or remove it from the social vocabulary altogether, not to 393 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,160 Speaker 1: try and take ownership of something that only causes damage. 394 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,879 Speaker 1: So thanks Allison, and thanks to everyone who has written 395 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: in to mom Stuff at discovery dot com, which is 396 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 1: where you can send your letters, and you can also 397 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 1: send us a message alike a comment on Facebook dot 398 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 1: com backslash stuff mom Never told You, And of course 399 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,160 Speaker 1: you can follow us on Twitter as well at mom 400 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast. And if you'd like to learn more about 401 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: body issues and personal health, you should have head over 402 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 1: to our website It's how stuff works dot com for 403 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 1: moral this and thousands of other topics. Is it how 404 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com brought to you by the reinvented 405 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,360 Speaker 1: two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you