Post by Dance Away on Oct 28, 2009 11:38:59 GMT -5
I begin this thread with a 15 second clip from the movie Jaws. It's an old man with "man boobs":
Here are two title variations for the same Dr. Donohue article online:
Male breast growth common in older ages
www.detroitnews.com/article/20091027/OPINION03/910270301/1031/opinion03
Gynecomastia is a problem for older males
www.thederrick.com/news/2009-10-27/Features/Gynecomastia_is_a_problem_for_older_males.html
My take on this:
(The short story about myself: I had "man boobs" and plastic surgery to remove them in 1988. Today I'm percieving my plastic surgery to be a pathetic mutilation of my body ...to save my sanity!!!)
Ok, immediately I take issue with the application of the phrase "hormone imbalance" as I am very hard-bitten by a suspicion that most men with "man boobs" actually have a totally harmless hormone chemistry occuring in their bodies that's actually in a state of healthy "balance" as is.
What kind of medical science is this to identify a man with "man boobs" as a human who must be experiencing a "hormone imbalance" and is thus a worthy candidate of being subjected to some manner of physically invasive medical intervention for it?
The answer:
THIS IS NOT MEDICAL SCIENCE; THIS IS A CULTURAL EXPECTATION ANSWERING TO THE CURRENT PREVAILING DEFINTION OF "NORMAL".
The problem is not what's happening physically inside the body of a man whose got "man boobs" ... (in a sensory deprivation tank, if a man's got breasts the size of Dolly Parton's, would he have any reason at all to care about that in a sensory deprivation tank?) ... (if you've never seen the movie "Altered States", put it on your bucket list) ... , the problem is what's going on in the culture that the man with "man boobs" is living in. And that culture is hostile (averse) ... irrationally and illogically hostile ... irrationally and illogically expressing aversion ... upon merely sighting a topless man who's got "man boobs."
Male breast growth is common. Where there is a problem in our culture with male breast growth, I am very skeptical that for a majority of the male complaintants with "man boobs", a "hormone imbalance" is the cause of their problem rather ...
... A PATRIARCHAL TYRANNY OF THE CENSORED BREAST IN OUR CULTURE IS.
____
October 27, 2009
DR. PAUL DONOHUE
(this is the Bangor Daily News' choice of title for this article)
Male breast enlargement caused by hormone imbalance
Dear Dr. Donohue: I am a healthy, 67-year-old man who has developed embarrassingly large breasts this past year. Why? They aren't painful. I will not go swimming or do anything that requires taking off my shirt. I'm about 20 pounds overweight. --C.C.
That's called gynecomastia (GUY-nuh-coe-MASS-tee-uh), and it frequently happens during three age periods. In infancy, some male children have visible breasts due to the estrogen that was transferred to them from their mother during fetal development. At puberty, almost all boys have a degree of breast enlargement, and some have quite conspicuous enlargement. It comes from an imbalance of male and female hormone production at this stage in life. Usually the imbalance and enlargement are transient. In older men, for a similar reason (hormone imbalance), breasts begin to grow. Male hormone production wanes without a concomitant drop in female hormone production. (It's a revelation to men and women that men produce female hormones and women, male hormones.)
Male breast growth requires distinguishing between fat and breast tissue. Sometimes fat deposition is mistaken for gynecomastia. Fat tissue is soft and squishy. Breast tissue is firmer. If you can't tell the difference, your doctor can help you out. Weight loss is the solution for fat deposition, and getting rid of your extra 20 pounds will help.
Medicines are sometimes the cause of breast enlargement. The list is long and includes some common medicines, like the medicines used to shrink the prostate gland, those that slow the production of stomach acid and two often-prescribed blood pressure and heart medicines -- ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers. Excessive alcohol enlarges breasts, as does marijuana use.
An overactive thyroid gland can stimulate breast growth. Liver and kidney diseases can be responsible for it. If your testosterone production is on the low side, replacement of that hormone is helpful. Raloxifene blocks the effects of estrogen and is another treatment. Surgical removal of the tissue is a definite cure and is not a surgery that has a long recovery period.
Here are two title variations for the same Dr. Donohue article online:
Male breast growth common in older ages
www.detroitnews.com/article/20091027/OPINION03/910270301/1031/opinion03
Gynecomastia is a problem for older males
www.thederrick.com/news/2009-10-27/Features/Gynecomastia_is_a_problem_for_older_males.html
My take on this:
(The short story about myself: I had "man boobs" and plastic surgery to remove them in 1988. Today I'm percieving my plastic surgery to be a pathetic mutilation of my body ...to save my sanity!!!)
Ok, immediately I take issue with the application of the phrase "hormone imbalance" as I am very hard-bitten by a suspicion that most men with "man boobs" actually have a totally harmless hormone chemistry occuring in their bodies that's actually in a state of healthy "balance" as is.
What kind of medical science is this to identify a man with "man boobs" as a human who must be experiencing a "hormone imbalance" and is thus a worthy candidate of being subjected to some manner of physically invasive medical intervention for it?
The answer:
THIS IS NOT MEDICAL SCIENCE; THIS IS A CULTURAL EXPECTATION ANSWERING TO THE CURRENT PREVAILING DEFINTION OF "NORMAL".
The problem is not what's happening physically inside the body of a man whose got "man boobs" ... (in a sensory deprivation tank, if a man's got breasts the size of Dolly Parton's, would he have any reason at all to care about that in a sensory deprivation tank?) ... (if you've never seen the movie "Altered States", put it on your bucket list) ... , the problem is what's going on in the culture that the man with "man boobs" is living in. And that culture is hostile (averse) ... irrationally and illogically hostile ... irrationally and illogically expressing aversion ... upon merely sighting a topless man who's got "man boobs."
Male breast growth is common. Where there is a problem in our culture with male breast growth, I am very skeptical that for a majority of the male complaintants with "man boobs", a "hormone imbalance" is the cause of their problem rather ...
... A PATRIARCHAL TYRANNY OF THE CENSORED BREAST IN OUR CULTURE IS.
--Aaron Kanada Vose (SpaceMonkey)
October 27, 2009
OOOH SNAP
Breakfast in America - track sampler
Breakfast in America - track sampler