gynecomastia

[rylielove]

ok, like many girls we do things to ourselves to try and make us think of ourselves as men or masculine.  some bulk up muscles, join the army, or do other masculine things.  for me, i dealt with gynecomastia (man boobs) which in itself is extremely confusing cross dressing as a kid and having breast growth...

so in turn, after college and my first real job i was still trying to fight these feelings and thought maybe if i got rid of my boobs i'd feel like a man, that the reason i cross dressed and had feminine desires was because of my breasts...  well you all know how that story ends  

i'm just wondering if anyone else has a similar story.  i'm probably starting HRT within the next month or so and breast growth now concerns me, there still is fat on my chest, just not as much...

i told myself that if the feelings didn't go away... there are always implants... but at the time i wasn't ready to fully accept my feelings and i had to try and feel like a man.  jeez i wish i didn't get rid of them... i would of had a nice base to work off of ;(

[KaleisGood4U]

Hi, Rylie.  I'm a FtM, but also a student nurse who has an interest in being a surgical nurse, so your post caught my eye.  To achieve the appearance of a full female breast that's appropriate for most MtF chestwalls, you'll need an implant of 300cc or more.

When you had your operation, it was probably glandular tissue the doc primarily removed.  Even if you would have kept those, there are biological processes that keep them from looking like the healthy female breasts you desire.  You likely won't experience significant breast growth, but that wasn't really going to happen.  Even for women's clothing, you need a considerable bust that MtF's simply are going to lack, even with optimal tissue development from HRT.  The idea that you've lost significant female breasts just isn't true.

[KaleisGood4U]

What a curious statement. I do not 'need' a considerable bust, nor does any other MTF.
FYI, most high couture models have no breasts or tiny breasts.

"Need" was too strong of a word.  High couture models don't have proportionally large breasts, nor do ballet dancers.  Consider the measurements on a female fashion model: Body measurements of 34-23-34 are considered most ideal (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/98345/tips_for_aspiring_fashion_models.html?cat=31 and Google elsewhere).  That's pretty much an hourglass figure.  Even Kate Moss has a significant chest, though proportional to her chest.  No one "needs" anything, but if we're talking about conforming to Western ideas of what it means to be male and female (and that's why I cut my hair short and work out like a fiend, even pre-T), it's worth everyone being honest about what it means to achieve that.  I'd love to be 6' 3".  Wasn't in the cards.  I'm a hair under 5' 7".  Life's not fair.

My point was, if her concern is having a very feminine bust, it was unlikely to happen from HRT.  I didn't mean to offend anyone or imply anyone was inherently less of a woman if they didn't have DDD's.  I apologize. 

[Kristyn]

What a curious statement. I do not 'need' a considerable bust, nor does any other MTF.
FYI, most high couture models have no breasts or tiny breasts.

Good point.  I have no problem with clothes at all and am at a 36b which I guess is pretty average. When I was bigger, that was different story--wider shoulders/back, upper chest--didn't look right at all.  Plus, if you feel like you are lacking, then there are bras which can help do the trick