The Man Boob Epidemic According To Simon Doona

Man boobs isn’t a subject most men talk about. It is a subject I feel most men would want to avoid. However, late night talk show host Conan O’Brien found himself in a bit of a pickle when one of his guests more than brought the subject.

His guest was Simon Doonan, author of the Gay Men Don’t Get Fat. Until watching the video of him on Conan O’Brian, I knew nothing about Simon Doona. He comes across as humorous, playful and camp with his signature floral shirt. A quick search on Google has revealed that he seems to be a pioneer in the art of window dressing. He also writes for an online current affairs and culture magazine called Slate and appears on fashion and reality television shows.

No doubt he was on the show to promote his new book, but appeared to spend more time talking about what he calls the man boob epidemic. He expressed his great dislike for them and said some rather unusual things ,equating man boobs to hyenas and mosquitoes. “They don’t need to exist. They’re horrible. So I’m on a one-man campaign to rid the world of man boobs.” he said.

He took a stab at straight guys saying most of them they don’t really care about their appearance; “they’re, like, farting and watching TV, they don’t care about their man boobs.” he argued before seeking some acknowledgement from the females in the studio audience.

I imagine for a lot of men with gynecomastia, watching him talk about the condition like that would have been upsetting and insulting. Many fit men have glandular gynecomastia. No amount of good eating exercise can cure the condition. Also, men who develop pseudo gynecomastia, often have hormonal problems, or are on medication that causes them to develop man boobs. If a man has man boobs, it does mean he is a lazy slob.

I think going on TV and mocking men who have gynecoamstia doesn’t help at all. While Simon was obviously wanting to say that men need to take care of themselves, he certainly took a very unusual angle by attacking man boobs. I think he made no friends with his comments.

Stigmatizing men with man boobs to get them into the gym is an approach that won’t work. I think Simon Doonan needs to consider the psychological effects that gynecomastia can cause, before he starts his one-man campaign to rid the world of man boobs. Many men afflicted with the condition live in misery, have no self-confidence, and are often afraid to go outside. They have to hide their man boobs behind layers of clothes or wear gynecomastia garments. For many men gynecomastia leads to depression, with some men committing suicide.

If you know someone with ‘man boobs’ please don’t make fun of them. You wouldn’t do it if you knew how depressive and debilitating the condition can be. Instead, be a consideration friend and offer to help if you feel it is appropriate.