I don't remember what it's like to walk down the beach.
I don't remember what it's like
to go out and exercise like there's no one there.
I think a lot of men think having body image issues
is something that is un-masculine in nature to begin with.
I always had to make sure
when I took photos and posted them on social media,
that it somehow concealed and hid the fact that I had gynecomastia.
Over the last 5 to 10 years,
there's definitely been an increase, especially in males
pursuing cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance.
It's definitely a constant battle.
I feel like I have to constantly check up on my shirt,
constantly check up on what's going on.
I'm too afraid to take my jacket off in front of people.
Just the anxiety about it is too overwhelming.
It's just like... it's David and Goliath.
My body image never crossed my mind
as a child
cos I was too focussed on being a kid I suppose. Yeah.
That's the last time I've ever been kind of happy 100 per cent.
In Year 7, we had a swim carnival.
I took my gear off and jumped in.
I came out and went to dry myself off and there were 10, 15 kids around.
I think back now what they said. You know... "fag."
Like "lady boy"
You know, yelling out "He's got tits" really loud.
What do you wish you could tell that kid?
I'd go back and tell him to be brave, I think.
Yeah.
It's all good.
Gynecomastia is extremely common in teenage boys
and it's almost normal.
It may not be significant.
It may only be a little bit noticeable
but it could be quite moderate and can cause a lot of embarrassment.
My name is Dr Scott John Turner. I'm a specialist plastic surgeon.
You find that in most teenage boys between 14 and 16
that probably 70 per cent
will get some form of breast tissue development.
By two years, the vast majority of that goes away.
There's multiple causes for gynecomastia.
The most common by far is idiopathic.
Sometimes people are sensitive to that oestrogen that's in their body.
My experience of childhood developing gynecomastia
was very embarrassing and awkward.
Probably the last time I was shirtless in public
was when I was naked, three years old
and playing the trumpet on the coach.
My name is Liam Webb, I'm 28 and I had gynecomastia.
You don't want to show it, you get really worried
because the nipples would puff up.
It made my school uniform look funny.
It made my clothes look unusual.
I was teased all through school.
Fun fact, for probably about eight or nine years,
I discovered pasties.
Wonderful things.
You stick them on, these little like nipple shields...
and then they squish down the nipple.
So I wore these for ages.
I bought so many from Bras N Things
that I'd gone and entered this draw so many times,
I got this call on the phone from them.
They said "Oh is this Liam Webb?" and sounded a bit sheepish.
I was like "Yes, it is."
They were like "Well, you've just won a three-kilo Easter egg" like...
"So... you want to pick it up?"
And can we can take a photo of you with it?"
It affected my dating life and meeting people
in the sense that, because I'm hiding this so well,
will this person still want to date me
and still want to be with me if I have boobs?
It's particularly distressing.
Gynecomastia in men really frequently affects sexual intimacy
and the willingness to have your shirt off in public arenas.
Then, even when men do do so,
they often are confronted by jokes that are often levelled at men.
You know, having man boobs or the like.
But those are often quite hurtful.
I'm Scott Griffiths.
I'm a researcher in male body image at the University of Melbourne.
60 per cent of Australian men
are dissatisfied with at least one part of their body.
So the majority of men in Australia
are concerned about at least one aspect of appearance.
It is enough for them to call it a concern,
not just something they think about every now and then.
It's something they ideally would like to fix.
So the idea that body image concerns are a female domain
and that men are otherwise generally unbothered
is no longer true, if it indeed ever was true.
When I see chiselled chests and when I see perfect bodies,
I automatically go "I can't achieve that
"without medical intervention.
"I can't physically achieve this."
I decided to get surgery in 2015
because I knew there was nothing that I could do to change this
in my diet or my eating, my exercise.
And this was the only option in order for me to get rid of it.
Over the last, I'd say, 5 to 10 years,
there's definitely been an increase in people,
especially males,
pursuing cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance.
I think if I had the money, I would go and, you know, get it removed.
But at the same time it's part of who I am and...
I do want to be able to be proud of my body.
I think everyone has that right.
Men and women alike often find it hard
to get others to take their body image concerns seriously
because it is easy to dismiss as vain,
which has always struck me
as an unusually lacking-in-self-compassion response
when you live in a culture that encourages you
to care so deeply about how you look.
Showing people and telling people what it's like,
it's only making my path easier by talking to people.
I chose to go public about my surgery
just because I want to be open about it.
Oh my goodness, I've always wanted to do the merman thing.
So I did a photo shoot as a merman.
That was probably the first time I was shirtless
since the age of three.