DH and I have been struggling to find a single name we can both stand. We have a very Italian last name and DH has a very Italian first name, and he wants the baby to also have an Italian name. He was reading a list of Italian names aloud to me and I fell in love with the Italian form of [name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_u]Michele[/name_u] pronounced [name_m]Mick[/name_m]-kell-eh. Then I saw how it is spelled…and I know that every time anyone reads his name they will pronounce it like the female [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]. But I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] the name. Nn [name_m]Mick[/name_m] and [name_u]Mickey[/name_u] while he’s young! So cute. [name_m]Will[/name_m] my child be tormented forever? Is this a horrible idea? Are we back to the drawing board? 
Not at all! [name_u]Michele[/name_u] is beautiful, and though I did pronounce it like [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] on first sight, correcting people is no big deal. [name_m]Just[/name_m] like how my sister [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] always has to explain that she goes by [name_u]Alex[/name_u]. Regardless, even when I thought it was pronounced like [name_f]Michelle[/name_f], I thought of the [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls character. 
I say go for it! Very handsome choice.
I think this is a bit too much sorry. [name_m]Even[/name_m] pronounced it sounds like [name_f]Michaela[/name_f], and written looks like [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]
I have a [name_m]French[/name_m] coworker [name_u]Michel[/name_u] which is pronounced closer to [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] than [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. He just introduces himself and moves on. Lots of international names around here.
I think it’s fine. It’ll get misread as [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] but I don’t think that’s a huge deal (and, contrary to what some people seem to think, being mistaken for a girl on paper isn’t the end of the world!). Names are spoken out loud most of the time anyway. Maybe it depends on where you live, but throughout my school years I always knew kids with names from different cultures and they never had any big issues with people being jerks about it.
I love the idea of [name_u]Michele[/name_u], but realistically, it would take a lot of patience to endure people saying “[name_f]Michelle[/name_f]” right off the bat. The problem is because many women named [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] do spell their names like [name_u]Michele[/name_u].
I would go with [name_u]Michel[/name_u] since it’s a clearer boy name.
Honestly, I think it would be a lifelong hassle for him. [name_m]Even[/name_m] small stuff like getting his mail addressed as Ms. XYZ would be annoying after awhile.
OTOH, maybe it teaches him not to sweat the small stuff.
I do think it would get old after awhile though.
I knew someone named [name_m]Mikel[/name_m] (pron mee-KEHL, like [name_m]Miguel[/name_m] with a k). This spelling might work for you.
While [name_u]Michele[/name_u] is a great name, I feel like pronunciation will prove to be a nightmare his whole life.
[name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_m]Mikhail[/name_m], nickname [name_u]Kai[/name_u]? Cute for a baby, and handsome for an adult. Other nickname possibilities are [name_m]Kal[/name_m] or [name_m]Kael[/name_m].
Thank you guys so much for your honest responses! I truly love the name…but I’m still not sure if I will use it. Good thing I still have some time to decide!