Testosterone Tumbling in American Males

An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo is running a story about a study that concludes that testosterone levels are falling across all age groups among American men. It says 'The testosterone-fueled American male may be losing his punch'" I leave it to you all to draw your conclusions about this, but I still wonder what my hours of laptop-fu does to me.

Comments

Don't worry

[Kohath]

Health-related news is almost always wrong. It'll get contradicted in another study next year.

Remember when everyone got that bird flu? (I was coughing up feathers for weeks.)

Pussification of the Western Male

[Yonder Way]

Kim du Toit explained this phenomenon some time ago in this essay. I think he hit it right on the head.

Re:Pussification of the Western Male

[moe.ron]

Well this is getting off topic I think, but...

For a man's man, Kim sure feels the need to censor himself quite a ####### lot. What the #### is up with that? Either find an eloquent way to say what you're trying to say, or just fucking say it, but having all these ####'s in place of fucks and shits makes him look like an uneducated pussy.

Pardon my ####'s, but what the fuck is this:

When women got the vote, it was inevitable that government was going to become more powerful, more intrusive, and more "protective" (ie. more coddling), because women are hard-wired to treasure security more than uncertainty and danger.

I am supposed to believe that the women voters in this country are to blame for our heavy handed, civil rights trampling, fear mongering, war-hawking government? That all the men voted to live dangerously and with uncertainty, and the women were all like, "No, we need a large, over powered, fascist government to protect us".

Well that and this:

Speaking of rap music, do you want to know why more White boys buy that crap than Black boys do? You know why rape is such a problem on college campuses? Why binge drinking is a problem among college freshmen? It's a reaction: a reaction against being pussified. And I understand it, completely. Young males are aggressive, they do fight amongst themselves, they are destructive, and all this does happen for a purpose.

Is he seriously trying to rationalize rape and alcohol abuse by saying those actions are simply unavoidable, natural expressions of the human male? What about self-control, integrity, and discipline?

Oh, and:

Donald Rumsfeld ... He's a Real Man. No wonder the Euros hate and fear him ... We'd better get more like him, we'd better become more like him, because if we don't, men will become a footnote to history.

Umm...what? I'm sorry but the argument that being assertive and aggressive is an appropriate replacement for being intelligent and diplomatic does not hold water with me. You can't use Rumsfeld as an example of what people should be like until you can prove that Rumsfeld isn't a complete idiot. People fear Rumsfeld because he is irrational and has the world's most powerful military at his disposal. So many people have died unnecessarily as the direct result of this man's actions and we're supposed to be more like him?

Re:Science or Society

[owlnation]

Are you joking...?

Saying please or thank you most certainly does make you a man. Not saying them, makes you a pig. Take for example your Army's much vaulted hero, John Wayne. As an archetype he is most decidedly rich in testosterone, most certainly a man's man, and most certainly a gentleman too. Can you imagine him not saying please or thank you, because I can't.

If you are serious, and I'm not convinced you are, I think perhaps you have a little too much testosterone, and too little education (maybe you think book learnin is for girls too huh?). Being masculine and tough doesn't mean you need to behave like an animal, nor does it mean you need to go a-guntoting and a-killin and a-whuppin some good ol boys. You can be not only tough, strong and manly but also kind and compassionate at the same time.

And I think your concept of economics may be flawed too. Just a guess, but you may find your employees work a little better when you treat them with courtesy, you may also find that if you continue to treat them rudely that one day they may just turn and sabotage your operation. Just a thought...

Re:Phasing out of the macho Western male

[CAIMLAS]

Ding ding ding!

I was a door mat for quite a while, then somehow managed to edge into "nice guy" territory. Tired of not getting laid, I started acting like a prick, and started getting some action. Pig? You betcha. Then I realized I was being a pig, and started manning up, and I've not had any problems since. Granted, I've not been such a whore either.

We DO need more Real Men.

[TerranFury]

But "real" isn't the swaggering jock: He is exactly like his counterpart the flamboyant "metrosexual" (how I detest that word -- but it communicates): He is affecting a style of behavior that is not truly his own. I have no respect for him.

Do not be like Napolean, who fought wars to make up for his small stature. It takes the bigger man to show restraint. Master yourself before you seek to master others. Violence is weakness.

Du Toit is correct that the TV-sitcom "man" is weak, hen-pecked, and impotant -- as are too many real life men. But this is not because they do not drink enough beer, and it is not because they do not watch enough football. It is because, chained by guaranteed sex to relationships they do not want, they do not have the strength to hold their principles above their libidos. Restraint is strength.

Take a punch. Stand tall. Do not strike back, but speak clearly: "You will leave now."
Meet a girl. She is drunk, and on top of you. Quietly say, "no." Put her to bed. Close the door behind you.

Whence disappeared "to be a man?" Strength. Respect. Honor. Real men are not pigs. Real men are good men.