Testosterone – The Misunderstood Hormone
Testosterone has been hailed as the “male” and “aggression” hormone, but it’s so much more than that. Female bodies produce testosterone (and male bodies produce oestrogen – so let’s do away with the gendering of the hormones altogether, shall we?) but as all things have been, it was used as a means to argue that males are physically superior to females. It’s a gross argument that underpins a LOT of misogyny and violence.
There is a myth that someone with more testosterone is going to aggressively dominate their peers. What we are learning is that in many settings this isn’t true, but in some it is. Yep, you read right, there is a link between testosterone and aggression, but it’s not what we might think it is.
Check out this video for one part of the answer (because we know that these things are always multifaceted) 😉 It certainly surprised me!
The next time someone uses testosterone (or being male as proxy) as a reason for violence or aggression (like excusing the behavious of male children going through adolescence), you can cite this video and tell them testosterone isn’t the culprit, it’s simply a magnifier.
It ain’t the hormones to blame – there were social biases there already.
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