It's common practice to excuse men's misbehaviour, in particular teenage craziness, by saying it was "testosterone-fuelled" and so they couldn't help themselves. "The hormones took over".
I think that's total baloney. Where's the evidence that testosterone was the culprit rather than simple loss of self-control or unfettered rage or a sense of entitlement? How come some testosterone-soaked men can control themselves easily enough while other men can't?
There's little scientific backing for the supposed link between testosterone and misbehaviour. Studies of aggressive behaviour and testosterone are inconclusive. About half the studies found a relationship and about half of them didn't.
I must say I was never aware of displaying any testosterone-fuelled behaviour when I was a teenager. Of course for several years I was at a strict boarding school, which greatly reduced the possibilities for extreme behaviour. But even after I left, my behaviour wasn't especially wayward. I certainly wasn't sex-obsessed - I had no sex of any description till I was 22.
I didn't go in for wild rampages or shoplifting sprees or wanton vandalism. I was commendably well-restrained (or as well-restrained as any teenager is capable of being). We had no family car so I wasn't about to go for an illegal drive and smash it to pieces.
It's too easy to blame men's misbehaviour on testosterone. It excuses them from responsibility for their own actions and the responsibility to behave decently and sensibly. It's about time this nonsense was dumped.
I have no idea of the biological and hormonal significance, but of the well over 100 shootings in the US over the past decade, only 5 involved women shooters. There must be a reason.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that’s 40 years, not 10.
DeleteBijoux: I'd say rampant misogyny - which is getting worse. And maybe also inability to accept rejection.
ReplyDeleteHaving been married to the same lady for 56 years, with many stories and adventures behind us. I'll stay with the lady I love and admire. She helped build our house that we have lived in since 1978.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could volunteer to be pumped full of testosterone to see if it has any effect on you?! Then we’d know for sure :-)
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I don’t know, Nick, so many substances and experiences make people angry.
Sx
Ms Scarlet: It's interesting that "trans" men are pumped full of testosterone, but it doesn't make them generally aggressive or anti-social.
DeleteHormones cannot be blamed for bad behavior. Being able to regulate your emotions has a lot to do with self control. Criminals have a definite logic which luckily most of us don't have. What truly baffles me are people nutting up after sporting events.
ReplyDeleteAnn: Yes, violence after sporting events surely has nothing to do with testosterone and a lot to do with "following the crowd".
DeleteI don't think it's an either or situation. I think scientific studies show hormonal changes can and do effect body functions including behavior at least for some people, more than others -- and maybe at certain times more so than other times. That's not to say other factors don't enter into the picture including impulse control, judgement, etc. To totally attribute hormones as a causal factor for misbehavior could be just as incorrect as to say hormones are totally not a cause. It isn't just the male hormone I'm referring to, it's also estrogen for women. Also, it's not just teenagers either, the effects of testosterone and estrogen levels can effect some women, too, as can thyroid levels. Assuming because we didn't experience a problem other individuals don't could be a mistake since as much as we're alike we are also very different.
ReplyDeleteJoared: I'm not saying that hormones never affect your behaviour, only that the jury's out on testosterone. Clearly female hormones affect behaviour during menstruation and menopause, for instance.
DeleteFor some women but not all and I think the same is true for men and testosterone. I've seen too many teens who reached puberty and went a little flaky for lack of a better word to describe their behavior changes.
DeleteJoared: Well, exactly, men aren't necessarily adversely affected by testosterone (if at all). And as I say, there could be plenty of other explanations for wild behaviour.
DeleteOver here, we hear "boys will be boys" often. I firmly believe that parents and upbringing is responsible and not anything else.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Absolutely. "Boys will be boys" is a pathetically fatalistic and pessimistic attitude. Of course they can behave in a civilised manner if they choose to.
ReplyDeletewe have a "boys will be boys" serving on our supreme court! even after the girl testified under oath about the incident when his 'hormones' and liquor made him feel he could get away with it.
ReplyDeletenothing excuses the misogyny of that mindset! but then you could also do a post on the women now who wear a postage stamp for a skirt and go around wagging their tops and bottoms about. it's a conundrum.
Tammy: The nonsense judges come up with to excuse some sexually predatory male are mind-boggling. We don't want to ruin his career, he's always been a decent sort of lad, he cares for his elderly mother etc. I know, some women do go in for absurdly skimpy clothing, but men need to recognise it's not an invitation to anything.
DeleteEveryone has control over their actions. To think otherwise is foolish.
ReplyDeleteMary: I agree. We're not robots, we're autonomous human beings.
DeleteInterestingly enough, Nick the stats on the latest killings showed a huge percentage of the female sex were killed, starting with his grandmother. Male violence and misogyny. Pshaw on hormones. Try the agony of the menstrual cycle for some who don't shoot up a school in a rage.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
www: The high number of female victims isn't surprising, unfortunately. If anything misogyny is getting worse. And as you say, menstruating women don't go around shooting everybody.
DeleteHello Nick…popped over from Kylie’s blog to say just that.
ReplyDeleteHaving raised 3 boys plus 2 girls, ( all now in their 50s) I’ll say ‘the hormones were sent to try all of us’. Hormones do control those reactions but some people have the ability to ‘knock ‘em back in the box where they belong’. Circumstances- environment appear to have a lot to do with rage as well as the now becoming more evident ‘could be the blame’ mental health issues. Many of the cases that come before courts are not youngsters but men who seemingly should have left those days behind
Take care
Cathy
Hi Cathy! As you say, some men have the capacity to "knock the hormones back in the box". Other men need to develop that ability and not offer pathetic excuses for their behaviour. I think "mental health issues" can be an over-used excuse as well - "I was depressed/anxious/traumatised" etc.
DeleteBeatrice's comment didn't appear on the post. She said: "You have made valid points, Nick, as have others who commented. I would agree with Mary K that a person has control over his/her actions, except when not."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joared, there's a lot going on. Teenagers are steered by so many factors, but at a certain point in life we must accept responsibility for our actions and not just fall back on excuses.
ReplyDeletePolly: And it's not just all the idiotic excuses, but the fact that judges and others in authority go along with them.
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