The Masculine Mystique of T
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The Masculine Mystique of T
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Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#2Intriguing why someone would try to analyze a biological compound through a cultural / political / sociological lens without at least giving some reference to actual scientific research.
I have no clue whether anything in this article is true or false. Only that people might have used Testosterone to justify male dominance. Not saying it is false, but like what is the evidence? I just see vague anecdotes and personal opinions from people with no scientific training.
I admit, it did get me to think and I am very curious what the answer is.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#3Summary: Testosterone doesn’t have well-understood effects because they are complex and affect individuals differently. It’s more like a placebo and symbol of artificial expectations society has about what is “masculine”. The demand for T is a sign that society is sick.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#4What a strange meandering article. The author seems almost to be seeking confusion.
Since she quotes Cordelia Fine approvingly, here's an amusing review from a slightly different perspective:
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#5Summary: Testosterone doesn’t have well-understood effects because they are complex and affect individuals differently. It’s more like a placebo and symbol of artificial expectations society has about what is “masculine”. The demand for T is a sign that society is sick.
Testosterone levels in the West have declined by about a factor of two over the past few decades (https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/92/1/196/2598434). Maybe society is indeed sick.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#6Summary: Testosterone doesn’t have well-understood effects because they are complex and affect individuals differently. It’s more like a placebo and symbol of artificial expectations society has about what is “masculine”. The demand for T is a sign that society is sick.
Testosterone levels in the West have declined by about a factor of two over the past few decades ( https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/92/1/196/2598434 ). Maybe society is indeed sick.
Or maybe it was always sick and is getting better? There’s no war in Europe. No war in the Western Hemisphere. Violent crime in the US is at a multi-decade low. There has been a human in space for the entirety of the 21st century. Most of the world carries a supercomputer with instant access to the sum total of human knowledge in their pocket.
We live in an age of marvels.
If society is indeed sick then the cure probably isn’t worth it.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#7What a strange meandering article. The author seems almost to be seeking confusion. Since she quotes Cordelia Fine approvingly, here's an amusing review from a slightly different perspective: https://westhunt.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/old-t-rex/
that was an interesting article
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#8strange article, not fully accurate either.
> no one individual gets to choose precisely what changes it produces. As one friend who had started T said to me, “Let me know if you find a way to get the big muscles and keep the head hair!
Actually, we know. DHT causes the male pattern baldness. The conversion from T to DHT by 5 alpha reductase can be blocked by drugs.
We don't have good topicals or selective drugs yet, so people complain about the side effects of current drugs like finasteride. But it's not like we are talking of a huge scientific unknown, or if it is impossible to do that is described.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#9What a strange meandering article. The author seems almost to be seeking confusion. Since she quotes Cordelia Fine approvingly, here's an amusing review from a slightly different perspective: https://westhunt.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/old-t-rex/
that was an interesting article
Cochran is a genius, but not for everyone. There are certain facts that are taboo to acknowledge, possibly for good reasons. Cochran does not abide taboos. If you keep reading his stuff, it is very likely to shock and offend you.
Re: The Masculine Mystique of T
#10What a strange meandering article. The author seems almost to be seeking confusion. Since she quotes Cordelia Fine approvingly, here's an amusing review from a slightly different perspective: https://westhunt.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/old-t-rex/
That’s a looooot or claims without anything like citations and support in that blog. It all sounds alright until you realize it’s a house of cards shown to you at a very particular angle under the best possible light. I was sort of curious if it was a one-off from someone who didn’t know how to source their claims, but reading some more on that site it seems to be more like very genteel propaganda. The theme seems to be a retread of old ideas on sex, race, and genetics arrived at by cherry picking results which agree with the premise. Well written prose, but devoid of intellectual rigour.