Biological Imperatives
Yet another of the thousand little chemical temperings that flesh is heir to. It’s always something of a surprise to see the bio-vicissitudes of life stated so baldly.
Married men have less testosterone
Betsy Mason, New ScientistMarried men who spend time with their wives and kids have lower testosterone levels than bachelors. The discovery suggests that having less of the hormone could play a part in encouraging men to devote their energies to the family rather than looking for another partner.
The story, which seems to quote from the journal Evolution and Human Behavior (vol 23, p 193), also says
The decrease was greater in the married men than in bachelors. “And fathers seem to show an even more dramatic difference from unmarried men,” says Gray.
I’m curious whether there are differences between fathers of daughters compared to fathers of sons. You might expect the fathers of sons to exhibit higher levels if they roughhouse it up with their boys in typical manly pursuits. In fact later in life, when father and son start e-mailing each other porn you could confidently anticipate levels at or above normal.
Fathers tend not to send their daughters porn, but girls can be every bit as active when young (my own has just started karate so later in life she will kick the shit out of you if you send her porn) and, additionally, there may be an increased level arising from the greater protective urges a father feels toward a daughter than a son. The father of every daughter, as testosterone enhanced or depleted as he may be, ruefully anticipates the day he must lumber forward as shaggy-maned ruler of his pride when the young cubs come slinking around, sniffing the air for his little lioness.
•••
Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2002.05.23 (Thu) • 11:07
Comments
Post a comment:
Send This Story to an Enemy
• • •
