Should Wusses Rule the World?

 The answer is “Yes!” according to two biology professors who published an article entitled, “Testosterone: The Cause of Our World’s Problems?” [Water Air Soil Pollut (2009) 200:1–2]. Their thesis is that human males “are the cause of virtually all of our major problems on the Earth.”   The professors heap a pile of blame on the masculine gender: wars, war crimes, genocide, pollution, overpopulation, and legal corruption. 

 
They ask:
 
 “What is it about most men, in contrast to most women, that makes them so aggressive, greedy and egocentric?  What causes them to disregard the interests of other world citizens and act for selfish gain?” 
 
Their conclusion:
 
“Testosterone, not the state of being male, may be the culprit!  In addition to sexual prowess, high testosterone levels have been correlated with feelings of hostility and aggressive behavior as well as antisocial personality disorders.”
 
Just like the person who looks under the streetlight on a dark night for the keys he lost down the block simply because that is where the light is, these professors are looking for answers where they are comfortable – at biology – and are ignoring a host of other factors that affect behavior.   It’s hardly a revelation that the shameful actions of some men (and, indeed, some women) have caused many of the problems in our world. And we should condemn the chest-thumping and bullying that “faux” alpha males (and “faux” alpha females) display, whether in the schoolyard or in international politics.
 
But the suggestion that low testosterone leaders would solve the world’s woes? Fat chance. What the good professors fail to acknowledge is that testosterone is also correlated with the human attributes that we want in our leaders: strength, courage, confidence, assertiveness and decisiveness. Those who open new frontiers, risk their lives to protect us and defend our nation, and serve as role models of strength and resolve – our heroes – have often had healthy levels of testosterone.
 
The bottom line is balance. Too much testosterone mucks things up – just like too much estrogen. But in an era when men’s average testosterone levels are going down, not up, the professors are simply out of touch. Their article, in fact, is little more than a resurrection of the notion of “testosterone poisoning” presented in “What Every Woman Should Know About Men,” published in Ms. Magazine in 1975. 
 
Let’s put history aside. There will always be self-loathing men who get a kick out of demonizing their own gender, who prefer to blame something other than their own choices for their outcomes. Healthy testosterone levels are nothing to condemn. They are, in fact, essential for any man to be his best, and we need them now more than ever.