Heroes, Rogues, & Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior (12 page)

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Authors: James McBride Dabbs,Mary Godwin Dabbs

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BOOK: Heroes, Rogues, & Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior
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their bodies? Sexual dimorphism is not static. The characteristics that define masculinity and femininity have changed over time, as environmental demands changed and men and women used more or less similar strategies to survive and make a living.
12
But physical dissimilarities between the sexes continue to exist today, as do dissimilarities in behavior.
One popular view is that these dissimilarities are not important and should be ignored. Another popular view is that culture and history have arbitrarily grouped traits into what we call "masculine" and "feminine," and that these terms do not refer to anything natural or basic about the sexes.
13
It is true that natural tendencies can be overwhelmed by learning and culture, but it is also true that some characteristics of the sexes, including those involving pregnancy, lactation, language ability, health, and longevity, are profoundly important and resistant to change.
14
Sexual dimorphism may matter less than it did a hundred thousand years ago, but it still matters. It is well to recognize that average differences exist between the sexes, even though people within each sex are quite varied.
Research indicates that ancient behavioral tendencies related to testosterone persist. Many male animals, including men, are stronger and more violent than females. Sexual selection resulted in those males having traits that go along with high levels of testosterone and a propensity for fighting. Not all male animals fight the same way, and sexual dimorphism often explains why. For example, males of many species fight with their teeth and have larger teeth than the females of the species. But among orangutans, where males are aggressive and would appear to have dangerous bites, the teeth of males and females are similar. It turns out that male orangutans threaten each other with bluff and bluster more than they bite each other. The fierce male orangutan face that gives us pause at the zoo also gives pause to a competitor in the wild.
15
Men, too, have evolved without large fangs and much of the equipment the males of many other species still use for fighting. By the time our ancestor
Australopithecus
appeared in east Africa a million years ago, human male bodies had begun to evolve away from the muscular head and heavy jaws other male primates used for fighting. Nevertheless, even without so much built-in weaponry, men have remained more
 
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aggressive than women.
Australopithecus
men were still competing, but not with their jaws. They were relying on upper-body strength, the temperament associated with high testosterone, and the ability to make and use tools and weapons. Men today build bigger and better weapons and continue to fight each other, and for much the same reason they have always fought: they fight to show they are of more consequence than their fellows. Large tools and heavy equipment have replaced sharp teeth and claws in sexual competition.
The Truce between the Sexes
This discussion of sexual selection and male competition brings us back to considering the range of testosterone in each sex and the average difference in levels of the hormone between males and females. It makes us ask whether men's testosterone leads to violence toward their mates, or to energy for supporting their mates. In
The Selfish Gene
, Richard Dawkins describes a "war between the sexes."
16
He believes men and women are in basic conflict with each other. When we examine the many differences between men and women in testosterone levels, physical characteristics, and reproductive needs, it is easy to see why there is conflict. But conflict is only part of the story. The sexes live together, and their fates are intertwined. They evolved together out of a process of mutual influence sometimes called "coevolution." Men and women do have occasional skirmishes, border raids, and outbreaks of domestic violence in households throughout the world, but mostly they accommodate each other. The war is limited. There is a truce between men and women, and within the truce there is much room for affection.
Some people, when they think about sex differences and evolution, conclude that testosterone drives men toward competition and success. In this view, men who are better at fighting each other and chasing women have more children, which gets their genes into the next generation, where the same thing happens again. But the value of high testosterone levels is not the whole story. If it were the whole story, testosterone levels would rise higher and higher with each generation, as more and more fighting and sexual activity led to more and more success in having children. But there is no evidence that men today have higher levels of testosterone than did men in the past. In fact, men are
 
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quite varied in their testosterone levels, and presumably they always have been. Even those who are low in testosterone manage to reproduce quite well, and low-testosterone men appear in every generation. What is missing from the view that testosterone brings success is the fact that high testosterone also carries a heavy cost.
The problem is that individuals with extremely high levels of testosterone are likely to die before they have offspring. Studies with animals illustrate this. Male birds injected with testosterone sing more, patrol larger areas, have more fights, and are less likely to live out the year. Those that do live end up with more injuries.
17
When male lizards are given extra testosterone, they fight more, move around more, and can be seen more easily in the wild, all of which makes them less likely to survive.
18
Evolution maintains a delicate balance between producing enough testosterone to compete successfully and producing so much that one's own survival is at risk. Among many animals, castrated males live longer. This is true of sheep, cats, rats, and moths. It is also true of men.
19
Even normal levels of testosterone put men at risk, though most men would reject castration as a way of gaining a long life.
Just as high levels of testosterone make men as a group more combative than women, men with more testosterone are more combative than men with less testosterone. Higher-testosterone men have more problems in relationships with their mates. Higher-testosterone men are less reliable as mates and fathers, and men who ignore their wives and children will have fewer viable offspring. Females seem to recognize both the good and the bad aspects of masculinity. In general, they find men attractive who are high in testosterone but not too high, men who have a good build but are not muscle bound. Despite the effort men put into developing their muscles, most women do not find highly muscular men especially attractive.
20
Perhaps male bodybuilders are more interested in competing with other men than in attracting women. The preferences of females, along with the hazards of high testosterone levels, explain why the males of many species, including male vervet monkeys and men, do not have higher levels of testosterone with each new generation. Vervet monkeys are good-natured ground dwellers that live on the African savanna. The females take part in selecting leaders from among the males in the troop. The females, who do not like overly excitable or combative males, promote calm and peaceful leaders.
21
 
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In harsh environments, females need helpful mates to raise viable offspring, with the result that the genes of the most negligent males tend to die out. Men vary in the amount of attention they give their families, but as with other animals, sexual selection has worked in favor of men who meet the needs of their particular environment. Thus it is not surprising that research shows that men who live in colder climates tend to be more monogamous and reliable than men who live in warmer climates.
22
Nevertheless, whatever the climate, human infants are dependent for a long time and need a great deal of parental attention. Evolutionary pressure to be responsible mates and good providers has affected both men and women. It has restrained male competition and kept men from becoming too brutish a bunch, at least most of the time.
There remains an uneasy relationship between men and women, who are often at cross purposes with each other. This uneasiness is part of folklore. In T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," Prufrock shies away from talking with his lady friend because he is afraid they'll misunderstand each other.
23
Eliot stated the problem poetically and offered no solution. The sociolinguist Deborah Tannen and the actress Katharine Hepburn both offer solutions. In
You Just Don't Understand
, Tannen writes that men and women have different conversational styles. She believes that men and women who understand this will "accept differences without blaming themselves, their partners, or their relationships."
24
Hepburn has another strategy for harmony between the sexes. She says, "Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door, and just visit now and then."
25
Tannen and Hepburn live in different social circles, and their ideas show it. Tannen works with literary and academic people. Their well-developed verbal skills indicate that the men in the group would often be lower than average in testosterone. Hepburn, on the other hand, works with actors, generally a high-testosterone group whose success depends on a charismatic way of speaking the words that other people write.
*
Tannen is trying to overcome the gap between men and women. Hepburn has accepted the gap and come to terms with it.
*
Other differences in testosterone between these occupational groups are discussed in Chapter 6.
 
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As is often the case with opposite points of view, both Tannen and Hepburn are right. Men and women do misunderstand each other. Better communication would help, but it will not solve everything. Whether or not disagreements are resolved will depend on how hard the parties try and how different they are. The parties can differ in temperament, interests, and commitment to a relationship. Tannen's strategy succeeds with people who share interests and enjoy each other's company, but for others, even Hepburn's "next door" is too close. Jack Nicholson bought a house ten minutes away from his own house for his girlfriend and their two children. Nicholson sympathizes with the male who is in danger of becoming obsolete because he has "too much testosterone for society to control." Still, Nicholson is not totally beyond help from Tannen's solution. He has periods of what he calls "intermittent monogamy." He says, "It's a matter of communication."
26
Some couples combine the Tannen and Hepburn strategies. Carolyn, my sister, and Rick, her husband who died a few years ago, were married over forty years and had many common interests. They were committed to their family and to their relationship; nevertheless, they had what Tannen calls "different conversational styles." Carolyn likes to explore a topic from every angle and may change the angle in midsentence. Rick, on the other hand, had a legal and military background and liked to go to the main point without being distracted along the way. Their marriage thrived on alternating togetherness and separation. During the last twenty years of their marriage, she lived in Tennessee, where she still lives, and he lived in North Carolina. They visited often and took trips together. They came to terms with their differences, accommodated to them, and had a happy marriage.
Individual Differences
This discussion makes it sound as though there is a clear line between men and women. In fact, the line is often blurred. It is most blurred when there are genetic or congenital abnormalities. For instance, men with two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome have abnormally low levels of testosterone, and they do not develop normally during adolescence unless they receive extra testosterone. On the other hand, some people have one X and one Y chromosome, the usual male pat-

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