How we became a Low T society

It’s not the end of men, but their domestication

The last few hundred years have seen the domestication of one of the most dangerous animals in the world, an aggressive killer who, untrained, can become a huge danger to human society. By which, of course, I mean men.

That is one of the many insights from The Weirdest People in the World, Joseph Henrich’s mammoth study of how Roman Catholic marriage rules created a society with unusual social norms — one of which was for men with lowered testosterone. 

Male and female testosterone levels vary in the womb and in childhood, but from about the age of 12 these differences grow hugely as T-levels in boys rise towards their early 20s peak, before starting a long decline. This is why the bulk of violent crime is committed by males between 16-22 (and why it’s a bad idea to release violent offenders before they’ve hit their late twenties).

As Henrich puts it, men with high testosterone are more likely to ‘abuse drugs, drink heavily, gamble, and engage in dangerous activities. Testosterone is associated with measures of dominance in both teenagers and adults, and there is a weak but persistent relationship between testosterone levels and violent aggression, including domestic violence.’