Editor,
The cause of male violence is not too much testosterone.
The cave drawings in Europe made 5,500 to 9,500 years ago show a more peaceful way of living with relatively few scenes of men raping or killing. These cave drawings depict a more equal and fair society than ours, where women were not under men - men and women lived as partners. They celebrated sexual pleasure instead of pain and violence.
Tragically, after this period, in much of Europe men dominated and despised women, and the naked human body became regarded as shameful and dirty. War, violence and pain became far more popular among men than peace and pleasure.
The native Tiduray people who lived in the Southern Philippines in the 1960s enjoyed complete equality between men and women. Men were not above women and women were not above men in any way. Men and women deeply understood and helped each other. A spirit of harmony pervaded, with no battles of men against women and women against men.
Caring, nonviolence, warmth, nurturing, sharing and empathy were not considered feminine qualities - they were considered human qualities, the right way for men and women to be. Bravery, confidence, clear thinking and boldness in sex and conversation were not considered masculine qualities - they were human qualities, the right way for both men and women to be. Toughness, dominating and taking advantage of others were not right for men or for women.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Tiduray people were healthy, always vigorous and robust, with no signs of mental illness of any kind.
Years ago, some "experts" said high testosterone causes male violence, but studies discussed at the 1995 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society revealed that men with low testosterone were more violent.
One University of California, Los Angeles study was on 54 men with low testosterone levels. They were edgy, irritable and angry. After receiving testosterone, they were friendlier and more optimistic. In another study, men with normal testosterone received a drug to lower their testosterone, and they became much more aggressive.
Low testosterone in men also causes reduced bone and muscle mass, low energy, heart disease, poor memory, anxiety, depression, mood swings, a lower sex drive, impotence and less passion for life.
Booze, cigarettes, junk food, cooked food, high stress and not enough exercise, sunshine or sleep lower testosterone.
Many boys are taught that boxing, football, street fighting and war are ways to prove what he-man they are, and that physical violence is the way real men solve problems. Many parents spank and hit their sons much more than their daughters, and many parents hug their daughters much more than their sons. The way most boys are brought up - plus often low testosterone as adults - cause men to be violent.
Don Schrader
UNM staff
