The flurry still hasn't died down over a report issued last week revealing that men's testosterone levels drop after becoming fathers . Yesterday the Times ran a style piece, quoting guys who say things like, "A study like this implies you are scientifically less manly just when you’d like to think you’ve hit a new plateau of manhood. You’ve spread your seed, so to speak, and joined the ranks of your own father.”
Now, he lamented, “not only are you a dork when you lapse into goo-goo talk, but now you’re less of a man scientifically.”
Well, that's one way to look at it. Another perspective is that it may actually be in men's biological make-up to provide direct care to their children once they are born, i.e. high testosterone to mate; lower to nurture. Having kids doesn't make you a wimp; it's part of growing up and human evolution.
In any event, I love the whole discussion, because part of my book addresses the question of how we define masculinity, so I feel like all these issues are swirling around in the Zeitgist.
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