Draft:CS Assignment

It has been observed that men have been the dominant force over women in society since the beginning of the species. This is largely due to testosterone. Testosterone is the main sex hormone found in men. The affects that it has on the male brain and body is the reason that men have overpowered women. This does not change the fact that both sexes are equally important to society. Too much testosterone (Other nations) describes how testosterone lead the men of medieval Portugal to completely overpower women by favoring newborn boys and discarding the girls. The article connected this heinous act to modern day China and India, as those nations make similar choices. In recent decades scientists have been following a trend that will completely change the way men act towards women in society.

Over the past 2 decades, the average level of testosterone in men ages 18-45 has dropped 1% each year (Kahl, 2022). Scientists are unsure of what exactly causes this steady decrease of T levels, but there are definitely contributing factors. According to Why Modern Men are Losing Their Testosterone, Stagnant lifestyle, obesity and pollution are the main factors. Because testosterone has such a big impact on how men act, this trend will without a doubt will change how society works, for better or for worse.

When on a topic involving men's health, taking sides may seem very shallow since good health should be in everyone's best interest. Yet we still see opposing sides with this issue. As nice as it would be to see everyone come together in an attempt to better men's health, it is impossible for every single person alive to agree on anything. So, we are left with the pro-health side, and the evolutionary side.

It is very important to understand that this trend is some sort of evolution in real time. As the average lifestyle becomes more stationary and inactive, the body adapts to that life over time. The evolutionary side of this issue supports letting evolution take its course, since it hasn't failed the race yet. The pro health side does not like the idea of letting men lose valuable testosterone and wants to put an end to the trend. These 2 sides are very contradictory.

I am not claiming to be a credible scientist, I am only taking professional facts I've gathered and forming a prediction. I believe that there is a chance that the steady decreasing of testosterone could be the end of human life. If you look at what Hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency) does to the body, this claim checks out. When a man severely lacks testosterone, his reproductive system fails (Thomas, 2008). If every man was to experience this effect, our race would not be able to reproduce. Even if we were to look at it from a less extreme point of view, hypogonadism goes hand in hand with obesity. When a man lacks testosterone, he puts on fat easier, and if a man is obese, his test levels lower. If this trend doesn't end our race, it could very well cause a vicious cycle of obesity.

The evolutionary side believes that this trend is happening for a reason. They believe that this lowering of testosterone will make men more "fit" for this lifestyle. Opposing the pro health's end of the world theory, this side believes that life will balance out, meaning if men don't have the testosterone they need to reproduce, evolution will allow men to reproduce without sufficient levels of testosterone. Both sides are likely, we need more scientists and professionals looking into this issue as it will change the world in only a few decades.

We see reductionist thinking a lot in biology. This can be good in some cases, but bad in most. Reductionism is when a complex system is broken down into much simpler terms. This can cause issues in biology because in most cases, things are not as simple as they seem.

While conducting my research, I couldn’t help but notice the reductionist thinking in most sources I researched. It was mostly evident to me when reading articles tilted towards the evolutionary side of this spectrum. In order for evolution to happen, there must be struggle and genetic variation. In this case of “evolution” there is neither, in fact, it is the opposite of struggle. Men are losing testosterone mostly because lives are becoming more and more stagnant. So is this really evolution or are people just reducing this phenomenon into the word “evolution.”

Although most people like to say our world is slowly burning, it's improving, especially over the last few decades. There will always be things that people don’t like about the world, and that’s fine, but we can't ignore the fact that equality is getting better. People around the world feel more comfortable expressing themselves, which is something that everyone should have the freedom to do. With this, comes with “the feminization of men” as some people like to call it. What this means is that the image of a man is become less restrictive, less of “the tough guy”.

It’s a fantastic thing that people have more freedom to express themselves because it makes more people happier, and that’s the bottom line. When it comes to the trend, society's current thinking bleeds into the issue. This can cause major problems because science may say that it is unhealthy for men to be weakened by such low testosterone. On the other hand, society will deem that wrong because they think men shouldn't be restricted to a certain image. This is not good because this is a matter of widespread health concern.

It's unfortunate that science and society clash over such an important matter. When science comes out with facts that state one solution and only one solution that society doesn’t agree with, it creates a sense of restriction. Society will always want to be free, as it should. So, when science tells society that men need sufficient testosterone, people resent that out of personal beliefs, even if science is correct.

It's very important to understand the importance of this trend. Like I stated earlier, it will change how the world works, one way, or another. Science and society can clash forever, but it is essential that science is not contained. We need more research on this trend and more possible solutions because at the end of the day, facts beat opinions.

References

Kraus, M. W. (2012, September 2). Testosterone and dominance. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/under-the-influence/201209/testosterone-and-dominance

Jones, T. H. (Thomas H. (2008). Testosterone deficiency in men. Oxford University Press.Testosterone deficiency in men - Montana State University - Bozeman(exlibrisgroup.com)

Kahl, K.L. (2022) Testosterone levels show steady decrease among young US men, Urology Times. Available at: https://www.urologytimes.com/view/testosterone-levels-show-steady-decrease-among-young-us-men (Accessed: 18 October 2023).

“Why Modern Men Are Losing Their Testosterone.” Big Think, the Charles Koch Foundation, 19 Apr. 2022, Why modern men are losing their testosterone - Big Think

"Too much testosterone? (Other Nations)." The Wilson Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 1, winter 2003, p. 107. Gale Academic OneFile, Too much testosterone? (Other Nations). - Document - Gale Academic OneFile (montana.edu). Accessed 21 Oct. 2023.

Smith, J., & Smith, J. (2022, December 30). Why do Gen Z and millennial men have lower testosterone levels? Medichecks. https://www.medichecks.com/blogs/testosterone/why-do-gen-z-and-millennial-men-have-lower-testosterone