1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff Mom Never told you from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: Kristen and I'm Caroline. And in a follow up to 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: our last episode on how Estrogen Works, we're gonna talk 5 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: about how testosterone works. Yeah, everybody has it. Everybody has 6 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: It affects people differently, just like estrogen, and if you're 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 1: a man, it gradually declines by about one percent every 8 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: year after thirty. Yeah. So men, listeners over over thirty, 9 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,480 Speaker 1: you know, there's your testosterone levels are going down as 10 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: as we speak. Uh, and testosterone, what exactly is testosterone? 11 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,279 Speaker 1: It is part of a class of hormones called gonadotropins 12 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: ding ding ding u a k A. Sex hormones that 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: in men is made in the large amount in the testicles, 14 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: and in women it is produced and obviously not not 15 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: as great of amounts in our ovarives and and in 16 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: all of us it's produced in small amounts by our 17 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: adrenal glands. And uh. It helps maintain things like men's 18 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: bone density, fat distribution, muscle strength and mass, red blood 19 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: cell production, sex drive, and sperm products theone. So those 20 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: all sound like good things to control. So what happens though, 21 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: if you don't have enough testosterone, well, uh, well you 22 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: grow boobs and ovaries and you can have a baby. Nope, 23 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: that's not what happens. Hypogonadism is the clinical term for 24 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: low testosterone, and this happens when the body is obviously 25 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: unable to produce the quote unquote normal amounts of testosterone. 26 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: And it estimated two to four million American men suffer 27 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: from this. And so with with primary hypogonadism, the ovaries 28 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: or the tests themselves don't function properly. It's probably why 29 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: you're not getting as much testosterone as you would need. Right. 30 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: Central hypogonadism is when the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland 31 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: don't function properly. And so the symptoms to look for 32 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: when you, as a man do not have enough testosterone 33 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 1: floating around in their breast enlargement, decreased body and facial hair, 34 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: muscle loss, and sexual problems. So what what can cause 35 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: lowered testosterone in men? We've got tumors on the pituitary gland, 36 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: problems with the testicles themselves, injury, infections, and being overweight. 37 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: Researchers have found that abdominal fat actually has a greater 38 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: capacity to convert testosterone to estrogen than other types of fat. 39 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: Who knew, yeah you belly yes, because sausterone was normally 40 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: broken down in the body's fat cells. So if you 41 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: have a lot of fat, your body breaks down testosterone 42 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: extra fast, leading to deficiency. So it sort of sends 43 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: that into hyperdrive. And there are also things like alcohol, diet, stress, 44 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: and lack of exercise that can affect a man's testosterone 45 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: levels as well. And um, one thing though, I will say, 46 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: like in in researching this whole low testosterone thing, it 47 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: reminds me of commercials that we're now seeing more on 48 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: television for medications like specifically testosterone creams to quote unquote 49 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: cure low tea as it's often called this, uh, this 50 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: low testosterone and some large pharmac pharmaceutical companies are hunting 51 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: down a cure for this. And um I was. I 52 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,119 Speaker 1: was watching the documentary Orgasm Inc. A couple of weeks ago, 53 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: and it's all about the sort of creation and of 54 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:06,119 Speaker 1: a quote unquote disease. It's essentially it was manufactured by 55 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: in the large part by a pharmaceutical company called Female 56 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: Sexual Dysfunction. And uh, it's this idea that you know, 57 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: if a woman doesn't have an orgasm every single time 58 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: that she has a sexual intercourse, then that's a dysfunction. 59 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: But the there's not very much empirical evidence this is 60 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: actually a disease. And a lot of the stuff that 61 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: you read about with this new like low TEE that 62 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: were suddenly hearing about everywhere, a lot of which is 63 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: promoted by pharmaceutical companies. Um I'm skeptical of because you 64 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: now see in here pharmaceutical reps speaking of it in 65 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: terms of a disease. But in the same way that 66 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: female sexual dysfunction doesn't have a lot of uh, empirical 67 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: data to back it up, the low tea seems similarly manufactured. 68 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: Because there are billions and billions of dollars. It's conspiracy 69 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: theory over well. I mean also the fact that it's 70 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:07,239 Speaker 1: just called low T instead of just lower the normal 71 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: levels of testosterone, or hypogonadism, like let's create a name 72 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: for something that we want to pour money into to 73 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: fix quote unquote so that we can get a lot 74 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: back on our investment. Right, And that's not to say 75 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: that hypogonadism does not exist. That it's time to say 76 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: that there aren't some women who like have there is 77 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: a physiological problem with uh, you know, their their orgasm functions. Um, 78 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: but it's more a thing of manufacturing widespread disease, of 79 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: saying like seeing a commercial and saying, well, I feel 80 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: I feel tired, I feel fatigued, I don't want to 81 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: have sex all the time. I need this right. Well, okay, 82 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 1: so going to our trusty source, Mayo Clinic, testosterone therapy 83 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: is not a bad thing. I mean, it's not a 84 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: bad thing. If you have lower levels of testosterone and 85 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: you need therapy, then by all means, go out and 86 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: seek it. It can help proverse effects of hypogonadas gonad 87 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: is um. But according to Mayo, it's really unclear whether 88 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 1: such therapy can actually help older men who are otherwise healthy. So, like, 89 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: if you're just feeling kind of kind of sleepy and 90 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:14,239 Speaker 1: maybe like you don't want to go out and play 91 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: like you know, full contact sports every day or something 92 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: that you need all of a sudden start taking testosterone, 93 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: that's just not the case. Well, and there's also you know, 94 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: the Mayo Clinic would also warn that, Uh, let's consider 95 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: the fact that a like we've mentioned test saucer and 96 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: levels naturally begin to decline after the age of thirty 97 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: and um doctors when they test for testosterone levels. Good 98 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: doctors at least will not want to take one blood 99 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: sample and say, oh, well, this is your testosterone level, 100 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: because those levels changed throughout the day and will vary 101 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: day two days, So you want to have that tested 102 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: multiple times to establish, you know, an actual and more 103 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: accurate view of of where it really is. Right, and 104 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: testosterone therapy definitely should I mean it technically should only 105 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,799 Speaker 1: be used to raise your testosterone to a normal level, 106 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: not to raise it to somewhere because you think you 107 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: need to be like Mr Muscleman, like the brawny man 108 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: in his plaid shirt. Anyway, So there are a lot 109 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: of risks associated with testosterone therapy, so you really need 110 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: to talk to your doctor. In two researchers actually halted 111 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: a study of testosterone therapy and Alderman because of a 112 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: of such an increased rate of cardiovascular problems such as 113 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: heart attack. But there are so many other risks that 114 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: come with it. It may contribute to sleep apnea. It 115 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: could cause your body to make too many red blood cells, 116 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: which increases the risk of heart disease. It can cause acne, 117 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: and skin reactions stimulate noncancerous growth of the prostate in 118 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: large breasts and limit sperm production or cause testical shrinkage. Yeah. 119 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: So it's the same kind of thing when you're producing 120 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: two little at sausterone and you start to get those 121 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: unwanted physical side effects. Same thing happens, can happen when 122 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: there's too much of it backfire. Yeah, and we will 123 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: see that a lot associated with men who take steroids. Right, So, 124 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: there are Christian other therapies out there, natural therapies like 125 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: what like the horny goat weed or so to speak. Uh, 126 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: scientists are making a case for masturbation if you have 127 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,959 Speaker 1: not too low of a level of testosterone, if you're 128 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: just looking for a boost. Researchers at the Yerk Center 129 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: for Primate Research at em University here in Atlanta said, Hey, 130 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: it works for monkeys, let's all do it. So they 131 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: found that monkeys that see sexually active female monkeys register 132 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: as much as a four dent jump in testosterone. And 133 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: they are not the only ones who have noticed things 134 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: like this. German researchers found that just having an erection 135 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: is enough to spur testosterone levels and there's no difference. 136 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: They said, whether the man is watching sex on TV 137 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: or having it in real life. So that's interesting. What 138 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: comes first? The erection of the testosterone sounds like the 139 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: test or the erection, but I guess you would still 140 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: need some testosterone to to get that erection going. This 141 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: isn't how erections work, but it does. But it is 142 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: interesting though, because a lot of times we probably have 143 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: that relationship flipped in our brain. Um. Now. Rutgers University 144 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: researcher Helen Fisher, who we have referenced on the podcast 145 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: many times, also had some advice for men in quote 146 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: unquote captivity situations. Oh, Helen, this is what this is 147 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: what Helen calls men who are married with children, and 148 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: she advises that they just go online and look at 149 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: porn as a kind of hormone replacement therapy, because she says, 150 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: quote porn drives up dopamine levels, which drives up your testosterone, 151 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,200 Speaker 1: while just making out with your wife isn't gonna they're 152 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: gonna do much. It actually drives it drives it down. Yeah. Well, Harvard. 153 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: Harvard did a study in two thousand three that found 154 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,439 Speaker 1: that men and committed romantic relationships had twenty one lower 155 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: testosterone levels. Than men not involved in such relationships. Yeah, 156 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: but here's the thing with U. And I went off 157 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: on on our tumbler page stuff mom never told you 158 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: dont tumbler dot com a while ago about, um, these 159 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: testosterone relationship correlates, because a couple of years ago, there 160 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: was this finding that was publicized everywhere about how men 161 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: with children have lower testosterone than men without kids. How 162 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: and and then there was one this past year saying like, 163 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: if you have any contact with babies whatsoever, your testosterone 164 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: is lower. And that was you know, that sent the 165 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: media screaming saying, oh, oh no, the fatherhood is it's 166 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: challenging our virility and manhood. What are we gonna do, 167 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,959 Speaker 1: whereas the researchers were saying, no, no, no, you didn't 168 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: actually read this whull, this whole study because lower tests, 169 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: these lower levels of testosterone are actually a good thing 170 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:16,839 Speaker 1: that helped keep men alive longer and maybe mediates aggressive 171 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: behavior in a way that could be good for that child. 172 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: It's not turning men into just lifeless sandbags, right, No, exactly. 173 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: And I think, um, A good transition from that is 174 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: to talk about a study that was in the Journal 175 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: of Personality and Social Psychology in October two thousand and six. 176 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,319 Speaker 1: Because just like we're saying that lower testosterone in a relationship, 177 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: it's not like you're becoming less of a man. It's 178 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: just that, like, according to these researchers, you're just off 179 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: the market. You're not in like prime mate seeking mode. 180 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: You know, you're comfortable in your your committed relationship. And 181 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: so these researchers in this study found that men in 182 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,199 Speaker 1: real relationships who report cheating on their partners or even 183 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 1: who just say they'd consider it, have levels of testosteron 184 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: that are about as high as those in single men. 185 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: So that ties into the whole thing of like it's 186 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: it's more of like the aggressive mate seeking I'm going 187 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: to have sex with everybody attitude in your brain. Well 188 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: it's interesting though, because if we're talking about testosteron levels 189 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,080 Speaker 1: and relationships, uh, these similar studies have found that while 190 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: men in relationships will have lower and this is initially 191 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: in the relationship, I will have the lower testosterone, women's 192 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: testosterone levels tend to rise though once they get into 193 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: a relationship. But maybe that also on the flip side, 194 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: has to do with um, you know, that initial passion 195 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: and lust that eventually wears a way into nights of 196 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: sleep pants and falling asleep in front of the couch. 197 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: Wait what oh wistful. And I think it's worth noting though, too, 198 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:07,959 Speaker 1: that we can never attribute one hormone to like such 199 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: a complex behavior as say, sexual attraction, even with something 200 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: like cheating. You know, they're the study indicates that may 201 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: maybe a higher level of testosterone leads men to cheat more. 202 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: But then that also, you know, that doesn't take into account, 203 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 1: um any kind of like psychological factors or genetic factors 204 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: that scientists are looking more into. You know, there there's 205 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: we shouldn't pin the blame for positive or negative behavior 206 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: on one thing. And speaking of negative behavior, though, I 207 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,199 Speaker 1: really wanted to look into the link between testosterone and 208 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: aggression because I feel, I feel like when we think 209 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: about what does testosterone due to people, specifically to men, 210 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: it makes the muscular horny and aggressive. Yeah right, the 211 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: perception of men being like super aggressive because of their 212 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: testosterone and women being the shrinking violence who you know, 213 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: want everybody to be happy all the time. Aggression is 214 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: actually pretty equal opportunity as as far as gender is concerned, 215 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: and as far as domestic violence for instance, Um, because 216 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: men are physically stronger, more women are injured, but women 217 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: still fight back with slaps and less visibly injurious forms 218 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: of abuse. Yeah, when it comes to domestic violence statistics, 219 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: I want to say about forty of victims are actually 220 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: men victims of female on male violence, and that's just 221 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: talking about physical violence. But there was an article and 222 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: Scientific American looking into whether or not testosterone is just 223 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: fueling this aggression, and they point out that women and 224 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: girls are simply more likely to exact something called relational aggression, 225 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: which would involve things like backbiting, social isolation, gossiping, which 226 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: might be more of a product of socialization. And that 227 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: notion was popularized by books like Odd Girl Out, The 228 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: Hidden Culture of Aggression and Girls by Rachel Simmons, which 229 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: came out in two thousand two. Um, So it's like, 230 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: essentially the aggression happens, but there's more the gender difference 231 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: in the manifestation of how how it goes out, because 232 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: you know, women are more socialized against physical violence. There 233 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: is a gender gap in physical strength, which makes sense 234 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: as to why you know, men are a little more 235 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: pugilistic whereas women tend to be They take out their 236 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: aggression more verbally and emotionally. That's interesting. So do you 237 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: think that's saying that like girls are women who actively 238 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: try to, you know, gossip and turn people against each 239 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: other are just as aggressive as men who get into 240 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: bar fights. Like, do you think that some of these 241 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: things can be equated? I think that you could make 242 00:15:55,880 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: that argument. Um uh. There There is one one exception 243 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: though to this rule of a of aggression like men 244 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 1: in terms of of physical aggression in the Annual Kingdom, 245 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: and that is the spotted hyena. The female spotted hyena 246 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: is actually more aggressive than her male counterparts, and studies 247 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: have found that she does, in fact have higher testosterone 248 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: levels than the male highness. Do so watch out if 249 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: you are on a safari for hyenas, because that happens 250 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 1: a lot um and Robert M. Stapulski, who wrote in 251 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: the essay The Trouble with Testosterone, also points out that 252 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: we have the testosteron aggression relationship backwards. He says that 253 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: aggression itself actually stimulates the testosterone secretion, not vice versa. 254 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: It's not that we have you know, there's some flood 255 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: of testosterone and men just all of a sudden need 256 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: to start breaking beer bottles over people's head, and that 257 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: it actually exaggerates the testosteron does the aggression that is 258 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: already there. And also there was a two thousand nine 259 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: study published in Nature which found that testsaster is more 260 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:14,159 Speaker 1: linked to status seeking behavior rather than aggression due to 261 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 1: human social behavior. Like the researchers who are published in 262 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: Nature were making the claim that a lot of our 263 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: beliefs about testoster and aggression are focused solely on animal 264 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: studies that don't take into account human socialization that would 265 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: devalue a barbrawl, like we we wouldn't. We don't think 266 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: that that is a good thing. So testosterone and men 267 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: might more fuel status seeking rather than punching you in 268 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: the face, didn't. Isn't this the study also that mentioned 269 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: that women who thought they had been given a testosteron 270 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: DOS were acting more aggressive, right, And it's just it's 271 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,120 Speaker 1: like the social perception. Yeah. One of the researchers actually 272 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: told Time magazine talking about that that specific, uh sort 273 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: of placebo effect in women, that it's not the hormone, 274 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: but the myths surrounding the hormone that induced aggressiveness. So 275 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 1: it's interesting in how these these preconceived notions that we 276 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: have about hormones might temper our emotions as well. Yeah, 277 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,440 Speaker 1: because the women who actually did receive the testosterone and 278 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: didn't know it, that just fostered more cooperative behavior. And 279 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 1: so that ties into the whole status status seeking, not 280 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: status seeking like I'm going to be the most popular 281 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: kids in school, but like I'm going to work better 282 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: with people, which we could now delve into philosophical being 283 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: on we think therefore we are, and then this podcast 284 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: will never it, won't it. We'll just keep talking. We'll 285 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: use the word headin Norman of a Lot and just yeah, 286 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: just keep talking. What about sex, Kristen, what about Well? 287 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: I think that some of the researchers pointed out too 288 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: that well, obviously, you know, test us room does play 289 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: a role in sex drive, it's not the end all 290 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: be all, because estrogen also for women, plays a role 291 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: in our sex drive. And um, this was another thing 292 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:16,200 Speaker 1: that came up in orgasm Inc. Where researchers were initially 293 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: touting um testosterone as secure for women who might have 294 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 1: a lower sex drive, but it's not really the case. 295 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: They were talking to Kim Wallan, who's the lead researcher 296 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: over at the year Key Center at Emory University, and 297 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: he's observed for his entire career relationship sexual relationships between 298 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: monkeys and uh. They were interviewing him and asking him 299 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: the number one thing he had learned was to pay 300 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,399 Speaker 1: more attention to the female because he says that the 301 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: role of testosterone and estrogen in whether or not people 302 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: are going to have sex is probably overblown, and that 303 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: from his observations among these primate populations is that context 304 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: is a lot more important than simply hormones. Right, So, 305 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: if if the male monkey takes the female monkey to dinner, yeah, 306 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: and the female monkey feels pretty Yeah, maybe she's wearing 307 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 1: an ice dress that night. She put a little bow 308 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: in her four So okay, So what happens when women 309 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: have elevated testosterone? We mentioned polycystic ovarian syndrome in our 310 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: last episode on estrogen, but we can get a little 311 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: bit more into it now since we're talking about testosterone UM. Basically, 312 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 1: a lot of things can happen when um testosterone is 313 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: overproduced in women. It leads to the development of typically 314 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: male characteristics. It also can lead to things like changing 315 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: body shape, increase in body hair, enlargement of the claturus, 316 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: increasing muscle mass, etcetera and UM. But also though this 317 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,959 Speaker 1: was from a University of Michigan study UM that found 318 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: that heightened levels of testop stone in women also did 319 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: not lead to a jacked up sex drive like wanting 320 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: to have sex with someone else, but did lead women 321 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: to want to masturbate more. So. There was also a 322 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: study talking about sex drive and women in particular when 323 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: it comes to testosterone. UH. This is the Archives of 324 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:26,120 Speaker 1: Sexual Behavior in may Researchers found that testosterone was linked 325 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,919 Speaker 1: with a reduced desire to have sex among women, but 326 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: a higher desire to masturbate. So less the ladies want 327 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,159 Speaker 1: to have, less sex with partners and more solo sex, 328 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: so just a different form of of sexual designs. They're 329 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: not as driven to have that like person to person 330 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: connection maybe and and they're more just wanting to do 331 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: it for pleasure, just maybe just in search of that 332 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: of of an orgasm. UM. This was reported on in 333 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: Live Science and the study was also telling because not 334 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: only did it look at women, but it also looked 335 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,679 Speaker 1: at a healthy population and this is important. A healthy 336 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: population of men as well, with normal levels of testosterone 337 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: and these University of Michigan behavioral neuroendocrinologists UH positive that 338 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: their findings debunked the link between testosterone and sex drive 339 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:25,479 Speaker 1: because they found that in the men in the healthy range, 340 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: when they gave them an extra shot of testosterone, it 341 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: did not seem to influence any interest in having sex, 342 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: and from that they they drew the conclusion that the 343 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: idea that testosterone fuel sex drive is an idea based 344 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: on animal studies and studies of men who produce extreme 345 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 1: or abnormally low levels of testosterone, and speaking to Life Science, 346 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: one of the lead researchers said, quote, in this regular, 347 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,199 Speaker 1: healthy range of testosterone, it's high enough that the variations 348 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:00,679 Speaker 1: aren't what's driving any changes. So again we find that 349 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,640 Speaker 1: sex drive, like all of these behavioral aspects that we're 350 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: talking about, is multifaceted, and while testosterone is certainly an ingredient, 351 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: it is not the entire dish, right right. It's nice 352 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,760 Speaker 1: metaphor you okay. So we talked about how elevated testosterone 353 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: in women can lead them to, you know, stray away 354 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: from sex with a partner, you know, raises but still 355 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: masturbating exactly, yes, So what else does it do? We 356 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 1: also touched on polycystic ovarian syndrome in our last episode 357 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: on estrogen, So what does what happens? Basically, when a 358 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 1: woman has elevated testosterone, it has several effects, not only 359 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: internally but externally, things like the body shape changes. There's 360 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: an increase in body hair, enlargement of the torus, increase 361 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: in muscle mass. Women can even experience male pattern balding. Yeah, 362 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: and if you want to learn more about PICOS in depth, 363 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 1: we do have an entire episode. It's a little bit 364 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: back in our archives, but we do have an entire 365 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 1: episode dedicated to that. Because PICOS is a problem for 366 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: a lot of women. We had a lot of listeners 367 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,760 Speaker 1: right in about that episode because it can be extremely 368 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: hard to diagnose because a lot of the symptoms doctors 369 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: initially think are attributed to other things and not necessarily 370 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: levels of testosterone. So it's good to learn more about that, 371 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: educate educate yourself about picos as well. Yeah. Well, so, 372 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: something that I found really interesting when when we were 373 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: studying for this episode was the whole thing with sex hormones, 374 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: sex traits and athletes, because this really came up in 375 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: the summer Olympics. It was the I O. C. The 376 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,520 Speaker 1: International Olympic Committee's planned to prevent from competing women who 377 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: tested in the male range for testosterone and whose body 378 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 1: has responded to the hormone. So why did they want 379 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: to do this? Back in two thousand nine, at the 380 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 1: World Championships, South African runner Castor Semenya's sex was questioned 381 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 1: and she wasn't allowed to compete for a year, after 382 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,879 Speaker 1: which time she was reinstated. Yeah, and it raised this 383 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,360 Speaker 1: whole question that is really worth talking about in these 384 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 1: episodes on how testosterone and how estrogen work, of how 385 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: we associate the levels of these hormones with gender, gender identification, 386 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: and biological sex to point out not only you know, 387 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:34,360 Speaker 1: the fluidity of gender, yes, but also the fluidity of 388 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: biological sex, because the IOC wanted to essentially use testosterone 389 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,880 Speaker 1: levels of a benchmark level of that to say well, 390 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: if you're above this, then guess what, you're a guy, 391 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,479 Speaker 1: and if you're below this, then you are a woman, 392 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: which you really cannot do at all, because even if 393 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: you take physical characteristics of uh say second very sex 394 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: traits like your genitalia into account, even then with the 395 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: hormone levels combined, you can't necessarily say well, this is 396 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 1: what you know, exactly what a man is, and this 397 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: is exactly what a woman is because of things like say, 398 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Right, that's a condition that causes what 399 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: they call ambiguous genitalia, including in large plutorus is that 400 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,199 Speaker 1: may look like small penises. And they point out that 401 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: women with this disorder might fail an exam for sex 402 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: even though she has ovaries and a uterus. Yeah, and 403 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: then you also have things like complete androgen and sensitivity syndrome, 404 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 1: where chromosomally you have the the X Y, so the 405 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: normal makeup for a man, but their bodies aren't responsive 406 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: to testosterone. So despite having an x Y chromosome, these 407 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: people will develop female genitalia and breast but they have 408 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: tests and not ovaries, and so they would fail a 409 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 1: test of femaleness based on chromosomes, though they generally people 410 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: with complete androgen insensitive use syndrome tend to live their 411 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: lives as women. Yeah, and so Christian was talking about 412 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: how you can't just simply say that if your testosterone 413 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 1: level is here, you can compete as a man or 414 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: a woman, you know, and vice versa. If it's not, 415 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: you can't um British into chronologist Peter Song since two thousand. 416 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: Year two thousand analysis of six hundred and fifty Olympic 417 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: athletes found that five percent of women tested in the 418 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: male range for testosterone and more than six percent of 419 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 1: men tested in the female range. So if all of 420 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: a sudden we're drawing a line in the sand, that 421 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,199 Speaker 1: that really affects a whole lot of athletes. Well. And 422 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 1: also think about when we were talking in how estrogen 423 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: works about how lower levels of extremely low levels of 424 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: body fat and women tends to lower the level of 425 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:02,159 Speaker 1: testoster or estrogen being reduced, and so that could also 426 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: you know, if you're thinking about elite athletes, I'm sure 427 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,239 Speaker 1: they have very low body fat percentages, so they might 428 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: have lower estrogen than the typical female population. So they 429 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: are all of these variations when it comes to estrogen, 430 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: testosterone and their behavioral, physiological and biological effects on our bodies. 431 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: Hormones are wonky people. They do all sorts of things. 432 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: But saying that testosterone makes you a man and estrogen 433 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,199 Speaker 1: makes you a woman is not the case, because we 434 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: make some of both, and some people make more of 435 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: each than others, and some people are completely insensitive to uh, 436 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 1: some hormones compared to others and who and we're all different. 437 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: Let's just hammer out home one more time. Everybody is 438 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: a little bit different. Yeah, so I think that that 439 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: covers testosterone estrogen. Who. Yeah, I'm used taking each other 440 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: on date. That's right, monkey dates. I feel more enlightened. 441 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: I hope that you feel more enlighted as well. If 442 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: there's anything on your mind about testosterone estrogen hormones in 443 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 1: general that you would like to chat with us about, 444 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: you can always send us some email mom stuff at 445 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com, or hit us up on Facebook and 446 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: like us there while you're at it. But before we 447 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: get to a couple of letters to share with you, 448 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 1: all right, Well, the first letter I've got here is 449 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 1: from Debbie, and this is in response to our episode 450 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 1: about empty nest syndrome. She says, I'm the younger of 451 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: two daughters. So that first Saturday after I left for 452 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: college was the date it really hit my parents that 453 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: the nest was empty. Unsure what to do, they ended 454 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 1: up watching some infomercials and bought a Showtime rotisserie oven. 455 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: The next Saturday, they purchased the entire line of Orange 456 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: Glow products, and a Saturday after that, they decided to 457 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: go out to breakfast because it would be cheaper. Thirteen 458 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: years later, they still go to breakfast at that same 459 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: local restaurant nearly every Saturday morning. Also, I moved back 460 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: in with my parents a few months after I graduated college, 461 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 1: and I would join them some saturdays. So, in a 462 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: weird twist, the daughter that returned to the nest was 463 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: participating also in the empty nest coping strategy. And the 464 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: restaurant has these made amazing potato cheese bacon things called 465 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: not So Fries that I have to order when I'm 466 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: visiting my parents, even though it's breakfast because I get 467 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 1: to go so rarely. Yum yum. Indeed, yeah, I like that. 468 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: They purchased the entire line of Orange Globe products, and 469 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: I assume like set out to furiously clean the house, 470 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: after which they were like, well, what do we do now? 471 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: They'll just look at each other. Hope. Two and a 472 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:56,080 Speaker 1: half Minazon, Sally, and Chad, We're looking at you. Okay. 473 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: Here's a letter from Michelle about our Rhythm Method podcast. 474 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 1: She's d My mom was using the Rhythm Method when 475 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,320 Speaker 1: she got pregnant with me. She was actually planning on 476 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: joining the military and had gone off to basic training 477 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: before she was discovered she was pregnant. Once she realized 478 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: what was going on, she decided to stay, hoping she 479 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: could get away with finishing the training. She was discovered 480 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: two weeks from the end of training, and her options 481 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 1: were to leave or get an abortion. She ended up 482 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: leaving and never did join the military since she would 483 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: have to start basic training all over again. I think 484 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 1: it's sort of a funny story about my beginnings and 485 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: a cautionary tale about depending on the rhythm method for 486 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: birth control. So thanks to everybody who's written into Mom's Stuff. 487 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: At Discovery dot com, it's where you can send your letters. 488 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: You can also find us on Facebook, Like us there, 489 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast, and you 490 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: can check us out on Tumbler as well. You can 491 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: tumble with us that stuff Mom Never told You dot 492 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:53,680 Speaker 1: tumbler dot com. And if you'd like to learn more 493 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 1: about testosterone hormones and all the crazy things that our 494 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: bodies do, you can head to our website, It's stuff 495 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: works dot com. For more on this and thousands of 496 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. H