We recently read a very interesting statistic in a blog post from Bill Taylor on the Harvard Business Review last week that got plenty of conversation going in our office.
The statistic was that men's testosterone levels have dropped 17% per cent in the last 20 years.
So what does this mean? Why has this happened? Is it good? Is it bad? Does it really matter? Should we really care? There were plenty of questions this statistic raised.
The hypotheses abounded in our conversations, and in our heads. Are men losing their ‘manliness’ or are levels simply returning to a level that should be welcomed. Again, lots of questions with few answers that were concrete.
Another interesting statistic intrigued us was that 82% of jobs lost in the last year were by men. Are we seeing something at play here?
Having picked up on these figures, the new Dockers campaign (a clothing brand) centres around a call to inspire the masculinity in all men. It sure is clever marketing, but is it possibly one small flag for an even bigger shift? Are we on a zeitgiest of men re-discovering lost masculinity, or is the testosterone-charged environment of the past, a dark era that should be said goodbye to in an emphatic fashion?
We would love to know you thoughts on this one...
Warm wishes from the intrigued,
Darren and Alison
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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The worlds population is increasing at an alarming rate and the US is not exempt (the testosterone drop does not seem to be a problem there). I would like to see some information on the problems, if any, that such a drop causes. If there are none that are significant then why worry. There are plenty of world scale challenges that need our personal and collective efforts to tackle.
ReplyDeleteThere is a paper in Industrial Health 2003, 41, 55–62, Effect of Occupational Exposures on Male Fertility: Literature Review by Einat K. SHEINER et al.
ReplyDeleteIt suggests that even though the jury is still out, men are exposed to enough chemicals both at work, and in some instances in everyday life, that there [might be some cause for concern] and that further study is warranted.
Lots of evidence is out there that synthetic steroids often used in the body-buildling world can lead to massive decline in the production of testosterone the old fashioned way.
And I have read (though goodness knows where and might be wildly inaccurate) that too-tight undeware (which increases testicular temperature) might also be a cause.
I agree with the above comment - can't see us heading towards extinction any time soon (damn says the wildlife).