Is testosterone the reason why I like guns, war and action movies, and studying the military and CIA?
January 30th, 2010 by eranio
I am a guy, and my interests include guns, watching war and Western movies, and studying stuff like the CIA, KGB, the military, the Mafia, etc. I have girls asking me why guys only like that stuff, and it made me wonder. I have never seen a chick flick before, hate romance movies, and have seen several comedies, but not too many. I would guess because of testosterone, but I am not sure.
I know so much about the military that my cousin who is in the special forces asked me how I knew so much about the military, and told me that I am a genius when it comes to that stuff.
Posted in military guns
January 30th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
This is quite long, but please read to the end for the full answer.
Initially I will have to disagree with what everyone else has said so far. Being a guy alone does not MAKE you like those things. What you are referring to are classic gender roles. Gender role refers to the attitudes and behaviors that class a person’s stereotypical identity, e.g. women cook and clean, men fix cars (or like war movies). A child’s earliest exposure to what it means to be male or female comes from parents. From the time their children are babies, parents treat sons and daughters differently, dressing infants in gender-specific colors, giving gender-differentiated toys, and expecting different behavior from boys and girls. One study indicates that parents have differential expectations of sons and daughters as early as 24 hours after birth. To associate oneself as either masculine or feminine is identifying with gender. These roles are reinforced by our parents and by our society. If a little boy picks up and tries to play with a doll, more than likely either his parents will tell him to stop and remind him that only girls play with dolls or later, his friends will call him a sissy. More aggressive behavior is also reinforced in boys because that’s what it means to be a boy-rough, tough, not crying. Parents encourage their sons and daughters to participate in sex-typed activities, including doll playing and engaging in housekeeping activities for girls and playing with trucks and engaging in sports activities for boys. Children’s toy preferences have been found to be significantly related to parental sex-typing, with parents providing gender-differentiated toys and rewarding play behavior that is gender stereotyped. While both mothers and fathers contribute to the gender stereotyping of their children, fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than do mothers.
It is only an assumption, but I would bet that your father or other male family member also likes the military, war and action movies, etc. So even though testosterone makes boys more aggressive, you liking these things probably comes from your interests being shaped by what your parents, family and the rest of society have told you that you should like. You mentioned that you have a family member in the military, so there’s one influence.
Now, all that said, no matter what people tell you about men and women being exactly the same, it just isn’t true. Not that I’m saying men are better than women, I’m just saying that our brains are wired differently. Even boys who, let’s say were raised by a single mother and were never told to "put down that doll" will still tend to like what our society views as more masculine. The debate goes on as to whether or not it is based on our prehistoric hunter gatherer society (the men went out to hunt while the women gathered fruits and nuts while tending to the children. Of course reinforcing these traits or actions in their children was essential to the entire tribe’s survival) or if it is the by-product of current society.
In my opinion, there is much more at play than mere testosterone. Yes it does play a part, but no, it is not the sole cause of your interests. Your male brain thinks and makes you act differently than a woman with a female brain. That coupled with society’s gender role reinforcements is more than likely the reason why you or any of us like some, if not most of what you do.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Yes.. that damn testosterone..
SteveC
January 30th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
yep, high testosterone and also one more thing i can tell. When you are bound to get something maybe from your Dad you have an option whether to have the smaller thing now or wait for better thing later you would rather have the smaller thing now
January 30th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Yes it is your hormones. Normal in a man with 5 senes. With a healthy brain. Now, do not attmpt to become a crazy doode.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
haha actually yeah. testosterone makes us more aggressive so our likes and dislikes tend to line up with that. but how you are raised and your internal concept of what a man should be have a part in that.