Biological bellicosity

Is low testosterone sending us to war?

Last week, I appeared on the Daily Sceptics Podcast to talk about Ukraine.

One segment of the show focussed on the increasingly deranged criticism faced by those who express an opinion on Ukraine that dissents from ‘Putin is Hitler’, a phenomenon particularly associated with Centrist Dads on Twitter, who have taken to calling anyone who disagrees a Quisling.

If you scroll through to 22:35, I claim this is, ‘given the age of the average Centrist Dad, I wonder if this is biological, and testosterone related.’ Claiming this is a biological phenomenon is obviously a funny line, but I do genuinely believe that the bellicosity of Centrist Dads on Ukraine is the result of declining testosterone levels. Let me explain.

Obviously, test has a huge influences on certain male social behaviours, especially those linked to competition, dominance, and aggression. Centrist Dads are generally presumed to be mid-40s onwards – at least they were when the term was first popularised in 2017, so we can presume they’re a little older now. As men age, their test levels typically decline. In fact, an astonishing 40% of men over 45 are hypogonadal (having reduced testosterone production) and have levels below the normal range (<300 ng/dL).

Low test is associated with symptoms such as reduced sex drive, loss of bone density, and decreased muscle mass, but I could find limited direct evidence to support my idea that the increased bellicosity of Centrist Dads was compensation for declining test levels – most of the literature focused on how elevated testosterone influences aggression, rather than how men might act when compensating.