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Testosterone

An Unauthorized Biography
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Testosterone by Katrina Karkazis and Rebecca M. Jordan-Young delves into the misconceptions and scientific debates surrounding the hormone testosterone. The authors challenge the traditional narratives about its role in gender and behaviour, exploring the social, historical, and cultural dimensions that shape our understanding of masculinity and biology. This book is a thought-provoking examination of how science and society influence each other.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're intrigued by the complexities of hormones beyond stereotypes and are interested in exploring how testosterone shapes societal and scientific narratives. It's an enlightening read for those keen on deepening their understanding of the intersection between biology and culture in shaping human behaviour and identity.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Testosterone is neither the biological essence of manliness nor even the β€œmale sex hormone.” It doesn’t predict competitiveness or aggressiveness, strength or sex drive. Rebecca Jordan-Young and Katrina Karkazis pry testosterone loose from more than a century of misconceptions that undermine science while making social fables seem scientific.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal Winner

A Progressive Book of the Year

A TechCrunch Favorite Read of the Year

"This subtle, important book forces rethinking not just about one particular hormone but about the way the scientific process is embedded in social context."
- Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Behave

"A beautifully written and important book. The authors present strong and persuasive arguments that demythologize and defetishize T as a molecule containing quasi-magical properties, or as exclusively related to masculinity and males."
- Los Angeles Review of Books

"A critique of both popular and scientific understandings of the hormone, and how they have been used to explain, or even defend, inequalities of power."
- The Observer

Testosterone is a familiar villain, a ready culprit for everything from stock market crashes to the overrepresentation of men in prisons. But your testosterone level doesn't actually predict your appetite for risk, sex drive, or athletic prowess. It isn't the biological essence of manlinessβ€”in fact, it isn't even a male sex hormone. So what is it, and how did we come to endow it with such superhuman powers?

T's story begins when scientists first went looking for the chemical essence of masculinity. Over time, it provided a handy rationale for countless behavioursβ€”from the boorish to the enviable. From heated debates about whether high-testosterone athletes have a natural advantage to disagreements over what it means to be a man or woman, testosterone is always in the news. Arresting and deeply informed, Testosterone focuses on what T does in six domains: reproduction, aggression, risk-taking, power, sports, and parenting.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Testosterone offers a critical examination of the myths surrounding testosterone and its purported links to masculinity and power. Reviewers praise it as a deeply researched and important work that challenges popular and scientific misconceptions about the hormone. The book is noted for exposing the cultural and social biases intertwined with scientific narratives, presenting a fresh and necessary perspective on the complex interplay between biology and social identity.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674271081

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 June 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Illustration: 5 illus.

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Rebecca M. Jordan-Young is a sociomedical scientist and Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences, which won the Distinguished Book Award from the Association for Women in Psychology, and was a Guggenheim Fellow. Katrina Karkazis is a cultural anthropologist who spent fifteen years at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. A Guggenheim Fellow, she is Professor of Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies at Amherst College and a Senior Research Fellow with the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale University.

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