I read this book as part of a professional book club and was absolutely fascinated. Two gender studies professors wrote it, so it’s a new perspective and you can read a chapter or two to get the information you’re seeking. Our relationship with testosterone has been complicated from the beginning. After all, it is still called “the male hormone” in most textbooks. The fact is that ciswomen also require testosterone to be fully functional humans. The authors point to several studies that massage the testosterone data to fit with our social expectations. Researchers then present these data to support racist, sexist and compulsory sexual views.

Testosterone is incredibly complicated and does not exist in a vacuum. Even measuring testosterone is complicated as there are different types, various ways to measure and it changes throughout the day. The gold standard of a research study is that it is replicable and so many of these studies evaluating T’s role in our lives have not been consistent from study-to-study. For example, remember the Ted Talk about power posing back in 2013? Researchers have re-tested that hypothesis many times and have not been able to come to the same conclusion. Still the video is online with no correction to be found.

Tl; dr:

1. Testosterone is a complex steroid that works with other bodily functions, not alone.

2. High or low testosterone does not lead to any particular behavior, expression or activity.

3. You don’t have to read this whole book to get information. The chapters are very well laid out with clear titles and subtitles.