…be more like a man?
Thus saith Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and it seems that it’s women who are trying to do so:
You probably think of testosterone as the male sex hormone. But the reality is that testosterone is also a crucial hormone for women, whose ovaries produce it right alongside estrogen and progesterone. All three hormones decline as women age, meaning that in spite of the FDA’s lack of approval, they’re finding ways to take it — and raving about the results.
Like with men, testosterone boosts sex drive and aggression in women, and limited studies show it may support bone health, as well as contribute to mood and energy. Testosterone production tends to peak in women’s late teens and early 20s, and slowly declines thereafter; after menopause, its levels are halved.
Many are framing testosterone supplements as something akin to an off-label fountain of youth.
“It’s changed my marriage,” a 41-year-old marketing consultant told the paper, adding that she’d gone from uninterested in sleeping with her husband to having sex upwards of six days a week.
It’s not just a libido thing, either: many women experience an uptick of ambitious energy on testosterone therapy. One NYT source even reported that her daughter said she’d become argumentative “like a teenage boy.” Other purported benefits include decreased fatty tissue, increased muscle mass and cognitive performance, and even better skin.
Yeah, but it’ll also make yer balls itch. And that will lead to another manifestation: your attitude to the other sexual activity will change:
From a male perspective, I can see one increase in spectator sports if women start becoming more masculine:
Pass the popcorn, Simon.
