{"id":144127,"date":"2022-12-26T09:59:55","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T15:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=144127"},"modified":"2026-09-07T16:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:07:08","slug":"how-testosterone-makes-men-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What creates the differences between the sexes? Many would point to culture, and my guest today would agree that culture certainly shapes us. But she&#8217;d also argue that at the core of the divergence of the sexes, and in particular, of how men think and behave, is one powerful hormone: testosterone.<\/p>\n<p>Her name is Dr. Carole Hooven, and she&#8217;s a Harvard biologist and the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3dvxORD\"><em>T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone That Dominates and Divides Us<\/em><\/a>. Today on the show, Carole explains the arguments that are made against testosterone&#8217;s influence on shaping men into men, and why she doesn&#8217;t think they hold water. She then unpacks the argument for how testosterone does function as the driving force in sex differences, and how it fundamentally shapes the bodies and minds of males. We delve into where T is made, how much of it men have compared to women, and what historical cases of castration tell us about the centrality of testosterone in male development. We then discuss how T shapes males, starting in the womb, and going into puberty and beyond, before turning to its influence in athletic performance. We end our conversation with Carole&#8217;s impassioned plea for celebrating what&#8217;s great about men.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What creates the differences between the sexes? Many would point to culture, and my guest today would agree that culture certainly shapes us. But she&#8217;d also argue that at the core of the divergence of the sexes, and in particular, of how men think and behave, is one powerful hormone: testosterone. Her name is Dr. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42265,156,42380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-podcast","category-strength"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What creates the differences between the sexes? Many would point to culture, and my guest today would agree that culture certainly shapes us. But she&#8217;d also argue that at the core of the divergence of the sexes, and in particular, of how men think and behave, is one powerful hormone: testosterone. Her name is Dr. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":217,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/761.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Podcast\",\"Strength\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2022\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/\",\"name\":\"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/761.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/761.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/761.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men&#039;s Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\",\"name\":\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"What creates the differences between the sexes? Many would point to culture, and my guest today would agree that culture certainly shapes us. But she&#8217;d also argue that at the core of the divergence of the sexes, and in particular, of how men think and behave, is one powerful hormone: testosterone. Her name is Dr. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/"},"author":{"name":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"headline":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men","datePublished":"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/"},"wordCount":217,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png","articleSection":["Health","Podcast","Strength"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2022","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/","name":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men | The Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png","datePublished":"2022-12-26T15:59:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T21:07:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/761.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/how-testosterone-makes-men-men\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men&#039;s Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3","name":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}