Testosterone Implants Fuel Women Politicians

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Rense.com

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http://www.rense.com/general39/girlpower.htm

 

 

 

Testosterone Implants Fuel

Women Politicians

Girl Power - With A Little

Help From Male Hormones

By Dr Raj Persaud

The Scotsman - UK

7-28-3

 

 

A leading gynaecologist has recently claimed that female politicians are

using testosterone implants to try to match their male counterparts in

assertiveness and competitiveness.

 

Malcolm Whitehead, a Harley Street doctor, said he had prescribed the

hormone for a number of women who wanted to " beef up " their image in the

macho world of politics. He commented: " I have prescribed testosterone

implants for female politicians in Westminster who want to compete better

with their male colleagues in committee meetings and parliamentary debates.

They claim the hormone boosts their assertiveness and makes them feel more

powerful. "

 

His extraordinary claim - recently published in the New Statesman magazine -

was greeted with disbelief in Westminster - but, then again, which female MP

was going to publicly admit to trying testosterone?

 

Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said: " MPs are far more

likely to succeed if they use rational arguments rather than

hormonal-fuelled rhetoric. " Margaret Beckett, the Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs Secretary, also denied using the implants, saying: " Women

don't have to be like men to be successful. " And Conservative Julie

Kirkbride added: " I can't believe Margaret Thatcher would have resorted to

this type of thing, and she got to the top in a man's world. "

 

But Mr Whitehead, who runs a trust offering advice to menopausal women,

maintained he is increasingly being approached by women MPs wanting

testosterone implants. The hormone - which is said to fuel a man's sex

drive - is produced in small amounts by women - up to ten times lower

levels.

 

However, as women age those levels can dip, just as the female hormones more

usually associated with the menopause do. Testosterone and related hormones

in women are produced from the same organs where more traditional female

hormones originate - the ovaries and the adrenal glands, which sit just

above the kidneys. The lower testosterone levels of the menopause are

associated with causing women to lose interest in sex, have lower energy

levels and, in some cases, reduces their confidence and mood.

 

Testosterone implants are meant to solve that problem. The treatment

involves embedding a small pellet under the skin, which releases a fixed

testosterone dose into the bloodstream over a six-month period.

 

Critics claim this has dangers, but Mr Whitehead dismissed that suggestion,

saying: " As long as they stay within the normal hormonal range, there is

nothing to worry about. All the talk of deepening voices and beard growth is

complete nonsense. "

 

Testosterone can't as yet be taken orally, but can be taken as a skin patch,

a chemical that dissolves under the tongue, or as an injection.

 

The most sophisticated medical view now of hormone replacement therapy for

women in the menopause is that it should probably include a touch of

testosterone as well to assist with mood and sex drive.

 

But a key controversy is that, unlike the situation in men, we still lack

enough data about how normal testosterone levels vary in women throughout

their life span or even through the monthly menstrual cycle. So it's

difficult to know from a blood test what would constitute abnormally low

levels and what would therefore need topping up from treatment.

 

Given the definite advantages to women in terms of mood and drive on taking

testosterone, this leads some doctors to suggest it should be tried without

any hard evidence that the woman is suffering from an actual testosterone

deficiency.

 

But Labour's Bridget Prentice - who was recently promoted to the whip's

office - said she had not heard of colleagues using the implants. " Women are

more than able to compete without taking steps like this, " she added.

 

However the medical scientists investigating the role of testosterone in

women don't share this apparent scepticism among high-powered women. They

believe that testosterone plays an important role in maintaining mental and

physical functions of healthy women.

 

A recent study in the Netherlands found that taking testosterone dissolved

under the tongue markedly improved normal women's sex drive and arousal.

 

Another study by Dr Valerie Grant at the University of Auckland, New

Zealand, found that how dominant you were as a woman was strongly linked to

how high your testosterone levels were. A previous similar study had found

higher testosterone levels in professional and managerial women compared to

housewives and clerical workers.

 

Dr Helen Bateup, a neuroendocrinologist, and colleagues at the Rockefeller

University in New York recently examined how competing in rugby games

effected the testosterone levels in women. In an intriguing and unique

experiment they performed blood tests on a nationally recognised college

women's rugby team in order to investigate how women's hormones change in

anticipation of and response to aggressive striving.

 

Men characteristically experience a testosterone increase in anticipation of

competition. This pre-competition rise is likely to make the individual more

willing to take risks, improve psychomotor function like hand-eye

co-ordination and increase cognitive performance as these are all the

positive effects of testosterone on the body and brain. For a few hours

following competition, testosterone is high in sports winners relative to

losers and this rise in testosterone following a win is associated with

positive mood.

 

Studies show that these changes also occur in non-physical competition such

as chess matches. This suggests testosterone is so useful in bringing about

changes that help improve competitiveness that physical competition is not

all that is needed to produce a testosterone surge.

 

This has the intriguing implication that we could all benefit from

testosterone even if we are not contemplating a physical competitive

challenge like a sport, but perhaps an intellectual contest, just as MPs do

in the aggressive atmosphere of parliament.

 

Indeed, active participation in the competition is not necessarily required

either to influence testosterone. Testosterone levels increase among

spectators watching their favourite sports teams win and decrease for the

fans of the losing teams. These findings suggest that just being in

parliament, taking part in the charged atmosphere and watching the

competition, is enough to raise your testosterone levels.

 

But if just watching a game you are involved in as an active fan can

significantly raise your testosterone levels then maybe you don't need to go

to a Harley Street doctor to obtain supplementation - perhaps it is possible

to boost your levels more naturally.

 

Strategies that would do this include taking part in competitive sport.

Indeed, just regular physical exercise will boost testosterone and women who

exercise regularly have significantly higher testosterone levels than those

who don't.

 

But maybe the historical huge contrast in testosterone levels between men

and women had an evolutionary basis which it might be dangerous to mess

with. Women's response to challenges may be more defensive in nature than

men's - the female approach has been termed a " tend and befriend " strategy

to differentiate it from the " fight or flight " response attributed to men

and which their higher testosterone levels probably helps produce.

 

However, it's important not to forget the nickname given to testosterone by

endocrinologists is the " one night stand " hormone as it increases sex drive

and risk taking. So it's thought to underpin the much greater male

propensity to seek unattached sex compared to women.

 

If female politicians really are taking testosterone or are having their

levels boosted by being in the competitive atmosphere of parliament, could

these hormonal changes have wider political implications? Are we more likely

in the future to see female MPs getting caught up in the kind of sex

scandals that have so characterised male politicians?

 

If this is the case it might mean that testosterone causes women politicians

to lose at least one clear advantage female MPs historically had over the

men ... at least their families could trust them more.

 

- Dr Raj Persaud is consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in

South London and the author of From the Edge of the Couch, published by

Bantam Press, £12.99

 

©2003 scotsman.com

 

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/health.cfm?id=813172003

 

 

 

mainPage

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[Guest guest]

Misty I will tell you what happened to me when I took injected male

hormones 40 years ago. Yes it does give a sex drive. A doctor gave me the

male hormone injection because I had not fully developed in size or as a

young female. I was a growth hormone for me. Now 40 years later I have

warts all over my abdomen which the doctors told me when I was pregnant

that Too many hormones while being prenant caused it. I don't want my

name mentioned.

On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 23:44:32 +1200 " Misty " <misty3

writes:

>

>

-------

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> ----

> Rense.com

>

-------

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> ----

> http://www.rense.com/general39/girlpower.htm

>

>

>

> Testosterone Implants Fuel

> Women Politicians

> Girl Power - With A Little

> Help From Male Hormones

> By Dr Raj Persaud

> The Scotsman - UK

> 7-28-3

>

>

> A leading gynaecologist has recently claimed that female politicians

> are

> using testosterone implants to try to match their male counterparts

> in

> assertiveness and competitiveness.

>

> Malcolm Whitehead, a Harley Street doctor, said he had prescribed

> the

> hormone for a number of women who wanted to " beef up " their image in

> the

> macho world of politics. He commented: " I have prescribed

> testosterone

> implants for female politicians in Westminster who want to compete

> better

> with their male colleagues in committee meetings and parliamentary

> debates.

> They claim the hormone boosts their assertiveness and makes them

> feel more

> powerful. "

>

> His extraordinary claim - recently published in the New Statesman

> magazine -

> was greeted with disbelief in Westminster - but, then again, which

> female MP

> was going to publicly admit to trying testosterone?

>

> Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said: " MPs are

> far more

> likely to succeed if they use rational arguments rather than

> hormonal-fuelled rhetoric. " Margaret Beckett, the Environment, Food

> and

> Rural Affairs Secretary, also denied using the implants, saying:

> " Women

> don't have to be like men to be successful. " And Conservative Julie

> Kirkbride added: " I can't believe Margaret Thatcher would have

> resorted to

> this type of thing, and she got to the top in a man's world. "

>

> But Mr Whitehead, who runs a trust offering advice to menopausal

> women,

> maintained he is increasingly being approached by women MPs wanting

> testosterone implants. The hormone - which is said to fuel a man's

> sex

> drive - is produced in small amounts by women - up to ten times

> lower

> levels.

>

> However, as women age those levels can dip, just as the female

> hormones more

> usually associated with the menopause do. Testosterone and related

> hormones

> in women are produced from the same organs where more traditional

> female

> hormones originate - the ovaries and the adrenal glands, which sit

> just

> above the kidneys. The lower testosterone levels of the menopause

> are

> associated with causing women to lose interest in sex, have lower

> energy

> levels and, in some cases, reduces their confidence and mood.

>

> Testosterone implants are meant to solve that problem. The treatment

> involves embedding a small pellet under the skin, which releases a

> fixed

> testosterone dose into the bloodstream over a six-month period.

>

> Critics claim this has dangers, but Mr Whitehead dismissed that

> suggestion,

> saying: " As long as they stay within the normal hormonal range,

> there is

> nothing to worry about. All the talk of deepening voices and beard

> growth is

> complete nonsense. "

>

> Testosterone can't as yet be taken orally, but can be taken as a

> skin patch,

> a chemical that dissolves under the tongue, or as an injection.

>

> The most sophisticated medical view now of hormone replacement

> therapy for

> women in the menopause is that it should probably include a touch of

> testosterone as well to assist with mood and sex drive.

>

> But a key controversy is that, unlike the situation in men, we still

> lack

> enough data about how normal testosterone levels vary in women

> throughout

> their life span or even through the monthly menstrual cycle. So it's

> difficult to know from a blood test what would constitute abnormally

> low

> levels and what would therefore need topping up from treatment.

>

> Given the definite advantages to women in terms of mood and drive on

> taking

> testosterone, this leads some doctors to suggest it should be tried

> without

> any hard evidence that the woman is suffering from an actual

> testosterone

> deficiency.

>

> But Labour's Bridget Prentice - who was recently promoted to the

> whip's

> office - said she had not heard of colleagues using the implants.

> " Women are

> more than able to compete without taking steps like this, " she

> added.

>

> However the medical scientists investigating the role of

> testosterone in

> women don't share this apparent scepticism among high-powered women.

> They

> believe that testosterone plays an important role in maintaining

> mental and

> physical functions of healthy women.

>

> A recent study in the Netherlands found that taking testosterone

> dissolved

> under the tongue markedly improved normal women's sex drive and

> arousal.

>

> Another study by Dr Valerie Grant at the University of Auckland, New

> Zealand, found that how dominant you were as a woman was strongly

> linked to

> how high your testosterone levels were. A previous similar study had

> found

> higher testosterone levels in professional and managerial women

> compared to

> housewives and clerical workers.

>

> Dr Helen Bateup, a neuroendocrinologist, and colleagues at the

> Rockefeller

> University in New York recently examined how competing in rugby

> games

> effected the testosterone levels in women. In an intriguing and

> unique

> experiment they performed blood tests on a nationally recognised

> college

> women's rugby team in order to investigate how women's hormones

> change in

> anticipation of and response to aggressive striving.

>

> Men characteristically experience a testosterone increase in

> anticipation of

> competition. This pre-competition rise is likely to make the

> individual more

> willing to take risks, improve psychomotor function like hand-eye

> co-ordination and increase cognitive performance as these are all

> the

> positive effects of testosterone on the body and brain. For a few

> hours

> following competition, testosterone is high in sports winners

> relative to

> losers and this rise in testosterone following a win is associated

> with

> positive mood.

>

> Studies show that these changes also occur in non-physical

> competition such

> as chess matches. This suggests testosterone is so useful in

> bringing about

> changes that help improve competitiveness that physical competition

> is not

> all that is needed to produce a testosterone surge.

>

> This has the intriguing implication that we could all benefit from

> testosterone even if we are not contemplating a physical competitive

> challenge like a sport, but perhaps an intellectual contest, just as

> MPs do

> in the aggressive atmosphere of parliament.

>

> Indeed, active participation in the competition is not necessarily

> required

> either to influence testosterone. Testosterone levels increase among

> spectators watching their favourite sports teams win and decrease

> for the

> fans of the losing teams. These findings suggest that just being in

> parliament, taking part in the charged atmosphere and watching the

> competition, is enough to raise your testosterone levels.

>

> But if just watching a game you are involved in as an active fan can

> significantly raise your testosterone levels then maybe you don't

> need to go

> to a Harley Street doctor to obtain supplementation - perhaps it is

> possible

> to boost your levels more naturally.

>

> Strategies that would do this include taking part in competitive

> sport.

> Indeed, just regular physical exercise will boost testosterone and

> women who

> exercise regularly have significantly higher testosterone levels

> than those

> who don't.

>

> But maybe the historical huge contrast in testosterone levels

> between men

> and women had an evolutionary basis which it might be dangerous to

> mess

> with. Women's response to challenges may be more defensive in nature

> than

> men's - the female approach has been termed a " tend and befriend "

> strategy

> to differentiate it from the " fight or flight " response attributed

> to men

> and which their higher testosterone levels probably helps produce.

>

> However, it's important not to forget the nickname given to

> testosterone by

> endocrinologists is the " one night stand " hormone as it increases

> sex drive

> and risk taking. So it's thought to underpin the much greater male

> propensity to seek unattached sex compared to women.

>

> If female politicians really are taking testosterone or are having

> their

> levels boosted by being in the competitive atmosphere of parliament,

> could

> these hormonal changes have wider political implications? Are we

> more likely

> in the future to see female MPs getting caught up in the kind of sex

> scandals that have so characterised male politicians?

>

> If this is the case it might mean that testosterone causes women

> politicians

> to lose at least one clear advantage female MPs historically had

> over the

> men ... at least their families could trust them more.

>

> - Dr Raj Persaud is consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital

> in

> South London and the author of From the Edge of the Couch, published

> by

> Bantam Press, £12.99

>

> ©2003 scotsman.com

>

> http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/health.cfm?id=813172003

>

>

>

> mainPage

> http://www.rense.com