How Testosterone and Culture Shape Behavior | Carole K. Hooven | TED

Translator: Diego Rodríguez Vila Reviewer: traduceTED USC

As I look around the room,

Botando unha ollada pola sala,

I can see,

vexo que, máis ou menos, a metade de vós fostes expostos

I think it's about half of you have been exposed

to high levels of a powerful chemical,

a altos niveis dunha substancia química moi poderosa

and it is circulating in your blood as we speak.

que circula polas vosas veas mentres falo.

It's flowing freely through almost all of your cells,

Discorre con liberdade por case todas as vosas células,

including neurons,

incluíndo as neuronas,

where it affects whether they live or die

onde afecta a se viven ou morren

and how they grow and function.

e a como medran e funcionan.

So this one chemical has profound and lasting effects --

Esta substancia causa efectos profundos e duradeiros,

not just on your body,

non só nos vosos corpos,

but also on your brain and behavior.

senón tamén nos vosos cerebros e comportamento.

This is testosterone.

Falo da testosterona.

Both sexes have it,

Ambos os sexos a teñen,

but men have much more than women,

mais os homes, moita máis que as mulleres,

about 15 to 20 times more.

unhas 15 ou 20 veces máis.

And that is what explains why half of you are bigger and hairier

Iso é o que explica que a metade de vós sexades máis grandes e peludos

than the other half, on average,

que a outra metade, de media,

like all sex differences.

como todas as diferenzas sexuais.

For the last 20 years,

Durante os últimos 20 anos fun docente de endocrinoloxía condutual,

I've been teaching about behavioral endocrinology,

and this is a field that focuses on how hormones affect behavior

un eido centrado en como afectan as hormonas ao comportamento

and vice versa.

e viceversa.

And I'm particularly drawn to testosterone

E interésame especialmente a testosterona

because it explains so much about why the sexes are different.

porque esclarece moito as diferenzas entre os sexos.

But this area of science has become deeply entangled in the culture wars.

Mais esta área científica enmarañouse de cheo coa guerra cultural

And now, simply saying things that are obvious to most biologists,

e agora, só por dicir cousas evidentes para calquera biólogo,

like that there are two reproductive classes,

como que hai dúas categorías reprodutivas,

male and female,

machos e femias,

can land you in a heap of trouble.

podes armar un bo sarillo.

And I know because I've had some personal experience with this.

E isto seino por experiencia propia.

And I also know that for some trans people,

Tamén sei que para algunhas persoas trans,

their allies and others,

para aliadas e outras,

that this language about the biology of sex can feel painful

esta linguaxe da bioloxía do sexo pode resultar ferinte

and that others are trying to weaponize the science.

e que hai quen esgrime esta ciencia contra elas.

And here I do not have the answers,

E eu non vos teño a chave das noces, mais podo asegurarvos

but I can tell you

that my students have really enjoyed learning about this science,

que ao meu estudantado lle encanta aprender desta ciencia,

partly because it helps them understand more about their own bodies

en parte porque lles axuda a entender mellor os seus corpos e sentimentos

and feelings.

And they come away with a sense of more compassion for other people

e acadan unha sensación de maior compaixón polo resto da xente diferente a eles.

who are different from themselves.

So I'm going to be talking about sex differences in play

Entón, vouvos falar das diferenzas sexuais no xogo

to try to convince you that this science is fascinating,

para procurar convencervos de que esta ciencia é alucinante

and it can help us all be better off.

e que pode servirnos para progresarmos.

So first, I want to share the results from a joint project

Para comezar, quero compartir os resultados dun proxecto conxunto

I started 15 years ago,

que comecei hai 15 anos

in which I grew two small organs,

no cal cultivei dous pequenos órganos

that secreted testosterone,

que segregaban testosterona

in my uterus.

no meu útero.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Those organs were attached to the new human I was growing in there.

Estes órganos formaban parte dun humaniño que estaba xestando aí.

And now ...

E agora…

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

And now you can observe the behavior of that human

E agora podedes observar o comportamento dese humano

in this video of two boys wrestling each other.

neste vídeo de dous cativos pelexando.

It's from a few years ago,

É de hai uns aniños

and my son is the one with the short hair.

e o meu fillo é o de cabelo curto.

This kind of rough-and-tumble play is more common in boys than girls

Esta maneira brusca e violenta de xogar é máis común en nenos ca en nenas

everywhere in the world.

en todo o mundo.

And when my son was growing inside of me,

E, mentres o meu fillo medraba dentro de min,

his tiny little testes were cranking out the testosterone.

os seus testiculiños comezaron a producir testosterona.

And at that early stage,

Xa nesa etapa inicial,

it has some very big and important jobs to do.

ten que facer uns labores moi importantes.

It has to masculinize the genitalia,

Ten que masculinizar os xenitais

and it has to ensure that everything is set up for sperm to be produced

e ten que asegurar que todo está listo para a produción de seme

and delivered later on.

e a súa posterior exaculación.

And it is also acting in the brain

E tamén actúa no cerebro

to motivate later behaviors, like play fighting,

para motivar comportamentos futuros, como xogar a pelexar,

that are particularly beneficial to many male mammals.

que son particularmente beneficiosos para algúns machos mamíferos.

I never gave much thought to testosterone

Nunca lle prestara moita atención á testosterona

until I spent the better part of a year in western Uganda

até que pasei a meirande parte dun ano no oeste de Uganda

studying wild chimpanzees.

estudando os chimpancés salvaxes.

And as I watched them living their lives --

Mentres os vía vivindo as súas vidas,

eating, playing, sleeping, fighting, having sex --

comendo, xogando, durmindo, loitando, tendo relacións sexuais…

I was really struck by our shared patterns of behavior.

quedei pampa cos patróns de comportamento que compartimos.

And particularly relevant to this talk was the fact

E é relevante en particular para esta charla

o feito de que os machos novos xogaban moito máis ás pelexas que as femias.

that the little males did much more play fighting than the little females.

And these connections to us are so striking

Estas conexións connosco son tan impactantes

because we don't share any culture with chimpanzees.

porque non compartimos cultura ningunha cos chimpancés.

But we do share almost all of our genes and our hormones,

Mais si que compartimos case todos os nosos xenes e hormonas,

including higher levels of testosterone in the males.

incluíndo os altos niveis de testosterona nos machos.

And another pattern of behavior we share is that relative to females,

Outro patrón condutual que nos une é que, en relación cos chimpancés femia,

male chimps spend much more time and energy competing for social dominance.

os machos gastan máis tempo e enerxía para competiren pola dominancia social.

And in chimps, this involves lots of fighting

Para os chimpancés, isto supón moitas pelexas

and also lots of threats

e tamén moitas ameazas

and having a sense about when to challenge other males

e aprender a distinguir cando desafiar outros machos,

but also when to submit and when to flee.

mais tamén cando renderse e cando fuxir.

And these males aren't fighting each other

Estes machos non pelexan entre si

because they know that this is a great way

porque saiban que é unha maneira idónea

to get more sex with fertile females.

de chegar a aparearse con femias fértiles,

But males who behave this way

mais os machos que se comportan así

do tend to pass on more of their genes into future generations,

tenden a transmitir máis os seus xenes ás xeracións futuras

and then their sons inherit similar propensities.

e entón os seus fillos herdan inclinacións semellantes.

So simply surviving without passing on one's genes

Daquela, só sobrevivir sen transmitir os seus xenes

is an evolutionary dead end.

non leva a ningures evolutivamente.

So in addition to survival skills,

Así, alén de a sobrevivir,

young animals like chimps also need to learn reproductive skills,

as crías de animais como os chimpancés deben aprender a reproducirse,

and they do that through play.

e apréndeno mediante o xogo.

And our ancestors also practiced these skills through play.

Os nosos antepasados tamén practicaban enredando.

And that legacy is reflected in our own kids.

Ese legado reflíctese nas nosas propias crianzas.

Now not all boys have any desire to tackle their friends,

Agora ben, non todos os nenos devecen por empurrar os seus amigos.

and they would rather play house or dress up,

Algúns prefiren xogar ás casiñas ou disfrazarse,

and they should go for it.

e deberían facelo.

There are no hard rules in nature about how the sexes should play.

Non hai regras estritas ou naturais sobre como debe xogar cada sexo.

When I was little,

Cando eu era cativa,

I used to wrestle with my three older brothers,

adoitaba pelexar cos meus tres irmáns máis vellos

and I played Little League baseball.

e tamén xogaba ao béisbol infantil.

But when I played with my girlfriends, like my best friend Annie,

Mais cando xogaba coas amigas, como coa miña mellor amiga Annie,

she's the dominant one there in the stripes,

que é esa dominante de aí, a das raias

and she's sitting right here.

e está aquí sentada connosco.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Our play just didn't involve that kind of roughhousing

A nosa forma de xogar non tiña que ver co tipo de bullas

that my son and his friends were into.

que lles gusta ao meu fillo e aos seus amigos

Annie and I would do stuff like have tea

Annie e eu xogabamos a tomar o té

and run class for our stuffed animals --

e a darlles clase ás nosas peluches.

sorry, I'm just getting a little emotional because she's here --

Perdón, estoume emocionando un chisquiño porque está aquí.

the smallest of whom lived in a doll house.

As máis pequeniñas vivían nunha casa de bonecas.

And for some reason,

E, por algunha razón,

we loved playing office.

encantábanos xogar ás oficinas.

And -- I know, crazy.

Si, que tolemia.

And we developed a filing system and --

Creamos un sistema para arquivar as…

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And we spent a lot of time filling out forms.

E pasamos moito tempo enchendo formularios.

OK, I'm not kidding.

Que si, que non é broma.

Filling out forms,

Enchendo formularios.

and I'm saying something publicly I've never said before,

E vou dicir algo en público que nunca dixera antes.

and I'm sorry, Annie.

Síntocho, Annie.

You know what I'm going to say.

Xa sabes o que vou contar.

Filling out forms from junk mail,

Enchendo formularios de correo lixo

which we might have stolen from neighborhood mailboxes.

que pode que roubásemos das caixas de correo das veciñas.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

OK, so wait, wait,

Entón, a ver, un segundo,

am I really trying to tell you that knowing how to set up tea for five

estouvos tratando de explicar que saber servir o té ás cinco

or subscribe to "National Geographic"

ou abonarse a National Geographic

was supposed to make us better moms or whatever?

ía facer que fósemos mellores nais ou algo así?

OK, not exactly.

Ben, non exactamente.

The specifics of play are always influenced by culture,

Malia que as particularidades do xogo sempre está influenciadas pola cultura,

but social play in general helps to develop skills that both sexes need,

o xogo social en xeral axuda a desenvolver destrezas que ambos os sexos precisan

like how to resolve conflict, how to take turns,

como resolver conflitos, establecer quendas

and even to figure out just what you can get away with.

e mesmo descubrir de cantas cousas podemos saír impunes.

So ...

Entón…

But the sex-specialization part,

Mais a parte da especialización por sexos,

with more nurturing play in girls

coas nenas xogando máis a coidar

and more fighting play in boys,

e os nenos a loitar,

did likely evolve

seguramente aconteceu

because these are skills that each sex needs to learn how to reproduce.

porque son habilidades que precisan para aprenderen a se reproducir.

OK, that's a little evolutionary background.

Ben, xa temos o contexto evolutivo.

And now we can ask why scientists think that testosterone drives any of this.

Agora vexamos por que a ciencia pensa que a testosterona causa isto todo.

So our strongest evidence comes from experiments in other animals.

As probas máis claras témolas grazas á experimentos con outros animais.

And here's a couple of headlines.

Velaquí un par de titulares.

So in females, in rats and monkeys anyway,

No caso das femias, de ratas e monos, en particular,

jacking up testosterone during that early developmental period

o aumento da testosterona durante a fase temperá do desenvolvemento

causes rough play to increase dramatically.

causa un aumento drástico do xogo violento.

And in males, the reverse is true.

Nos machos pasa o contrario.

Blocking testosterone during that same early period

Bloquearlles a testosterona durante o mesmo período temperán

causes rough play to plummet.

fai que o xogo violento caia en picado.

And in humans, of course, we can't go messing around

En humanos, por suposto, non podemos fedellar

with the kind of hormones that fetuses are exposed to,

co tipo de hormonas ás que expoñemos os fetos,

so we have to rely on less direct evidence.

así que temos que confiar en probas menos directas.

And we do have a wealth of studies

Por suposto, temos mancheas de estudos

on the play styles of girls

sobre os tipos de xogo de nenas

who were exposed to unusually high testosterone levels in the womb.

expostas a niveis de testosterona anormalmente altos no embarazo.

And there, study after study shows

E aí, estudo tras estudo, sinálase

that these girls do have an increased preference for rough play.

que esas nenas si que teñen maior predilección por xogos violentos.

So we still have so much to learn about how genes,

Daquela, temos aínda moito que aprender de como os xenes, as hormonas e a cultura

hormones and culture all interact to produce sex differences in behavior.

interactúan entre si para produciren diferenzas sexuais no comportamento.

But all of the evidence we do have points in the same direction.

Con todo, todos os indicios que temos apuntan na mesma dirección:

And that is that differences in testosterone

que as diferenzas de testosterona

and evolutionary pressures explain why boys more than girls,

e as presións evolutivas explican por que aos nenos máis que ás nenas

think it's a great idea to tackle their friends.

lles dá pola arroutada de placar os seus amigos.

OK, so let's just assume

Entón, asumamos

that there is something natural about all this.

que todo isto é algo natural.

It's also natural to hook up with your ex.

Tamén é natural fochicar co teu ex.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

OK?

Verdade?

But that does not mean it's a good thing to do.

Pero iso non significa que estea ben.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And according to one mom,

E, segundo unha nai,

rough play in boys is also something we should probably reconsider.

que os nenos pelexen é algo ao que lle hai que dar un par de voltas.

And she expressed this view in a parenting magazine, quote,

E expuxo o seu parecer nunha revista sobre a crianza, entre aspas:

"Letting my boys wrestle with each other only reinforces toxic masculinity,

“Que os meus fillos pelexen entre eles só reforza a súa masculinidade tóxica

and I want no part of it."

e non me parece ben”.

OK, so perhaps we could create more peaceful men

Ben, pois talvez poidamos criar homes menos violentos

by nipping it in the bud

se o cortamos de raíz

and just preventing them from practicing aggression when they were little.

e impedimos que practiquen a agresión mentres son cativos.

OK, that's one idea.

De acordo, é unha idea.

Except the available evidence just doesn’t support it.

Aínda que as probas que temos non a sosteñen.

So, for instance,

Vamos ver, por exemplo,

depriving male rats of the kind of rough play they want

se privamos a ratas macho de xogaren ás pelexas, como queren,

leads to adult male rats

conseguimos ratas macho adultas

who never learned how to manage their aggressive impulses.

que nunca aprenderon a xestionar os seus impulsos agresivos.

They actually end up more rather than less aggressive.

Pola conta, acaban sendo máis agresivas en lugar de selo menos.

They fail to cooperate,

Non conseguen cooperar,

they fail to respond appropriately to social cues,

non responden axeitadamente aos sinais sociais

and ultimately they fail to find mates.

e, en definitiva, non conseguen emparellarse.

And having males like these around doesn't help anybody.

E ter machos así entre nós non serve a ninguén.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

So we are not rats, and we are not chimpanzees.

Non somos ratas nin chimpancés.

For one thing, if you men were chimpanzees,

Por unha banda, se vós os homes fósedes chimpancés

you would be ripping each other to shreds.

estariades esfolándovos entre vós.

If you were meeting for the first time, that is.

Se vos coñecésedes por primeira vez, claro.

It would be mayhem.

Sería unha catástrofe.

And we humans have something no other animal has.

E nós os humanos temos algo que ningún outro animal ten:

And that is the ability to reflect on,

temos a habilidade de reflexionar,

talk about and, together, to determine

falar entre nós e, en conxunto, concluír

how we can control some of our more harmful impulses.

como controlar os nosos impulsos máis prexudiciais.

And culture here makes all the difference.

E a cultura é o que marca a diferenza.

For example, men here in Canada are much less violent

Por exemplo, os homes canadenses son moito menos violentos

than our male neighbors over the southern border.

ca os veciños estadounidenses da fronteira meridional.

Apart from hockey, apparently.

Sen contarmos o hóckey, disque.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And that is not because Canadian men have lost their testicles or ...

E isto non se debe a que os canadenses perdesen os testículos ou…

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Or because Canadian boys don't wrestle each other.

ou porque os nenos de Canadá non pelexen entre si.

Instead, it's because of differences in the Canadian culture,

En cambio, débese a diferenzas na cultura canadense,

perhaps in the gun laws or in the health care system

talvez polas leis de armas de fogo ou polo sistema sanitario

or in levels of socioeconomic inequality.

ou polos niveis de desigualdade socioeconómica.

So as a society, we lose a lot

Como sociedade, perdemos moito

if we leave the science of sex out of the conversation

se deixamos a ciencia do sexo fóra do debate

or distort the facts.

ou se terxiversamos os feitos.

And that science strongly suggests

E a ciencia indica firmemente

that male typical play is not budding toxic masculinity.

que do xogo típico dos nenos non abrolla a masculinidade tóxica.

Instead, it is a healthy behavior that we should not discourage.

Ao contrario: é un comportamento san que non debemos desalentar.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

So exaggerating only slightly,

Entón, exaxerando minimamente,

testosterone from those tiny --

grazas á testosterona deses pequenos…

Sorry, tiny testes I grew 15 years ago,

perdón, testiculiños que xestei hai 15 anos,

made my son who he is today.

o meu fillo agora é como é.

And he is still a great kid,

E segue a ser un bo rapaz

even with his testosterone reaching record levels.

mesmo cos niveis de testosterona polas nubes.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I want him and all of you to be captivated by the science of sex

Quero que tanto el coma vós vos abraiedes coa ciencia do sexo

and to feel comfortable talking about it.

e que vos sintades a gusto falando dela.

And last, I hope that all our kids

Finalmente, agardo que as nosas fillas e fillos

can just play more in real rather than virtual life,

poidan xogar máis na vida real que na vida virtual,

and preferably outside.

e mellor se é fóra.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplausos e ovacións)