(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

A survey of academics at the University of Bath has found that male scientists typically have a level of the hormone oestrogen as high as their testosterone level. These hormone levels are more usual in women than men, who normally have higher levels of testosterone.

The study draws on research which suggests that these unusual hormone levels in many male scientists cause the right side of their brains, which governs spatial and analytic skills, to develop strongly.

... The study drew on work in the last few years which established that the levels of oestrogen and testosterone a person has can be seen in the relative length of their index (second) and ring (fourth) fingers. The ratio of the lengths is set before birth and remains the same throughout life.

The length of fingers is genetically linked to the sex hormones, and a person with an index finger shorter than the ring finger will have had more testosterone while in the womb, and a person with an index finger longer than the ring finger will have had more oestrogen. The difference in the lengths can be small - as little as two or three per cent - but important.

A survey of the finger lengths of over 100 male and female academics at the University by senior Psychology lecturer Dr Mark Brosnan has found that those men teaching hard science like mathematics and physics tend to have index fingers as long as their ring fingers, a marker for unusually high oestrogen levels for males.

... A further study also suggests that prenatal hormone exposure, and hence index finger length, can also influence actual achievement levels. In a survey of male and female students on a JAVA programming course at the University, the researchers found a link between finger length ratio and test score. The smaller the difference between index and ring finger - the higher the test score at the end of the year.

from Male scientists typically have a level of the hormone oestrogen as high as their testosterone level (thanks to akaiyume for the link)

This got me to thinking... could bullying of nerds in high school be another manifestation of the social pattern which causes sexism and homophobia? Evidence is starting to mount that homosexuality and transsexuality are reflections of certain hormonal exposures during fetal development. If nerdiness is yet another reflection thereof, and nerds get harassed and abused too, it makes me wonder if there isn't something about the dominant-male-abuser's body that reacts violently to cues (probably olfactory) that indicate high levels of estrogen in people.

As lady_babalon put it this morning, anyone who is not sufficiently masculine will be punished for their existence.

A few years ago there was an episode of "The Simpsons" where Lisa, the nerdy daughter, discovered that nerds excrete a scent that makes bullies powerless against the urge to pound them. How strange it would be if that turned out to be true!