According to most recent research, it's a whole lot less testosterone-fueled behavior and more testosterone-fueling behavior. The propensity for violence comes much more from gender norms for men in a patriarchal dominance hierarchy and the circumstances that result from them than it does from "testosterone poisoning." I think our understanding of that has improved in the nearly 20 years since this book came out.
"It (research) has consistently shown that testosterone cannot predict competitive aggression unless the levels are extremely high or low.
As Brown University anthropologist Matthew Gutmann puts it, one would have to be either castrated or “a gym rat on steroids” before testosterone levels began to correlate with the inclination to pick a fight (Gutmann)."
I do agree with Meade that our culture suffers from a lack of initiation and other types of rituals and that tears can balance the heart. However, culturally exhorting men to be "aggressive" and "dominant" and to solve their problems with violence as is common in a patriarchy is a much bigger issue than hormones, I think. Egalitarian cultures and matrilineal cultures don't have the same levels of rape or other types of interpersonal violence because it's not culturally dictated or tolerated. Presumably, they have the same levels of testosterone as other men.
"Traditional" patriarchal norms for men drive violence, but also mental and physical health issues for men and boys that we don't see in cultures that don't have them.
"While gender norms may offer young men status and power, they can also cause them harm. Masculine gender norms can make it more likely for young men to struggle with their mental health, leading to substance misuse, risky behaviours, violence, aggression, and judicial problems. Men are also more likely to attempt or die by suicide."
