Piper

You have the most incisive and earthy (if that's not a contradiction) sense of humour I have encountered on OLO.

On condoms:

"I felt better when I found some used ones. Then I just needed to talk about cleaning rather than parenthood."

Hilarious.

Of course, you speak truth about the downside of breastfeeding, and some mothers are unable to breastfeed at all, but this doesn't mean they are any less likely to form that amazing bond. Ditto for dads, the more involved, the more a strong relationship develops. But then, I guess that the dads who distance themselves (for a variety of reasons, please note) are more likely to leave anyway. A little bit of my history (herstory?) the only time my ex-husband pressured me to get pregnant was when he finally realised I was intent on leaving him, think about that.

Rechtub & Houllie

Prostitutes are human beings (amazing) - they have as much self-respect as any other human being and a hell of a lot more courage and empathy than most.

On testosterone and estrogen, as Examinator has noted these hormones are not just about aggression and pacificity. For a start both sexes have both hormones - in varying quantities. For something to consider read the following:

"Female hormones circulating in the brain determine masculine behavior, at least in mice. Estrogen--the quintessential female hormone responsible for regulating the reproductive cycle--turns lady mice into wannabe male mice when it is allowed to penetrate the brain during development, according to new research."

Read on at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=female-hormone-key-to-mal

Not straight forward at all and too big a subject for the limitations of OLO - requires individual research if anyone wants to move on from stereotyping people into "male" and "female" and subsequent behaviour.

ASymeonakis - thank you.

Fractelle
"hormones...stereotyping people into "male" and "female" and subsequent behaviour"
It is shamefull to accept that hormones control our behave and our values.
We can not ignore the glorious, long human marsh from our far, dark past to our civilization.
We can not use hormones as an excuse for our mistakes, for our weakness, for our immaturity, for our denial to undertake our responsibilities.
When a mother risk her life to save the life of her child she does not do it of cause her hormones but of cause her unimagined love for it.
When I say I LOVE YOU, I know what I say, why I say it, I know the consequences of it and I am ready to undertake fully my responsibilities, It is shamefull to denote the human sensitivities and belitle them as animals. It is shamefull to put our hormones as the regulators of human feelings and activitis!
When a teenager give his/her life to save the life from an other person, does not do it of cause hormones but of cause his/her sensitivity and love for human beings, of cause his/her courage to provoke and win the death threw his/her own death.
The denial of human life in the name of democracy, of justice, of the country or for a better future are not caused from testosterone and estrogen and it is an offence and disrespect for the millions of people, who died and are ready to die for US.
Human beings with their feelings, with their love or hate, with their dreams and hopes, with their values, dreams and hopes, with their emotions and thoughts, minimize the role of hormones and allow to flourish our civilization.
I want to ask all stupid people who think that our activities controled from our hormnes HOW MANY TIMES I DID YOU HAD SEX WITH YOUR DAUGHTERS, MOTHERS, SISTERS OR GRANDMOTHERS?
NONE, NEVER!
Even when you think that you are like the animals even then your behavior prove that you are not animals but stupid, immature humans!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaid

Hello yabby, your comment on the bottom of page 18 in reply to my comment at the top of page 18 tells me that you didn't properly read, and understand, my full comment. I could always write twenty pages and cross every t and dot every i in order to impart full, total and complete meaning, but we only have a few lines on this forum. I'm sorry you don't understand, and I feel it would be a waste of time to explain further what I meant. I give up, and I think this will be my last post on this website. Arguing seems to be the main preoccupation of people here. I'll go on to more enriching things.

ASymeonakis

How wonderfully, passionately and powerfully written was your last post. We always are and always will be greater than the sum of our parts.

Regards

That’s an interesting link you provided Fractelle and it sort of demolishes our resident misogynist’s “expert” advice on his purported links between hormones and human behaviour.

Twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with having “low hormone” levels and prescribed various potions for correction; however, I trashed the prescriptions once I was out of sight of the doctor.

Apparently I’ve maintained a “feminine” appearance, still have all my teeth and I haven’t yet grown a beard or a hump on the back! Nor have I sustained a fracture like many of my more hormone pumped, calcium swallowing buddies where several also suffer recurring kidney ailments. That's what you get when you eat ground up rocks flogged off by the pharmaceutical barons!

Meanwhile back to the topic where, up to 2008, in the UK, deadbeat dads are responsible for a national child support debt of 3.8 billion pounds, New Zealand $1.27 billion and Australia, $1 billion.

Hey…hormones aside.....whatever happened to good old fashioned honesty?

*On testosterone and estrogen, as Examinator has noted these hormones are not just about aggression and pacificity*

Nobody claimed that they were, so Examinator does little then shoot
down his own strawman arguments. Where Examinator and I differ is
that I sit back and look at the big picture, as Paul Keating so
wisely put it, Examinator bogs himself down with details.

Now we could
have a huge and complicated discussion about human brain chemistry
here, but most would not be interested past the 2nd line. So
I focus on the big picture, explained with simplicity. If people
are interested in the many details, they are free to educate
themselves further.

*We always are and always will be greater than the sum of our parts.*

Yup, we are the product of our parts, not the sum of our parts,
there is a huge difference!

*When a mother risk her life to save the life of her child she does not do it of cause her hormones but of cause her unimagined love for it.*

Just like the well known hen, who sits on her brood through the
fire and dies for the sake of her chickens. Motherly love is a
product of brain chemistry. The mind is, what the brain does.
There are no ghosts in there Antonious.

*It is shamefull to denote the human sensitivities and belitle them as animals. It is shamefull to put our hormones as the regulators of human feelings and activitis! *

Antonious, humans are just another species of animals. But I accept,
neuroscience is not your strong point. Name me a single section of
the human brain that does not exist in a chimpanzee brain.

Antonious sorry, but there are no ghosts in the human brain, its
a product of its evolutionary past, just like the brains of other
species.