I am aware of this. Remove the testosterone, however (which is part of the sex drive obviously), and you also remove the aggression and violent tendencies that fuel the need for dominance/power.
Most studies today are showing that there is only a week correlation between testosterone levels and aggression, given that many of the results indicate that those with aggrestive tendencies still only produce normal ranges of testosterone. In those given large amounts of testosterone, only a small number of those exhibited increased aggressive behaviour. The thinking now is that testosterone does not cause aggression but may exaggerate underlying aggressive tendencies.
The second problem with the 'testosterone causes bad behaviour' argument in humans is that those studies showing a positive correlation can be read two ways, and there is no definitive answer - it's like the chicken and the egg. Does testosterone exaggerate aggressiveness or does aggressiveness elevate testosterone.
They showed the latter in wrestlers. Androgens rise before a wrestling match and the winner still demonstrates elevated levels after the game, whereas the loser's levels drop significantly, within normal limits.
I'm not convinced by the testosterone causes bad behaviour link imo tbh
The second problem with this is the definition of who should be castrated. In America the debate is over the classifications used to determine candidates.
Generally, the criteria necessary for categorizing
an individual as an SVP/SDP include findings that: (1) the person has been convicted of offenses determined by the state to constitute a sexually violent crime; (2) the person suffers from a diagnosed mental disorder; and (3) as a result of that disorder, the person is likely to engage in sexually violent offenses. Not all states use the term “mental disorder”; some use “mental abnormality”; “mental abnormality or personality disorder”; “behavioral abnormality”;
“sexual psychopath personality”; “sexual disorder, personality disorder, or other mental disorder or dysfunction”; or “mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.”
I have serious reservations about “castrating” someone who has been classified as someone with a “mental abnormality” or a “serious emotional disturbance” given that I think the impact of castration and therefore mutilation of the genitalia will have a much larger profound effect on the person.
Secondly, the efficiacy of castration in reducing reoffence isn’t convincing
.
studies of non-sex-offender males who underwent bilateral orchiectomy demonstrated that while testosterone may mediate physical sexual arousal, it is not uniformly essential to male sexual functions.
Re: a repeat offender
One year ago, he chose to undergo surgical castration. Since then, his testosterone levels were confirmed as low. Currently, he views himself as cured of sexual deviancy. A penile plethysmograph (PPG) conducted recently confirmed no sexual arousal in response to
young boys. Mr. B., however, demonstrated sexual arousal in response to images of teenage boys on the PPG. Six months after orchiectomy, the hospital staff found a stash of pictures of young boys in Mr. B.’s locker that were cutouts from “family-type” magazines. Mr.
And lastly
Sexual behavior is not exclusively determined by sex hormones.
