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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   5159 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 26, 2023

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So I watched a tiktok about increased neoteny due to the domestication of humans and how it parallells the domestication of animals. The guy in the tiktok was arguing that an increasing number of males today are not physiologically male because they haven't been stressed enough. He notes that on a trip to Disneyland his school filled with affluent and comfy kids looked much younger compared to the poorer and more stressed out inner city kids.

My question is how come this never happened to me? I grew up in the city surrounded by crime, always stressed about being robbed, murdered etc. School was somewhat similar. Yet I still have a baby face.

My question is how come this never happened to me? I grew up in the city surrounded by crime, always stressed about being robbed, murdered etc. School was somewhat similar. Yet I still have a baby face.

If that was just the norm for you and your community, then I doubt its a legitimate stressor.

I'm reminded of a survey they did in Canada about female victims of crime. Indigenous women are 3x more likely to be a victim of violent crime, including murder, than non-Indigenous women. Despite this, both groups of women reported feeling the same level of personal safety in their community.

If you moved to a safer community, your baby face would probably persist even longer.

If stress can cause a change in your physical appearance, I'd imagine it must also impact your internal health. So maybe a baby face now is signalling that you'll have a long and healthy life ahead of you.

It makes me wonder how younger generations will do, as they are having things like climate hysteria, white guilt, race baiting, gender confusion, and a bunch of other shit, dumped on them. Maybe they adapt and it becomes their baseline? Or maybe things like 'safe spaces' helps to mitigate that? Does the average coed look older or younger than millennials did? Do they look older when they are thrust into the real world?

The Goodness Paradox is a great book about the domestication of humans. It didn't say anything about stress causing less neoteny. And quite frankly I'd think less neoteny would be a bad thing- it might make you more handsome, sure, but it'll also make you more violent and worse at living in our very domesticated modern world.

Being Andrew Tate style alpha male is a very appealing fantasy at first glance, but given that Andrew Tate being that type of alpha male ended him up in Romanian prison, I don't think it's actually something to aspire towards.

Because his theory isn't very good.

I mean human males are getting more neotenous, but I don't think it's from lack of stress. In fact a lot of that neoteny is deliberately chosen- more men are removing their body hair for whatever reason these days, for example. And enough ink has been spilled on extended adolescence it doesn't make a ton of sense to spill more.

Are we sure that this isn’t simply about not being exposed to the elements much? Keeping to some basic skincare and not working outside everyday under rain and sun and wind keeps you looking much younger. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if women are getting more neotenous as well

The guy in the tiktok was arguing that an increasing number of males today are not physiologically male because they haven't been stressed enough.

I thought the same thing. If stress turned you more male, I would be the most masculine male to exist, I have had multiple career-ending instances with prolonged stressors in the last few years. Along the lines of getting kicked out of the country I'm an immigrant in, kicked out of university, family breaking apart, disease stress, etc.

Ironically abnormally high amounts of stress would make you less "male" because cortisol is a testosterone antagonist.

Just another instance of TikTok scientists doing TikTok science.

Perhaps only certain kinds of stress count, as in getting physically threatened, beat up, etc... And perhaps only at a young age as well.

Spending time worrying at night certainly doesn't code as masculine.

Isn't there some research that kids in bad areas go through puberty more quickly?

There is, but I don't think it adjusts for race- generally kids with more subsaharan african ancestry hit puberty earlier, and in America they tend to live in worse neighborhoods.

Environmental factors that cause early puberty are mostly sexual abuse and nutrition.

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