The Daily Mail (one loses left-wing credentials merely by linking to it) has an article up this week on the mystery of mutual attraction (h/t to Liberal Debutante).
There’s some interesting stuff in the piece, particularly about the tendency some have to seek out partners who most resemble them, and the tendency of others to seek out their opposites. I’ve always been adamant that I don’t have a “type”, but am, like most people, fascinated by those who do seem to be drawn to the same sorts of people over and over again.
This, however, was a jaw-dropper:
It is possible that one of the causes of the autism epidemic is the growing tendency for successful men to marry and have children with powerful, assertive “masculine brain” females.
It’s left completely unexplained in the article, a wayward paragraph without even a scintilla of evidence. How long before the anti-feminists get a hold of it, wave it about, and claim that women’s liberation is responsibile for the rise in autism cases? If only bright men would marry timid women, they’d have healthier kids, etcetera… sigh.
Hi Hugo, I heard an piece on NPR last fall on the possibility that autism might be related to high levels in testosterone, just to corroborate rumors.
Rather than think that men should marry weak women, could we not re-frame the question by asking women to marry men less prone to aggression, war mongering and violence. Could we end autism and sexism if more women were encouraged to marry SNAGs (sensitive new age guys)?
A quick review of the literature suggests that there may be a causal relationship between androgen levels - either in utero exposure or production and processing in children - and autistic-spectrum disorders. However, as far as I know there’s absolutely no relationship between a woman’s analytical intelligence or assertive personality and her serum testosterone levels.
Oh come on now Hugo, everybody knows it’s the vaccines given by effeminite male doctors that have been emasculated by their careerist family-hating wives that have lead to the increase in the incidence of autism. Or is it homosexuality? Geez, I can never keep my psuedo-scientific theories straight…
Actually, the Daily Mail article is probably alluding to the theory of Simon Baron Cohen (cousin of Sacha, the actor who plays Borat, for what that’s worth). Baron Cohen is Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, however, so he’s no lightweight. Here’s one of many interviews/articles where he discusses his theory that autism may be caused by “assortative mating.” http://edge.org/3rd_culture/baron-cohen05/baron-cohen05_index.html
So there’s probably more to this theory than you might originally have thought.
By that reason, autism rates should primarily have risen within higher-income families. But the rises have been across the board with respect to income and social class.
I wonder whether a scientist actually said something remotely similar to that and it was misinterpreted by the journalist, or whether the journalist merely pulled it out of his ass.
Well, if this is true, then let’s have Amy’s solution! Love it!
I’ve heard this theory (and found it plausible)–but it’s NOT about assertiveness, it’s about pattern-recognition.
The theory is the if people who are good at abstract patterns marry (high-N people in the Myers-Briggs test), their children are more likely to be autistic.
Reason I think this might be reasonable? At least half of the people in my profession will show up as “mildly autistic” on a standard screening test.
Well, that’s comforting, Sam. My wife is an ESTP, and I am ENFP, and that both keeps things interesting and means that we have very different gifts. If it reduces the autism chance, so much the better.
Even if the Mail/Cohen theory is true, I find it hard to believe that “assortive mating” would cause *so much* of an increase in autism risk as to outweigh all the other factors in choosing a partner.
I’m voting for the ass-pulling theory. It’s just one more of a long line of crackpot theories, because you don’t get column inches by saying “Geez, we don’t really know.”
Cohen is no lightweight. However, he definitely has an agenda on proving male/female differences, and apparently sees research on autism through that lens.
Considering that this whole “male traits” thing crippled knowledge about autism symptoms in girls for years, I don’t have a lot of patience for the Daily Mail’s crap.
Hmmm, maybe the real point of Baron Cohen’s findings is that women shouldn’t have children with second- and third-generation engineers. Isn’t that as plausible as blaming it on the women with “male brains” as the article seems to?
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The increase in Autism rates is probably caused by the increase in chemicals used in society. There is overwhelming proof that hormone levels in lower animals is increasing at alarming rates due to the leeching of chemicals into the environment. It is very logical to conclude that the same is happening to higher animals. So, yes, increasing testosterone levels may be the cause of increased Autism. But the cause of increased testosterone is most likely increased chemical pollution. Although, I admit there DO seem to be many more “male brained” females in society today than there were 25 years ago, as well as increasing lesbianism (just my observation). It is uncertain if that is a result of feminist evolution or increasing chemical pollution. There is more than one possibility.