[LETTERS]Unbalanced hormones

I am writing in regard to the article written by Shin Ye-ri, “Testosterone and trade” (Fountain, Feb. 10). The article describes the effects of testosterone on men’s cognitive abilities. According to your author, testosterone [surges that inflate egos] “... can lead to reckless mistakes and irrational risk-taking, resulting in disaster” and it can also blind people with greed. She also writes that “ ... some blame the cascade of testosterone for the meltdown on Wall Street.”

Using this obviously sexist argument, the author concludes that men should not be leaders in making financial decisions. She also concludes that because of testosterone “ ... replacing men with women at the helm of financial decision-making sounds reasonable.”

Estrogen levels (the female equivalent of testosterone) have been linked to depression, anxiety, headaches, migraine, poor sleep, thyroid disorders, reduced oxygen consumption, increased cancer risk, hot flashes, gall bladder problems, etc., and, as everyone knows, often excessive mood swings.

If any man wrote an article claiming that women aren’t mentally capable or responsible enough to become leaders due to their estrogen levels he would be rightly considered a sexist pig - a charge that I level on Shin Ye-ri.

Ken Dinnery, kendinnery@hotmail.com