# Do African-Americans have extra energy in their muscles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 12, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906 "2015-07-12T01:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/41 "2015-07-12T12:13:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Is penis length even something that can easily be selected and bred for? > > Is there a lab somewhere that houses rats and mice with enormous schlongs? higher testosterone. Another indication is a deeper voice. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/42 "2015-07-12T12:33:31Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > higher testosterone. Another indication is a deeper voice. \ squeeeek\ ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/43 "2015-07-12T12:36:42Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > higher testosterone. Another indication is a deeper voice. Any evidence for this claim? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/44 "2015-07-12T13:11:58Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > They were size queens? > There are a few websites I could refer you to if you really want an answer to that one. > [@Robert163](#): > > why cant it be both factors? size and motivation? That’s what THEY said! ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/45 "2015-07-12T13:46:44Z")
While the period of slavery may not be enough time, the different environments, culture and technologies of their respective homelands would have much more time. Would a humans in Africa for generations tend towards some more athletic ability? IDK ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/46 "2015-07-12T13:47:22Z")
> [@Simis34](#): > > From what I’m told and have seen from strippers we know the big package thing is true. > [@Kolak of Twilo](#): > > Really? The bolded part sounds like research. Yeah, but it’s not peer-reviewed, unless he went with a bunch of his friends. > [@Robert163](#): > > Ah, ok, well maybe it’s not long enough then It’s taking longer than we thought… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/47 "2015-07-12T14:01:58Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I’ve always believed this is an urban legend as well, the breeding slaves for increased strength thing not the big package thing. However some interviews with former slaves were posted in another thread and at least some claimed to have witnessed such. > > If it is an urban legend it is old. The slaves might have been reporting accurately; there’s nothing in those reports that said humans had been successfully bred for any trait, merely that slaveowners were trying. That could have been as part of an unethical and ultimately unsuccessful breeding program, or in order to treat their slaves like they treated their livestock to make a point, or just as part of a general program of abuse. Or all of the above. But no, OP: African-Americans do not differ hugely from other Americans genetically, all the more so because many black Americans have white ancestry (and thus genes), and [a good number of white Americans have black ancestry](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/22/a-lot-of-southern-whites-are-a-little-bit-black/) (and thus genes). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/48 "2015-07-12T14:14:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The slaves might have been reporting accurately; there’s nothing in those reports that said humans had been successfully bred for any trait, merely that slaveowners were trying. That could have been as part of an unethical and ultimately unsuccessful breeding program, or in order to treat their slaves like they treated their livestock to make a point, or just as part of a general program of abuse. Or all of the above. And for it to be something characteristic of African-Americans, generally, virtually every single slave owner would have had to be participating in this 'breeding program", coordinating their activities across thousands of miles and several generations. The idea is laughable on the face of it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/49 "2015-07-12T16:03:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > When dealing with the kind of ignorance the OP demonstrates, I prefer to leave out any attempts at irony. Otherwise, we’ll be getting future posts asking us if it’s true that the reason black men have big penises is because they were bred that way by gay slave owners. You do not see any value in [del]trolling the internet[/del] creating false factoids in order to study the speed and breadth of their dissemination? > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Well, I doubt any of us want that. I mean, yeah, none of us want to that! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/50 "2015-07-12T20:00:49Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Research has repeatedly shown this is not the case. Rappers have been lying to us? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/51 "2015-07-12T20:44:21Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > It’s not evolution if it’s human directed. It’s husbandry. . . . There isn’t any actual agreement on this point. Many people hold “directed evolution” to be a form of evolution. The selection criteria are intelligent and goal-oriented, but they are still a system of selection. (What about unintended consequences? If humans dam a river, causing a drying out of a valley, and beavers evolve to adapt to that drought, is that “directed?” Is it “husbandry?” The humans might not even know the beavers existed, so it’s certainly not “intelligently directed.”) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/52 "2015-07-12T21:16:21Z")
It’s common for people to claim that the large number of professional basketball players in the U.S. is because black American males tend to be taller than white (non-Hispanic) American males. But just the opposite is true. White non-Hispanic American males are on average slightly taller than black American males. In general, before you claim that such-and-such a difference between black and white (non-Hispanic) American males comes from some particular genetic explanation, show that the difference exists at all. Since you don’t have any evidence that the difference claimed in the OP exists, there’s no point in us having to explain why it does or doesn’t exist: > **[Height And Weight—New Survey Of Blacks, Whites, And Hispanics | Blog Posts](https://vdare.com/posts/height-and-weight-new-survey-of-blacks-whites-and-hispanics)** > > In October, the government published the latest ... Note that Hispanic American males do tend to be significantly shorter than white or black non-Hispanic American males on average. This is probably because a significant proportion of them were born in third-world countries and emigrated to the U.S. Childhood nutrition has a lot to do with one’s adult height. The slight difference between black and white non-Hispanic American males is probably also explained by childhood nutrition. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/53 "2015-07-12T21:24:46Z")
Just as an FYI, VDARE is a white supremacist website. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/54 "2015-07-12T21:43:32Z")
My apologies. I just tried to find the first website with the measurements for heights among American males across races and ethnicities that came up in a quick search. I should have looked more carefully. I’m pretty sure that the average heights given there are correct though, regardless of the despicable politics of the website. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/55 "2015-07-12T21:55:19Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > While the period of slavery may not be enough time, the different environments, culture and technologies of their respective homelands would have much more time. Would a humans in Africa for generations tend towards some more athletic ability? IDK _Which_ humans in Africa for generations? The Khoi-San? The Mbuti? The Berbers? The Zulus? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/56 "2015-07-12T22:16:32Z")
The Mbenga people have been in Africa for a long time, so I guess they have evolved to be much taller than most people in the world, right?: > **[African Pygmies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbenga_people)** > > The African Pygmies (or Congo Pygmies, variously also Central African foragers, "African rainforest hunter-gatherers" (RHG) or "Forest People of Central Africa"\[a\] are a group of ethnicities native to Central Africa, mostly the Congo Basin, traditionally subsisting on a forager and hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They are divided into three roughly geographic groups: > They are notable for and named for, their short stature (described as "pygmyism" in anthropological literature). They are assumed to be... ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/57 "2015-07-13T02:01:25Z")
nm . ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/58 "2015-07-13T02:02:48Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Rappers have been lying to us? ☹ Worse, [Madeline Kahn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9JqbCH4aVw) lied to us. . ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/59 "2015-07-13T03:27:00Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Besides that the time period is rather short, you forget that it is not just American blacks that perform better at certain sports. > I would rather think that, on the whole, white people do not have as much incentive to train as hard. For a lot of black people sports is simply one of the few ways to escape poverty. It doesn’t matter how hard you train if you don’t also have the genetics. I doubt there will be someone from China which has quite a large population and the state desire to do well in international competition that will produce a sprinter that can beat Bolt or a swimmer that can beat Phelps within the next couple decades. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906/60 "2015-07-13T03:29:17Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Not for large-scale differences throughout an entire population. In so short a time, huge reproductive groups would be wholly isolated from each other. Families in New Orleans would have no reproductive contact with families in Kentucky, etc. It doesn’t work. > > Comparisons to animal-breeding programs might be enlightening. It took a lot more than nine generations to produce the modern racing horse, or the Clydesdales of beer-wagon fame. This is true, but a 0.5% differential in running wouldn’t be preposterous. Not saying that that occurred just that the difference between a wild horse and a race horse are seem to be more different than what we see in human record holders. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-african-americans-have-extra-energy-in-their-muscles/724906.md?page=4)