As noted by Hook (2009), the hypothesis that a ‘warrior gene’ could predispose primates and men to “aggressive, impulsive and even violent behaviour” (Tracking the evolutionary history of a “Warrior Gene”, 2004, p. 818) was linked to Māori males through a scientific research paper (Lea, & Chambers, 2007). Hook, in reviewing these papers, is interested in gauging the ’truth’ of the hypothesis that Māori high levels of criminality might be due to the “expression of a warrior gene” and what that ’truth’ might mean for Māori (Hook, 2009, p. 1). His article finds little substantive scientific proof for the hypothesis, and he looks at the risks of this issue from an eugenics perspective. This peer commentary addresses Hook’s overarching theme that “Māori” might become defined as a treatable disease, in terms of Māori ’truths’. It examines how Māori are constructed in contemporary media discourses, and how these “regimes of truth” (Hall, 2006, p. 169) might drive public perception of Māori as a treatable or untreatable disease.
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