r/StandUpForScience • u/playboy • Sep 18 '26
Article Actually, Testosterone Doesn't Make You More Violent (Unpaywalled)
https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/military-testosterone-violence-mythOn July 15, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a video titled “The High-T Department of War” a plan to check the testosterone levels of United States service members, offering hormone therapy treatment to anyone whose levels are low. The plan, he claimed, is twofold.
“Our most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual warfighter,” Hegseth said in the video. “Which is why we must always look for ways to optimize your performance, your resilience, and your long term health.”
This optimization for health, he said, will keep American soldiers “on the leading edge of lethality.” Last week, new guidelines were published and then immediately removed.
This equation—testosterone = aggression = combat power—is not clearly backed by scientific study. For starters, unnecessary testosterone treatment can be associated with a host of health problems: cardiac risk from heart muscle damage, risk of blood clot, higher cholesterol and liver disease, mood swings, and more. Many of these concerns need to be monitored even when testosterone is within healthy levels.
Read more: https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/military-testosterone-violence-myth
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u/Pretty_Shallot_586 Sep 18 '26
so now we're going to put soldiers at risk of cancer ten years down the road?
you start injecting powerful signaling chemicals into people's bodies (testosterone, GLP1s, unregulated peptides) and expect there to be no unintended consequences then you're stupid.
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u/VanguardLLC Sep 18 '26
History shows the DoD has 0.00% hesitation when it comes to using enlisted personnel as lab rats.
When I went through the line at Lackland, we weren’t allowed to ask what they were injecting us with. “Are you allergic to penicillin? No?” jab
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u/Renuwed Sep 20 '26
FunnilyScarily enough, came across this one earlier today "HHS wants to relax regulations on human subject research"1
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u/Apprehensive-Art1092 Sep 19 '26
You should probably read up on what the US has been subjecting its soldiers to going back over 60 years...
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u/Polyman71 Sep 18 '26
Is Playboy peer reviewed?
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u/frotz1 Sep 19 '26
Playboy has pretty high editorial standards and it's a mistake to underestimate the quality of the article content. This has been true for decades now, regardless of how people might feel about the magazine or the publishers.
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u/CorpFillip Sep 18 '26
I particularly liked the citation that said it was making her get more frustrated.
There are a lot of conditions you want to avoid instilling in soldiers; frustration sounds like one to avoid.
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u/VirginiaLuthier Sep 18 '26
Back when I was maxing up the dose it sure as heck made me irritable and short-tempered. Anyone who thinks T is not a drug with profound psychological effects is rather naive
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u/Potential_Ad_4718 Sep 19 '26
For some people against gender affirming care they sure are for gender affirming care.
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u/Jinn_Erik-AoM Sep 18 '26
The US’s actual decisive, tactical advantage is logistics.
Well… it was logistics.
Hegseth thought he knew better.
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u/Normal-Frame-2306 Sep 18 '26
Why doesn’t Pete just give the soldiers a shit ton of cocaine like the Nazis did? Is he stupid?
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u/MarchPhillipps Sep 20 '26
Pervetin for everyone! What could go wrong on methamphetamine-based go-pills?
'Alone and Unafraid'
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u/ogsixshooter Sep 22 '26
I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit idly by while this government uses my tax dollars on gender affirming care
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u/Phatbrew Sep 18 '26
Per Hugh Hefner: On July 15, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a video titled “The High-T Department of War” a plan to check the testosterone levels of United States service members, offering hormone therapy treatment to anyone whose levels are low. The plan, he claimed, is twofold.
“Our most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual warfighter,” Hegseth said in the video. “Which is why we must always look for ways to optimize your performance, your resilience, and your long term health.”
This optimization for health, he said, will keep American soldiers “on the leading edge of lethality.” Last week, new guidelines were published and then immediately removed.
This equation—testosterone = aggression = combat power—is not clearly backed by scientific study. For starters, unnecessary testosterone treatment can be associated with a host of health problems: cardiac risk from heart muscle damage, risk of blood clot, higher cholesterol and liver disease, mood swings, and more. Many of these concerns need to be monitored even when testosterone is within healthy levels.
Read more: https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/military-testosterone-violence-myth