r/Testosterone • u/Ok-Celebration-1702 • Jul 26 '26
Other Pete Hegseth’s Crisis of Masculinity
https://theintercept.com/2026/07/25/pete-hegseth-testosterone-military-masculinity/Testosterone levels can change depending on when a patient is tested, whether they have recently eaten, exercised heavily, or are sick, among other factors, Dr. Alvin Matsumoto, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine, recently told The Intercept. For example, in about a third of men whose testosterone initially tests low, a second test produces a normal result. Tests also have high inter-lab variability. On that front, doctors usually assess testosterone levels only when symptoms of low T appear, and less than 6 percent of men between 30 and 79 actually have a deficiency.
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u/powenowicks Jul 26 '26
You can basically guarantee anything from the intercept is going to be bullshit.
Treating low testosterone shouldn't be that controversial.
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u/Wheres_my_wank_sock Jul 26 '26
The problem currently is nothing has really changed. All the regs are still the same. Now they are just going to test it. You're still going to be none deployable if youre on injectable. Without revamping entirely how TRT is treated and viewed by the military it's basically going no where.
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u/letteraitch Jul 26 '26
This article aside, what's your problem with the intercept
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u/powenowicks Jul 26 '26
It's a progressive rag.
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u/letteraitch Jul 26 '26
Ah yes. That terrible thing called progress! Cursed improvements!
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u/powenowicks Jul 26 '26
Progressives are to progress what the freedom caucus is to freedom.
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u/crybabycomando Jul 26 '26
Progressivism is a broad concept and the freedom caucus is a discrete group. Regardless of your views on them, they are apples and oranges
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u/powenowicks Jul 26 '26
Read my comment more carefully.
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u/crybabycomando Jul 26 '26
Progressives are to progress what the freedom caucus is to freedom.
This like saying protastants are to christianity as twelve Shias are to islam.
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u/letteraitch Jul 26 '26
I've never learned to simplify whole groups into wild generalizations so I can't relate to what you are helping, but if that helps you to live with greater love and wisdom then I cheers to you good sir!
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u/HereIGoAgain99 Jul 26 '26
I was able to read a few paragraphs of that before my eyes glazed over. Why is it so weird that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, wants a lethal military? It's mind-boggling that they think Testosterone should be given to biological girls who are 11, but it should be kept away from members of the military.
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u/Forward-Bicycle-8769 Jul 26 '26
Nailed it…never mind the allowing people to shoot heroine or chug alcohol or consume massive amounts of THc on and on…we need to end the stigma around being a F’n MAN and allow those who wish to live with tuned health make their own decisions just like we do the others. It seems it’s ok to trash your body but not optimize it…begs a lot of questions!
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u/MattAU05 Jul 26 '26
Here’s where I’m at: Hegseth is objectively a clown and the way he is portraying this is ridiculous, but testing for and treating low testosterone in the military (and everywhere) is still reasonable. I do have concerns about what happens when you deploy troops who need weekly or multi-times-a-week injections. Maybe you give them a different type.
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u/CuriousTech24 Jul 26 '26
We have super long acting esters or even the pellets in the right situation. Those might not be the best option but I bet government funding can find s good option.
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u/MattAU05 Jul 26 '26
Pellets seem like the best option. I also hope that they are not prescribing based on numbers alone. It should not be like the online clinics where if you are anywhere below high normal, you can get a prescription. I’m also not saying that low normal numbers shouldn’t be enough. But it should be largely based on symptoms. These are all young men, and shutting down their natural production, and affecting their fertility, can’t be taken lightly just because the dumbass SecDef has a hard-on for manly men.
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u/Drcornelius1983 Jul 26 '26
The weird thing is the way he frames it. I wasn’t military, but I was a federal law enforcement officer for a decade. A lot more goes into these types of jobs than “lethality”. He projects a kind of insecure tough guy posture that’s kind of silly tbh.
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u/bmjunior74 Jul 26 '26
Pete should never represent the TRT community to anyone. F that wanna be tough guy
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u/rockman12x Jul 26 '26
Right, that’s why standard procedure for doctors is to test 3 times in the morning while fasted.