The Androgenic Admin
Why the Trump admin cares about testosterone
The second Trump administration is the first pro-androgen administration in American history, and probably the world.
Granted, there have been some pretty masculine societies in the past—ancient Sparta, anyone? The Vikings?—but there isn’t a single government that has concerned itself with androgens (male hormones), and testosterone in particular, the way Trump has since returning to power last year.
For most of history, it wouldn’t have been possible for a ruler or government to do this, at least not directly. Yes, rulers and governments could do all sorts of things to enhance the vigour and vitality of their male subjects, but they couldn’t get at the biological substrate responsible for making them men: for sexual differentiation in the womb, then through childhood and puberty; for muscle mass, libido, motivation, striving, courage and aggression, for patriotism and the ability to function as part of a hierarchy. Testosterone wasn’t properly discovered until the early 1930s, when it was isolated from vast quantities of male urine; although nearly a hundred years earlier, experiments involving transplanted rooster testicles had identified a mysterious substance that was responsible for male characteristics and behaviour.
But now governments can get straight to the source—and not a moment too soon. The simple fact is, testosterone levels are declining and have been for some time, and if we’re not worried about that, we should be. All the best research, like the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, points to a decline of about 1% year on year, taking place over decades, across the Western world. This is part and parcel of a broader decline in male reproductive parameters, including sperm quality and sperm counts. According to Professor Shanna Swan, a reproductive-health expert at Mount Sinai University, New York, on current trends the median man will have a sperm count of zero by the middle of this century. That means in less than a generation one half of all men will produce no sperm, and the other half will produce so few—well, what’s the point? They won’t be able to get a woman pregnant with such a jejune cocktail.
There are many likely causes for the decline in testosterone and male reproductive health: obesity, sedentary lifestyles, chronic stress, lack of sleep, exposure to a class of chemicals called endocrine-disruptors, which interfere with the body’s natural balance of hormones. By a kink of industrial chemistry, it turns out pretty much all the new chemicals we’ve created over the last century or so mimic the female hormone estrogen in one way or another. Estrogen-mimicking chemicals are everywhere: they’re in the food, the water, the air; they’re in the coating of your non-stick frying pan, your deodorant, the receipt in your pocket and the polyester underpants you’re wearing. We can’t avoid them. We can only mitigate our exposure, and we should.
Over the last month, we’ve seen two headline-grabbing policies from the Trump administration regarding testosterone.
The first, announced by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aims to widen access to testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), so more men with low testosterone will be able to get it. This involves removing a use-limitation on the therapy—a statement that the safety and efficacy of TRT had not been established—and also updating warnings associating testosterone with prostate cancer.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the second policy a little over a week ago, as a way to ensure America’s soldiers, sailors and airmen “operate at their absolute best.” There will now be mandatory annual screenings for testosterone deficiency for all service members over the age of 30, which is when scientists generally reckon testosterone begins a natural decline. Those with low testosterone will be offered the choice of TRT. Hegseth said the new programme is “not about artificial enhancement,” but “restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
The irony of this policy is that it’s the inverse of the Department of War’s new transgender rules, expanding access to testosterone for health-optimisation at the same time as it’s withdrawn for the purposes of gender-transition. Critics have noticed this, of course.
