More Testosterone Won’t Make a Better Soldier or a Stronger Man – Aggression and Strength Drive T Levels, Not the Other Way Around

Yves here. A Venn diagram with testosterone as an overlap between MAHA and Pete Hegseth’s advocacy of what would be seen as funny…I don’t know. What else could go in there?

In addition to depression, some who reduce testosterone are watching “your” sports team lose.

More importantly, I live in a geriatric setting and recently heard an MD’s presentation about hormone supplementation at an international event, which was of course all about testosterone. I was concerned that the doctor did not mention that it increases the risk of prostate cancer. He stated that more testosterone will increase libido without improving performance. And there is no mention of human thrashing as a possible consequence!

By Adam Stanaland, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Richmond. Originally published on The Conversation

How low is it when it comes to testosterone levels? When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in July 2026 that US service members age 30 and older will have their testosterone tested annually, he and the Pentagon did not say what level of the hormone would be considered “low” enough to require treatment – omitted, because where “low” starts depends on the lab conducting the test and the guidelines your doctor follows.

The announcement comes amid a national testosterone frenzy: Prescriptions are set to rise to nearly 12 million by 2025, up 154% from 2020, and fastest among men in their 30s and 40s. Online clinics selling testosterone as a lifestyle enhancement have largely driven this increase in prescriptions.

As a psychologist who studies masculinity, I am convinced that while the idea that more testosterone makes a man stronger and fitter for fighting seems accurate, it is also very wrong.

What Testosterone Really Does

Testosterone is often considered a “male” hormone, but people of all sexes produce it in different amounts.

In cisgender boys and men, testosterone levels rise during puberty, which helps build muscle, grow body hair and produce sperm. Levels naturally decrease with age, usually starting at age 30 and older. When levels drop significantly below normal and a person begins to experience symptoms such as extreme fatigue, low libido or significant muscle loss, testosterone replacement therapy with medical supervision can help.

But “normal” is a wide range. Endocrinologists consider testosterone levels between 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter to be healthy. On that list, a man’s testosterone level tells us little about the “masculine” traits that some people think they dominate.

Testosterone is bound in tissue, but in healthy men, it does not track with real strength – training, sleep and nutrition are very important. As the endocrinologist Adrian Dobs put it, a 700-year-old is no stronger or weaker in a man than one in 300.

Furthermore, a person’s testosterone levels are not fixed – they fluctuate by the hour and the season. So doctors usually check testosterone levels only when symptoms appear. Assessing healthy men for millions can be dangerous.

For example, testosterone therapy often carries risks. Adding the hormone signals the body to shut down production of its own, which can shrink the testicles and suppress sperm production. Some researchers have even studied testosterone for its contraceptive effects.

In addition, because testosterone stimulates oil glands and hair follicles – and partially converts them into estrogen – it can also bring acne, balding and even breast tissue growth.

This good “top-T” – sold by online clinics and now approved from the top – glosses over these serious risks.

The legend of Macho

Decades of research undermine Hegseth’s claim that more testosterone means a more aggressive, dominant, and masculine man.

A 2001 analysis of data from 45 studies involving nearly 10,000 people found little correlation between testosterone levels and aggression. When researchers compiled data in 2020 from experiments that gave testosterone to participants to study whether it causes aggression, they found only weak evidence. In fact, they observed that the effects of testosterone on aggression were primarily seen in men who were more aggressive or impulsive.

If anything, the arrow is running in the opposite direction – behavior drives testosterone levels. One study found that men who held a gun for 15 minutes had greater testosterone spikes and acted more violently than men who played a board game. Meanwhile, new fathers’ testosterone levels drop significantly when they are physically caring for their baby.

When men show aggression, the source of the aggression is usually society. In my research, threatening a man’s sense of masculinity – but not femininity – reliably provokes aggression, and the men who react most are those who feel the most pressure to live up to ideals of masculinity.

The connection between anger and fear of failure in masculinity is formed early. In a study of more than 200 adolescent boys and their parents, my team and I found that the boys who reacted violently when their masculinity was threatened were primarily those who felt external pressure to be masculine. That pressure was strongest among boys whose parents supported certain beliefs about masculinity, such as the idea that men should have power over others.

Biology, social pressure and development work together to determine how a boy develops into a man. Unlike Hegseth’s story that masculinity is a chemical to be eliminated, research shows that while hormones may open the window, the social environment determines what comes next.

Military Life Lowers Testosterone

Ironically, the grind of military service can lower a man’s testosterone level.

A 2020 study of US Army Rangers found that sleep loss built into training significantly lowers testosterone levels.

Chronic stress, lack of sleep, exposure to explosives and junk food can produce a set of health problems called “Operator Syndrome.” In some cases, the working conditions of specialized workers can push the testosterone levels of a 35-year-old to those of a normal man in his 80s.

Note the loop: The military puts the very conditions that suppress testosterone, and then proposes to correct the effect with more of it. The psychologist who coined the name Operator Syndrome warned that giving soldiers testosterone will not restore their health, because the real cause is sleep, stress and injury.

Dual Standards

In February 2025, the Pentagon halted sex-affirming hormone treatment for transgender soldiers, labeling the care as inconsistent with the “readiness” and “killing” of the military. But prescribing testosterone to bring a cisgender man’s body into line with the Pentagon’s masculine hormone therapy, too.

Lawmakers have flagged a contradiction at one point: The same class of drug is being withdrawn from one group of service members, but for another, it’s being relabeled as a soldier enhancement.

So the dominance of testosterone will not build strong soldiers – if anything, it creates anxiety that no hormone can fix. My research shows that the men who are most pressured to prove their masculinity are the ones who experience it as fragile, treating masculinity as a condition that can be lost and must be earned over and over again.

Telling soldiers that their readiness depends on the test results can deepen their anxiety about masculinity. Real energy – the kind that holds up under fire – is not something that can be filled with hormones. Although testosterone is biologically useful, it is not the measure of a man or a soldier.