Pete Hegseth wants testosterone for his soldiers. Finally, some gender-affirming care
One day perhaps Pete Hegseth will make the news for doing something worthwhile, something that makes his mother proud. One day perhaps we’ll see a headline about the defense secretary that doesn’t involve allegations of sexual misconduct or bigotry, claims about past drinking on the job, possible war crimes, Christian nationalism, or his weird fixation on male facial hair.
\- Alas, today is not that day. Rather, we are gathered here today because Hegseth is very het up about testosterone. On Wednesday, the defense secretary proudly announced a new screening program for “war fighters” 30 and older that would ensure they had the “right testosterone levels”. In a video posted on X, captioned “the High-T Department of War”, Hegseth explains: “By addressing these health markers early, we’re keeping you on the leading edge of lethality.”
\- Who exactly is “you”? Does this policy include women? The video doesn’t spell this out, but the New York Times said in its reporting that women would also be screened for testosterone.
\- While the details of this new policy are fuzzy, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hegseth, who has made his disdain for women in the military clear, used low testosterone as an excuse to purge women from his so-called High T Department of War. Hegseth used to categorically oppose women in combat roles but reversed that position during the defense secretary confirmation process – possibly because the senators voting on his nomination urged him to do so. Nevertheless, he still seems opposed to elevating women and minorities and recently blocked the promotions of seven senior navy officers, five of whom are women or people of color, to two-star admiral rank. The New York Times notes: “The highly unusual move means that for the first time in more than a decade, no female active-duty naval officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year.”
\- So what happens if a service member is found to have levels of testosterone which Hegseth considers suboptimal? Again: the full details haven’t been disclosed. However, in his little video, Hegseth explains that the government will offer opt-in testosterone replacement therapy. There isn’t an FDA-approved testosterone treatment for women, so presumably this treatment would just be for men. Some might call it gender-affirming care.