The decision to offer hormone replacement therapy is just another chapter in President Trump’s obsession with biological sex – ensuring Republicans’ views on gender are the only ones that matter.
Hegseth says US troops will be screened for testosterone deficiency
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military will begin testing the testosterone levels of U.S. soldiers 30 and older.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is implementing an interesting policy to make sure that troops in the U.S. military are the manliest men the world has ever seen.
In an X post on July 15, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would begin testing troops 30 and older for “testosterone deficiency,” making available hormone replacement therapy to male military personnel who don’t meet the expected levels. The Defense Department is unclear as to whether female soldiers would receive similar testing and estrogen-replacement therapy.
“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement,” said Hegseth, a veteran of the Army National Guard. “It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
The decision to offer hormone replacement therapy is just another chapter in President Donald Trump’s obsession with gender and biological sex. It isn’t enough to rage against trans people and declare that cisgender women need to be focused on having babies. Men need to focus on being masculine through whatever means necessary, according to the federal government.
Republicans can’t stop using government to obsess over gender
There’s a profound irony in the country spending exorbitant amounts of money to perform hormone testing and increase the testosterone levels of men in the military, given Trump’s animosity toward the transgender community.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, went so far as to call Hegseth’s action “gender-affirming care” on MS Now.
“I’m glad he has come around to supporting gender-affirming care,” said Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel. “Look, I’m all for expanding access to health care for our troops, but why would we want to stop at testosterone? Let’s extend hormone screenings for all of our brave service members to help us identify fertility issues, for example.”
But don’t be confused – while Hegseth’s decision to create “The High-T Department of War” has the trappings of gender-affirming care, it is not the same thing as a trans person taking hormones so that their physical appearance matches their gender identity.
Instead of subverting gender norms and defying expectations, Hegseth’s decision is all about upholding gender as it exists to Republicans.
In fact, this is a continuation of the gender panic that plagues the GOP. We can’t call this gender-affirming care a “gotcha” when actual trans people are having their passports mismarked and trans children are losing access to the care they deserve. Yes, it might be care that affirms the patient’s gender, but it’s in a way that upholds conservative expectations of men and masculinity.
Republicans confine men, women to GOP views on gender
When a trans person undergoes hormone replacement therapy, they are becoming the person they know they are meant to be, in spite of the body they were born into.
When a straight, cisgender man undergoes hormone replacement therapy, it is a process of affirming the gender he was born into and maintaining the status quo. To Republicans, a man with lower testosterone levels – something that typically happens when men reach 30 – is a less manly man.
For people who say the left is obsessed with gender, Republicans sure do a lot of things to ensure everyone remains within the binary. To the right, men need to be rugged and strong while women need to be homemakers. And they’re doing it with the full power of the government.
At a certain point, the GOP must confront the gender monster in the closet. So what if members of the military who are 30 and older have lower testosterone levels than their 20-something counterparts? There is no proof that increasing testosterone levels will actually improve military performance.
While it may be fun to joke that Republicans are accidentally doing gender-affirming care, the reality is much more sinister – they are doing everything they can to ensure their views on gender are the only views on gender, no matter how ridiculous it is.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social