"... in Hollywood and online in the so-called manosphere. Wildly popular figures like Joe Rogan and Andrew Huberman have spoken about their own use of T.R.T., framing it as a medical treatment for aging. But many influencers go much further, amplifying the message that being 'low T' is synonymous with low status, weakness and sexual inadequacy — and often profiting off promotional links to T.R.T. clinics, or even starting their own. That message seems to be reaching younger men in particular. Clavicular, the 20-year-old streamer who popularized the 'looksmaxxing' subculture, which casts the relentless pursuit of physical attractiveness as the clearest route to social capital, has said that he started using testosterone at age 14 to achieve 'a more dimorphic look.'..."
From "Why So Many Men Are Obsessed With Testosterone/From the Trump administration to online influencers, the hormone is increasingly seen as the key to achieving a new male ideal" (NYT)(gift link).

46 comments:
I liked this bit with Andrew Sullivan, "When I asked whether he saw testosterone becoming more MAGA-coded, he agreed. “Part of it is, I think, a legitimate rebuke to some of the excesses of the other side,” he said, “which went to the length of almost denigrating men” amid a cultural reckoning over toxic masculinity."
Yeah, "almost".
I had to read almost to the end of the article to see that "The Trump administration did not create the T moment."
Why are so many men on the left complacent about the lack of their own testosterone?
It has to do with commercials for testosterone supplements which have been on television for over 10 years. Before that there were steroids. Dime store "cultural critics" blaming every trend they don't like on a Republican in the White House have become really tiresome.
I wrote that before finding out that the Times wasn't blaming the T-moment on Trump. Good to know, but the article will probably be cited to prove just that.
How about if it helps with upping the birthrate? Horny white dudes may result in more babies, no? Why is that a bad thing?
Trumptosterone.
Testosterone for Men: Bad
Testosterone for Confused Teen Girls: Good
Testosterone Inhibition Therapy, T.I.T.
I personally have found Longjack extract to work really well.
30$ buys you a years supply.
What does that hairy man in a dress with body odor - in the YMCA women's locker room have to say about it?
Jeff Bezos is 99% responsible for this, not Trump. One shirtless photo actually. Then...a lot of chatter and Joe Rogan, etc.
How often are they going to use this Clavicular guy as a pole to prop up their stories?
I think he's popped up a few times here, too.
“The Trump administration’s spotlight ….” Trump, the ubiquitous hook for NYT/TDS/Democrat nincompoops.
“ Clavicular, the 20-year-old streamer who popularized the 'looksmaxxing' subculture, which casts the relentless pursuit of physical attractiveness as the clearest route to social capital….”
The clearest route to social capital is capital.
Yeah, come on leftwing Low-T men,
AWFLs gonna need your help again
You’ve found yo’selves with insufficient jam
You’re taking your shitshow on the lam
So drop yer knittin’ and start yer grinnin’,
Yer gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
Learn what yer shrimp dick’s for
Shots for you ain’t for free
It’s time you got off yer knees
And it's five, six, seven,
The enemy is at teh gates,
Well there ain't no time to waste, alas
Just another shot to yer ass
h/t Country Joe and the Fish
Gemini confirms Achilles experience with Long Jack. The big downside to trt treatment is that it shuts down the body's ability to make testosterone and also it and causes an estrogen imbalance. Use of a substance like long. Jack or other pharmaceuticals that stimulate the body's natural ability to produce testosterone make a whole lot more sense to me.
I've said this before when I was in deep heart failure. I did a bunch of research and determined that testosterone supplementation would help me climb out of that deep dark hole. So I went to an endocrinologist who prescribed me clomid and that was a huge game changer. I immediately felt stronger with more endurance and less recovery time after physical exertion. After about 6 months I was at the top of the green in ejection fraction.
With my gut health friendly diet and my custom blend of probiotic yogurt, I don't feel the need to supplement for testosterone. I've got more energy now than I did in my twenties and I'm very strong. I have a physical job. I work at 40 hours a week everyday getting ready for work I row on my rowing machine for 40-min to an hour to get warmed up.
That said, I am all for helping men improve their lives by increasing their body's ability to make testosterone. Vigor endurance and strength maxxing is the key to solid mental and physical health.
Health is wealth
The NYT takes a long jump to the conclusion that testosterone therapy is sweeping the nation. But is it, really? Or is it just another story, inking up the newsprint? The only evidence presented is the number of prescriptions comparing 2000 to 2025, precisely coincident with the male component of the baby boom passing through, without mention. NYT's BS as usual I think. My urologist offered it then dropped it when I pointed out my testosterone is right at mid range normal.
Since they take great pains to tie it into specific figures within the MAGA-verse, it comes of as just another anti-MAGA hit piece: 'Oh look, here's something else to mock and dislike', another chapter in the Parade of Horribles.
Why do so many young men HAVE low T is the reral question. Who GAF what influencers have to say. They did a survey and found the lowest T levels in left wing men. It's not just an impression. If we spiked the water supply we'd probably gain 30 points for R candidates.
“ They did a survey and found the lowest T levels in left wing men.”
They do make good wing men. Everyone has their role to play.
"Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
Why do so many young men HAVE low T is the reral question."
Maybe birth control hormones and other T-reducing chemicals finding the way into our drinking water.
Would the NYT ever ever write an article questioning women's use of HRT to fight aging outside of the limited medical scope of cancer-related side effects that have (mostly) been debunked or revised?
Reading a NYT article about men is like listening to AOC talk about free market capitalism. No matter how unfounded the words, you already know the point.
I don't know why, but my testosterone is very high. I'm old, I don't supplement for it. I don't work out. I eat soybeans. I like incense, houseplants, and murder documentaries. It doesn't make sense.
Congrats to the NYT for discovering the obvious. The relentless pursuit of physical attractiveness as the clearest route to social capital has only been the driving force for homo sapiens since the origin of the species.
The IT department at the NYT has no doubt set up macros for their reporters that type: "Men today are (insert activity here), why that's a bad thing for you" with one keystroke.
bagoh20 said...
“I don't know why, but my testosterone is very high.”
Must have some Uzbek ancestry: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/testosterone-levels-by-country
"Why So Many Men Are Obsessed With Testosterone.....
Ever get the feeling they just make shit up?
No clue what my testosterone level is. I work out heavily 5 days a week and take creatine supplements. Have not lost much in the way of either strength or endurance so far (64), though injury recovery takes longer (*sigh*) and a day's worth of manual labor leaves me exhausted that night and sometimes for the next day or two.
But, you know, go for it if it gives you a better quality of life.
"Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
Why do so many young men HAVE low T is the reral question."
Was that MJB Wolf or Kim Jong Il?
The NYT(D-N) Tuq'r installment, promotes "Jews train dogs to rape women" stories - on the front page.
Testosterone supplementations were considered to increase the chance of prostate cancer in men from dubious studies that were debunked after a Urologist examined them. That allowed doctors to prescribe T supplements to older men without fear of side effects.
T levels do drop with age, and they work wonders for restoring vitality, strength and body activity. It’s not for good looks, it really does help.
Yeah, women never do anything with supplements and chemicals.
Safer than steroids
Seen by whom, the green-haired low-T soy boy staff writers in the NYT editorial office?
Nailed it, Jim. How many men, planet wide, are "obsessed with testosterone?" What percentage of men, on a country-by-country basis?
>R C Belaire said...
How about if it helps with upping the birthrate? Horny white dudes may result in more babies, no? Why is that a bad thing?
5/12/26, 12:25 PM
FTA: "Supplementing with testosterone sends the message to the brain that testosterone is in oversupply, shutting down the testicles’ production of testosterone and sperm. (This also causes a telltale sign of being on T.R.T.: shrunken testicles.) The hormone is so incredibly effective at decreasing sperm counts that it is being tested as a possible male contraceptive."
Another social media kerfuffle.
Cannabis use can lead to low T, a possible explanation of why so many young men are T deficient. From what I read, with many young men weed is more popular than women. And, they can GET weed.
Yes, Mary Beth, that was a problem with bodybuilders back in the day. That and gynecomastia. CC, JSM
Dr Squid -
Weed doesn't care if you come home smelling like weed.
Weed doesn't ask you, "what is this? What are we?"
Weed doesn't care if you spend all your money on weed.
Weed doesn't overreact if it finds your weed magazines.
Weed's ready when you want it, and doesn't mind if you need to stop.
Weed doesn't care if you have more weed.
CC, JSM
(plagiarized from a list that was originally about beer)
There has been some controversy about how healthy testosterone enhancement is. One doctor said it could cause or advance prostate cancer. That's come to be accepted, but now just what his actual evidence was has been disputed.
Also, much talk about chemicals in food and water lowering testosterone levels.
Yes, obesity significantly lowers testosterone in young men, acting as a leading cause of premature testosterone deficiency. Excessive fat tissue disrupts the hormonal system by converting testosterone into estrogen and reducing Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG), leading to lower overall testosterone levels and potential symptoms of hypogonadism.
"Why So Many Men Are Obsessed With Testosterone....."
Ever get the feeling they just make shit up?
The outcome is determined before the research is done.
Good for you, Howard. Nobody criticizes women for going on hormones during, after, and even before menopause, and one of those hormones may be testosterone (which younger women also produce in much smaller amounts naturally). It can be a life changer for older women and protects heart and health. This is normal medicine for both sexes if used right. Not like sticking bags of silicone under your nipples or being an influencer.
The Boomers are getting old. Getting old sucks. And while male menopause is not as drastic as female menopause, it’s a real thing. So, trying to maintain some normalcy is not that strange, esp since there are plenty of women on HRT for decades. I remember, with my mother and her hiking group, how obvious it was, which were on HRT and which weren’t, as they approached the age I am (and Ann is) now.
But on the opposite end of the age spectrum, we seem to have a tribalization going on right now, in esp Gen Z. Noticed this in the ‘24 election campaign, where the hot guys were Trump supporters, followed by mid summer or so, by the hot girls. When leftists talk (derogitively) about he bro/gym culture, they are talking about mostly conservative young adult males working out a lot, and looking hot for the girls. While their leftist peers sit around, smoking pot, and plotting revolution. While their more right wing peers are getting laid.
And when was the last time we had a pull-up contest between SecWar and SecHHS?
I should note that we have 5 grandsons, between the ages of 16 and 24. The oldest two have become quite responsible (conservative) young men. No drugs, period. Some beer. A lot of lifting weights (getting big, naturally). Hitting the gun range every couple weeks. And now kids.
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