More testosterone won’t make a better soldier or a tougher man – aggression and strength drive T levels, not the other way around
Skip to content
A person’s testosterone level does not determine their manliness or ability to fight.<br>wilpunt/iStock via Getty Images Plus
https://theconversation.com/more-testosterone-wont-make-a-better-soldier-or-a-tougher-man-aggression-and-strength-drive-t-levels-not-the-other-way-around-287828
https://theconversation.com/more-testosterone-wont-make-a-better-soldier-or-a-tougher-man-aggression-and-strength-drive-t-levels-not-the-other-way-around-287828
Link copied
Share article
Share article
Copy link
Bluesky
Messenger
X (Twitter)
Print article
How low is too low when it comes to testosterone levels? When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July 2026 that U.S. service members ages 30 and older will have their testosterone tested every year, neither he nor the Pentagon specified what level of the hormone would be considered “low” enough to require treatment – a telling omission, since where “low” begins depends on the lab conducting the test and the guidelines your doctor follows.
The announcement lands amid a national testosterone craze: Prescriptions have climbed to nearly 12 million in 2025, up 154% since 2020, and fastest among men in their late 30s and 40s. Online clinics that sell testosterone as a lifestyle upgrade have largely driven this rise in prescriptions.
As a psychologist who studies masculinity, I’m certain that while the idea that more testosterone makes a man tougher and more fit to fight seems intuitive, it’s also mostly wrong.
Medical guidelines recommend against blanket testosterone testing.
What testosterone actually does
Testosterone is often considered a “male” hormone, but people of every gender produce it in differing amounts.
In cisgender boys and men, testosterone levels rise at puberty, helping build muscle, grow body hair and produce sperm. Levels naturally decline in adulthood, typically beginning age 30 and onward. When levels drop significantly below normal and a person begins to experience symptoms such as extreme fatigue, low libido or drastic muscle loss, testosterone replacement therapy with medical supervision can help.
But “normal” is a vast range. Endocrinologists consider testosterone levels between roughly 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter as healthy. Within that range, a man’s testosterone level tells you little about the “masculine” traits that some people think it governs.
Testosterone is tied to muscle mass, but in healthy men, it doesn’t track with actual strength – training, sleep and nutrition matter far more. As endocrinologist Adrian Dobs put it, a person at 700 isn’t stronger or more of a man than one at 300.
Moreover, an individual’s testosterone levels aren’t fixed – they swing by the hour and the season. So doctors usually test testosterone levels only when symptoms appear. Screening healthy men by the millions may be potentially harmful.
The body converts excess testosterone to estrogen.<br>Boghog2/Wikimedia Commons
For instance, testosterone therapy often carries risks. Supplementing the hormone signals the body to shut down production of its own supply, which can shrink the testicles and suppress sperm. Some researchers have even studied testosterone for its contraceptive effects.
Moreover, because testosterone revs up oil glands and hair follicles – and partly converts them to estrogen – it can also bring about acne, balding and even some breast tissue growth.
This “high-T” ideal – sold by online clinics and now endorsed from the top – glosses over these severe risks.
The macho myth
Decades of research undercut Hegseth’s core claim that more testosterone means a more aggressive, dominant, masculine man.
A 2001 analysis of data from 45 studies covering nearly 10,000 people found only a small correlation between testosterone levels and aggression. When researchers pooled data in 2020 from experiments that actually administered testosterone to participants to study whether it causes aggression, they found only weak evidence. In fact, they saw that the effects of testosterone on aggression primarily showed up in men who were more dominant or impulsive.
Boys who feel pressure to be manly learn to react aggressively to perceived threats to their masculinity.<br>Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images
If anything, the arrow runs the opposite way – behavior drives testosterone levels. One study found that men who handled a gun for 15 minutes had bigger testosterone spikes and acted more aggressively than men who touched a board game. Meanwhile, the testosterone levels of new fathers fell more steeply the more they physically cared for their child.
When men do demonstrate aggression, the trigger is typically social. In my own research, threatening a man’s sense of manhood – but not a woman’s womanhood – reliably...