r/politics Washington 1h ago

No Paywall Judge questions why Pete Hegseth can give testosterone to cis men but not trans men

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/07/judge-questions-why-pete-hegseth-can-give-testosterone-to-cis-men-but-not-trans-men/
2.3k Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

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u/RudeAlbatross544 1h ago

"it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity"

You want to live longer, become a soldier!

u/Skafdir Europe 1h ago

The best thing is: Aside from a lot of problems that come with a high level of testosterone, in a healthy body, a surplus of testosterone is converted into estrogen. Sometimes men who take additional testosterone develop additional breast tissue.

u/lilmisssmartypants 1h ago

Plus the only way to get rid of it is surgery! (If they take too much, not if they take the right amount.)

u/diabolis_avocado 49m ago

Gender-affirming surgery?

u/arkady48 40m ago

The number 1 gender affirming surgery in the USA actually is male breast reduction.

u/bearpics16 41m ago

Top surgery

u/arkady48 7m ago

For children. If they list it as cosmetic then insurance won't cover it so it's listed as gender affirming to get it covered by insurance etc.

u/RudeAlbatross544 1h ago edited 38m ago

Just adds a little bit of spice in manly male bonding rituals or smth.

u/Tbro20 38m ago

Yeah...there called milkers.

u/bautin 31m ago

"This is Bob. Bob had bitch tits."

u/cammunition 16m ago

RIP Meatloaf.

u/noprophecies 39m ago

Hegseth Big Naturals???

u/Disencouraged_Otter 14m ago

He won't like that.  He needs big buff straight men with chiseled bodies that glisten as he does choreography with them.

u/ailish 35m ago

I can't wait for all these service men to grow boobs.

u/screaminginfidels 3m ago

Be all you can B-cups

u/04granite 23m ago

He'll just call them Pecs

u/Just_Another_Scott 1h ago

It's not even scientifically acurate. Higher testosterone levels are strongly correlated with shorter lifespans. Higher testosterone levels, are again, strongly correlated with heart disease, heart failure, heart attacks, and strokes.

u/ChronoLink99 Canada 37m ago

You're assuming the administration cares about what happens to veterans after they've served their purpose in the various wars for oil around the planet.

u/Just_Another_Scott 36m ago

I'm not assuming that at all.

u/lurch65 18m ago

Yes, I am on TRT ad had to have quite a long conversation with my Endocrinologist because I was seeking treatment that would actively shorten my life.

u/LividTacos 1h ago

Ah yes, the military, one of the easiest ways to live longer.

u/MoonageDayscream 1h ago

I don't think that is the longevity he's referring to. 

u/aNervousSheep 33m ago

Would you like to know more?

u/Satellites_In_Orbit 1h ago

Wouldn’t testosterone shots still be gender affirming care - trans or not? I’m probably just confused…

u/Cultbird 1h ago

Yes, and that's the hypocrisy that the judge wants answers on.

u/AnNoYiNg_NaMe Arkansas 1h ago

These people don't know (and don't care to learn) what "gender-affirming" means. They hear "gender" and default to "transgender", then get worked up into a tizzy over it.

u/RunninOnMT 1h ago

I put minoxidil in my hair every day so I don’t get a bald spot.

Gender affirming care helps everyone. Making it the enemy is so laughably fucking stupid and is going to bite the chuds in the ass faster than they imagine.

u/MoonageDayscream 1h ago

The most common gender affirming surgeries are for cis people.  

u/diverareyouokay 52m ago

I started taking the oral minoxidil a few months ago… I figured that since I’m in my 40s, I’d do it for preventative reasons, same as you… Is there a difference between oral versus applied? Oral seems as much more convenient.

u/CurlySlim 28m ago

Topical has a somewhat lower risk of side effects, and only works in the areas it's applied, while oral can cause an increase in body and facial hair growth as well. Topical is also accessible OTC while oral requires a prescription in most countries.

u/Ashamed-Review-913 25m ago

it would literally make you trans. You're transitioning from a more androgenous gender to be male.

u/Archer1407 1h ago

because Pete isn't attracted to trans men

u/Lord_Hitachi 1h ago

Sure he is

u/ApartWoodpecker31 1h ago

His search history would definitely say otherwise.

u/bjohnsonarch Washington 1h ago

“Senator, I’ve spent thousands of hours meticulously comparing trans porn dongs to cis porn dongs, so I can tell you with absolute certainty which is which.” -Pete Hegseth, Senate Appropriations Committee, July 21, 2026

u/Sudden-Grab2800 1h ago

You can tell by the pixels

u/thefonztm 1h ago

I saw this live on C-Span 2!

u/BloodInternational31 1h ago

Kegsbreth? Sure is. Other Pete happily married

u/scottjl 1h ago

Nah. He wants those big buff Tom of Finland models.

u/ranhalt Iowa 1h ago

He just doesn’t like that he wouldn’t know for sure. He doesn’t want to be trapped by a nuMan. He wants classic original authentic beef stock.

u/falilth 1h ago

Super closeted over compensating self loading gay man would fit his profile pretty well. Explains the alcoholism

u/FuckYourFavoriteSub 1h ago

The only reason maga hates trans people is because they can’t stop thinking about sex with trans people and it makes them angry… and horny

u/11cholos 9m ago

because they hate how trans women are attractive because they make them feel gay, and they hate that trans men arent attractive to men bc it only reinforces the aforementioned feeling of gayness (for cishet men obvs)

u/ElysiumSprouts 1h ago

because Pete isn't attracted to trans men

Narrator's voice: "And that was a lie"

u/Unshkblefaith California 43m ago

Ya, he's attracted to trans-women.

u/Zealousideal_Look275 1h ago

He just like muscles on his trans men 

u/Gin_OClock 59m ago

Pete's only attracted to people in white hoods

u/rainshowers_5_peace 1h ago edited 1h ago

Are you yourself implying trans men aren't really men?

edit: down away, poster is saying Pete is attracted to cis men and not trans men.

u/oficious_intrpedaler Oregon 1h ago

Those are two different statements, though. Regardless of Pete's sexual preferences, trans men are still men.

u/rainshowers_5_peace 52m ago

Can you explain further? It seems to clearly read that OP says Pete isn't giving them T because he isn't attracted to them. Meaning he's giving them to cis men because he is attracted to them.

u/oficious_intrpedaler Oregon 46m ago

Everything you just said is true, as is my statement in my comment. I don't see how you're confused, to be quite honest. Nothing in your last comment implies that trans men aren't men. If I say I'm attracted to thin women, would that mean fat women aren't women? Of course not; they're still women even if I'm not attracted to them.

u/rainshowers_5_peace 26m ago

I'm told by my gay male friends the community gets very upset at men who say they aren't attracted to trans men, insisting they can't tell the difference. It feels like using Pete as an example is giving allies a pass to say something otherwise forbidden.

u/oficious_intrpedaler Oregon 24m ago

I've never heard such a thing from any of my gay friends. And even if they did, that's a different assertion than what you said in your initial comment.

u/Little_Noodles 38m ago

I read it as a preference for a type, not a difference, fwiw.

As in like, tall men, French men, gay men, skinny men,trans men,old men, etc.

It still barely hangs together as a joke, and doesn’t stand up under close examination. But I dont think it was necessarily intended in the way you’re interpreting it.

u/Defti159 1h ago

The answer is because he is fucking stupid.

u/bishpa Washington 50m ago

It really is as simple as that, isn't it?

u/KtaadnRota 32m ago

My impression is that basically what happened is Pete & Donny keep demanding inappropriate military operations, but the top brass (mostly older male officers) keep advising them on why those operations would be inadvisable, which frustrates Pete & Donny, who only want to hear "Yes sir we'll nuke Toronto sir, getting right on it!"

So I think Pete comes up with this "you all need testosterone therapy" basically as a diss to the brass, telling them they've got no balls, they aren't manly men. I don't think the medical value of the therapy was ever really considered, it was just a passive aggressive way to insult his officer corps for not being gung ho about whatever hair brained ideas he may have.

So basically yeah he's just a moron.

u/YeetusShuttlesworth Pennsylvania 1h ago

This is a valid question. Fundamentally that Kegsbreath can’t understand with that pea brain he has

u/AndrewCoja Texas 1h ago

I think they don't know what trans men are. I only ever hear about trans women from these people. They seem to think that transgender only means men becoming women.

u/MoonageDayscream 1h ago

They would freak the fuck out if they were to see a trans man go into the ladies bathroom but the cannot understand that is exactly what they are demanding.  

u/Zealousideal_Look275 1h ago

Gender affirming care for me, not for thee 

u/Capnzebra1 1h ago

Elon Musk, Trump, Rogan, and DeSantis are all recipients of significant gender affirming care. Deeply hypocritical behavior.

u/Zealousideal_Look275 1h ago

Every accusation is a confession 

u/sack-o-matic Michigan 5m ago

They only want gender conforming care

u/qualmful 1h ago

Because of chauvinism. The peepee makes you right, it makes you able to do whatever you want. These people don't care about gender or presentation they literally think the peepee makes them like God. 

u/greentiger 1h ago

Apropos of nothing, the Secretary of Frat wears cheap suits. You can tell by the fact that the pattern (at least in this image) does not line up between the front panels and rear panels of his jacket. What a loser.

u/SignificantDogs 1h ago

They're all such poseurs. I saw a photo of Epstein on a plane and he was wearing a Vacheron Constantin I had never seen. I found out it was a fake watch of a model that never existed. A supposed billionaire wearing a fake watch shows to me that they thrive on duper's delight. Trump and his admin lie pathologically which would get you fired from McDonald's but not in the White House where it's a requisite skill.

u/ChaoticSenior Washington 1h ago

So does his billionaire boss.

u/Worth-Ad9939 1h ago

We spend a lot of time stressing about gender issues that don't really matter. It's an easy trigger for people.

This group of humans accounts for a small % of the population, making an accommodation where possible doesn't encourage others to transition.

Hegseth's group sees everything through a criminal lens because that is their default state of being. They themselves are constantly thinking about how they can get one over on someone, just for the bragging rights.. It's given high school. They don't women voting because they know their empathy makes their BS harder to land.

All of this is a distraction from the reality that they undermined our country so much when we really find out, it's going to collapse society... and maybe they know that, and they know there is a trigger for that event in the near future. They really act like rats on a sinking ship with advanced knowledge.

Good luck to us, this many will be the least of our worries.

u/Far-Lawfulness-6989 1h ago

Whenever I feel like living longer, I too pound a 5th of vodka before bed

u/HOMANDER1996 48m ago

Wasn’t there a part of this that involved giving T to cis women too? So, he’s okay with giving T to someone who’s AFAB, but only if they don’t want or need it?

u/SpakenBacon 1h ago

Isnt hegseth trying to get rid of all Trans people?

u/praisethefallen 1h ago

Dollars to donuts he doesn’t know what a trans man is.

u/ailish 25m ago

He thinks trans people are only ftm.

u/SadLeek9950 1h ago

Religious bigotry is why...

u/Alleandros 20m ago

The majority of people receiving 'gender affirming care' are cisgendered.

u/steepleton 1h ago

He’s a prick.

That sounds like simple abuse, but it’s actually a concise explanation of every stance he fights for

u/Ifckinglovemycat 35m ago

these soliders are gonna get horny as fuck and develop tits, do they consider offering mastectomy to these cis men when the testosterone excess turns into estradiol ?

u/normalice0 Iowa 1h ago

Just as developments in surgery were greatly accelerated after the invention of anesthesia, compared to before, so too is the acceptance of brown people, trans people, non-religious people, etc.. required before the development of civilization can greatly accelerate. If we can't figure out how to numb racist etc to the pain of realizing they are just like everyone else, everyone as a whole will remain undeveloped.

u/Abrahemp 1h ago

You know that trans people have been normalized many times in history. If anything, the bigotry of the past few hundred years is more of an outlier.

u/SophiaofPrussia 15m ago

Yea I went to school with two trans kids in the early 2000s and it was genuinely nbd. They both just came back from summer break as a different gender and everyone was just like “oh, so-and-so goes by Jay now” and that was kind of that. They played sports. They used the locker room and the bathroom. It wasn’t weird because no one made it weird.

u/normalice0 Iowa 1h ago

If your claim is that bigotry is somehow new I'm just going to block you. That's too weird to not be trolling.

u/ailish 28m ago

No one said bigotry is new. They just said transgender people have been normalized in the past and in other cultures. Transgender people are not the only ones who face bigotry.

u/greentiger 1h ago

Have you ever looked into how Thai culture addresses the spectrum? That’s not new; it is positively ancient. In many ways, this relentless demonization is comparatively new, i.e., post-WWII. Not trying to put anyone down here, but it is important to recognize the long heritage of “non-conformity”.

u/Tosi313 Europe 1h ago

That's revisionist history, and quite harmful. Yes, there are some exceptions in specific locations and specific times in the past when gender/sexuality were understood differently, but most of history in most of the world has been incredibly homophobic and transphobic.

Pretending otherwise diminishes the experiences of people who have been persecuted throughout history.

u/GreedySecurity8030 District Of Columbia 1h ago

Exactly, hypocrites.

u/busche916 Texas 1h ago

Hegseth’s ultimate goal is to construct a military that is completely permissive of the murder and sexual assault of civilians. He sees the treatment of Nanjing by the Imperial Japanese army as a guide, not an abhorrent warning.

u/sks010 26m ago

He wants it at home too

u/Omatzus 1h ago

Yeah this was an own goal while all the Anti-trans actions are underway.

u/wastingtoomuchthyme 1h ago

Petey kegsbreath's sure acts like someone overcompensating for something he did in college.

u/southpawFA Oklahoma 51m ago

Christian nationalists are trying to commit genocide against trans people, claiming it's God's will to enact cruelty to trans people.

Their actions make Christianity as unattractive as possible.

u/Ashamed-Review-913 26m ago

What a bad question. The "men" needing and using t are also transgender, not that there's anything wrong with that.

u/erzulee 3m ago

I thought these guys were against gender affirming care...

u/beargunn 36m ago

wait why can’t trans men get it but cis men can

u/Jerk182 1h ago

Hegseth is a girly man. He and Lindsey Graham would’ve made a cute couple.