The Aporia · Hegseth is obsessed with testosterone therapy. If anything, I’d like the opposite

Dave Schilling expresses his disdain for medical tests and visits to the doctor, particularly in relation to measuring testosterone levels. He criticizes figures like Pete Hegseth, a defense secretary during the Trump administration, who advocate for mandatory testosterone testing and therapy for soldiers. Robert F Kennedy Jr removed restrictions on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in June of that year, increasing its availability to men. Schilling questions the necessity and benefits of TRT, arguing it adds unnecessary stress without clear advantages for his lifestyle as a writer. He pokes fun at claims about increased athleticism and sexual performance, expressing skepticism given his career lacks such demands.

Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

Dave Schilling expresses his dislike for doctor visits in an article for The Guardian, criticizing the obsession with testosterone levels that has been fueled by figures like Pete Hegseth from the Trump administration. Hegseth advocates for testing soldiers' T levels and providing testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to those deemed insufficiently masculine. Schilling views this trend as a means of shaming individuals into undergoing more medical tests, rather than celebrating positive aspects of health care like annual check-ups. He contrasts the negative perception of doctor visits with the growing narrative that associates low testosterone levels with societal decline, emphasizing the intrusive nature of these medical interventions.

Written for “Hegseth And Testosterone Therapy Debate” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Hegseth And Testosterone Therapy Debate

Health · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Dave Schilling

8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Once again, democracy will be tested – like Beavis & Butthead taking the SATs.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · A curmudgeon’s guide to the 2026 US elections | Dave Schilling

🔮 This was after a May order from Reyes to require the White House to request approval for cutting down more than 10 trees.

2026-10-18 · assertive framing · If Trump fells 430 trees in the middle of a golf course, do they make a sound?

🔮 A day where, much to the chagrin of those of us with a moral compass and a functional memory, football fans worldwide could declare Watson was “so back” and that the Browns were in some blinkered, alternate universe, a Super Bowl contender.

2026-10-12 · assertive framing · The Browns are still the Browns. And Deshaun Watson is still Deshaun Watson

🔮 The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, removed limits on TRT in June of this year, so that more men could be legally prescribed testosterone rather than, say, buying it at a gas station or from the back of a 2007 Dodge Caravan in the parking lot of an Arby’s.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Hegseth is obsessed with testosterone therapy. If anything, I’d like the opposite | Dave Schilling

🔮 Maybe you’re on a treadmill or visiting an elder care facility?

2026-09-27 · assertive framing · I spent a full hour watching Trump TV. It’s a digital pathway to hell | Dave Schilling

🔮 Both Star Trek and the Alien films offered the requisite thrills and whiz-bang action to titillate a young boy like myself back in the 1990s, but they were also diametrically opposed visions of what the world might look like when I became an adult.

2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Star Trek is turning 60 – and the vision it promised feels more distant than ever | Dave Schilling

🔮 If only George Santos and Bill Simmons had my parents, they wouldn’t be facing down a hailstorm of condemnation for circumventing the basic rules and regulations of dubious “prediction markets” and online gambling.

2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Prediction markets have become America’s new national pastime | Dave Schilling

🔮 Maybe it is better to be alone, since it costs a hell of a lot less.

2026-08-19 · assertive framing · Is dating draining your bank account? Here’s a cheap solution | Dave Schilling

Also by Dave Schilling

A curmudgeon’s guide to the 2026 US elections | Dave Schilling

2026-11-01 · The Guardian

If Trump fells 430 trees in the middle of a golf course, do they make a sound?

2026-10-18 · The Guardian

The Browns are still the Browns. And Deshaun Watson is still Deshaun Watson

2026-10-12 · The Guardian

I spent a full hour watching Trump TV. It’s a digital pathway to hell | Dave Schilling

2026-09-27 · The Guardian

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 8 articles by Dave Schilling →

Whenever I get too apoplectic to function, I turn on my Playstation 5 and queue up RoboCop: Rogue City, a game where you play as the titular cybernetic lawman of the future – blasting criminals with a high-powered, rapid-fire pistol.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04

2026-10-04 · The Guardian

Hegseth is obsessed with testosterone therapy. If anything, I’d like the opposite | Dave Schilling · assertive framing

I loathe going to the doctor. asserted

I → loathe → doctor

I’m not exactly arguing for universal basic income or for Manchester City to be relegated to the Saudi Pro League here. asserted

City → argue → League

No one looks forward to a doctor visit, with its recriminations for bad habits or various intrusive blood tests. asserted

one → look → habits

People don’t have cocktail parties to celebrate their yearly check-up, and yet, it seems like every day, there’s a new reason to go get prodded by a stranger in a lab coat. asserted

it → have → coat

Our collective fascination with testosterone levels is just another instance of me (specifically me) being shamed into more medical tests. asserted

fascination → sham → tests

The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and others in the Trump administration have been prattling on about testosterone for years now, claiming it’s the key to maintaining what’s left of our civilization. asserted

what → prattle → civilization

Hegseth wants to test soldiers for T levels, and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to those who don’t have sufficient medically verifiable machismo. asserted

who → want → machismo

He sees this as “restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight”. asserted

you → see → fight

The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, removed limits on TRT in June of this year, so that more men could be legally prescribed testosterone rather than, say, buying it at a gas station or from the back of a 2007 Dodge Caravan in the parking lot of an Arby’s. uncertain

men → remove → Arby

The science behind the perceived benefits of testosterone replacement therapy for cisgender men are hotly debated – a debate I’m simply too stupid to wade into. asserted

I → perceive → men

I have a hard time doing long division. asserted

I → have → division

How am I going to understand what injecting hormones into my body is going to do? asserted

injecting → go → body

Maybe testosterone will make me smarter. asserted

me → make → ?

I think that’s probably the one thing we can agree it doesn’t do. asserted

it → think → ?

It’s bad enough that I have to be tested for blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C and eyesight. asserted

I → ’ → pressure

Why throw another thing on the pile of stuff I have to worry about? asserted

I → throw → stuff

Testosterone allegedly makes you more athletic, more virile, and more sexually active. uncertain

you → make → ?

First of all, I’m not a professional athlete. asserted

I → ’m → all

I don’t need to dunk a basketball or dominate my gym’s racquetball league. asserted

I → need → league

I’m a writer. asserted

I → ’m → ?

My fingers work just fine. asserted

fingers → work → ?

Do I need to function better sexually? asserted

I → need → ?

If anything, I wouldn’t mind my libido toning down a bit. asserted

libido → mind → anything

Will testosterone regrow my hair? asserted

testosterone → regrow → hair

I’d at least consider it if it did, but apparently, it makes hair loss worse. asserted

loss → consider → it

What good will a bit more muscle mass be if I end up looking like Steve Harvey without the millions of dollars that make Steve Harvey attractive? asserted

Harvey → end → dollars

If you give me a million dollars, I’ll take testosterone. asserted

I → give → testosterone

While fighting hormone therapy for trans troops, the Trump administration is simultaneously suggesting to cis men like me that I should be taking it instead, even if I don’t actually want it. asserted

I → fight → it

Considering my high interest in sex, perfectly acceptable athletic ability, and generally sedentary lifestyle, if anything, maybe I have too much testosterone. asserted

I → consider → testosterone

I’m perpetually angry – about someone cutting me off in traffic, the escalator at the AMC Burbank 16 that never works, and the Lakers’ starting lineup. asserted

that → ’m → Burbank

Would I be a more valuable member of society if I got out of my car and walloped the guy who swerved in front of me? asserted

who → get → me

Should I be bashing the escalator at the AMC with an aluminum baseball bat until the police arrive? asserted

police → bash → bat

Like any normal person my age, I take my aggression out in video games. asserted

I → take → games

you → get → pistol

The only thing more satisfying than a robot eviscerating drug-addled gutter punks inside a game is when you get to issue parking citations and arrest people for public urination. asserted

you → eviscerate → urination

Yes, you can do that in the game. asserted

you → do → game

It never gets old. asserted

It → get → ?

I’m sure this is not what Pete Hegseth means when he talks about “lethality”, but this is as close as I’m going to get – wiping out a street gang with a rocket launcher. asserted

I → ’m → launcher

I assure you I don’t need more testosterone for that. asserted

I → assure → that

Underneath much of this tedious discourse and my own dread of seeing a doctor, though, is the fundamental premise that there’s something wrong with the natural progression of the human body. asserted

premise → see → body

…and 6 more, not listed.

Hegseth is obsessed with testosterone therapy. If anything, I’d like the opposite | Dave Schilling

Quick Summary

AI analysis

Story

Compared with similar articles

Signals How these are calculated →

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Publisher

Who wrote this

Topics

Subjects

Narrative

Claims (46 extracted, 2 hedged)