Manosphere' influencers pushing testosterone tests are convincing healthy young men there is something wrong with them, study finds

"Despite screening for low testosterone being medically unwarranted in most young men, this group is being aggressively targeted online by influencers and wellness companies promoting hormone tests and treatments as essential to being a real man, a study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine has found. Researchers analysed 46 high-impact posts about low testosterone and testing made by TikTok and Instagram accounts with a combined following of more than 6.8 million, to examine how masculinity and men's health are being depicted"

"The lead author of the study, Emma Grundtvig Gram, a public health researcher at the University of Copenhagen, said influencers promoting routine testosterone screening often framed normal variations in energy, mood, libido or ageing as signs of pathology. This meant men may come to perceive themselves as inherently deficient or in need of medical intervention, she said. This creates a sense of urgency for solutions, which in turn fuels lucrative markets for pharmaceuticals, supplements and medical devices, even in the absence of clear clinical benefit."

Analysis of 46 high-impact TikTok and Instagram posts found influencers and wellness companies target young, fit men with messaging that promotes routine testosterone testing and treatments as central to masculinity. Normal variations in energy, mood, libido or ageing were framed as pathological, encouraging men to view themselves as deficient and in need of medical intervention. That framing creates urgency and drives markets for pharmaceuticals, supplements and medical devices despite unclear clinical benefit. Messaging often aligns with manosphere narratives that idealise a narrow ‘alpha’ masculinity and marginalise diverse gender expressions. Testosterone also varies with age, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and certain medications.

Read at www.theguardian.com