Skinny is the new skinny: how body extremes reflect the zeitgeist

August 9, 2026 — 9:30am

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has proven himself incapable, so far, of winning the unnecessary Iran war he started with his president, Donald Trump.

So when he announced last month that he was going to be testing all “war fighters” in the US military for their testosterone levels, it was tempting to believe Hegseth was projecting, to use the psychological term for when someone attributes their own weaknesses to another person.

“Under the supervision of our world-class medical professionals, war fighters age 30 and older are going to be tested annually as part of their periodic health assessment,” Hegseth said in a video posted to X, titled “The High-T Department of War”.

Addressing his troops, but only the male ones, it seems, he said the military needs to “constantly look for new ways to optimise your performance … ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best”.

He said troops with low testosterone levels would be topped up with hormone replacement therapy, to restore their “natural” function.

I’m no expert in military strategy, but even setting aside what such a pronouncement might do for the morale of your personnel, it seems strange to signal to your enemies that your troops might not be man enough.

It also sends a strong exclusionary signal to all women in the US military, from the same man who has blocked the recommended promotions of high-ranking women and people of colour, to a disproportionate degree.

As the United States polarises ever further politically, it seems the extremism in........

© Brisbane Times