Sperm, health, and manliness

Scientists are warning of a global male fertility crisis. Total testosterone levels in men declined by 54% across a range of countries between 1972 and 2019.

The researchers do not know why. They have suggested chemicals in household products disrupting hormones and the heating world are factors. Increased obesity and diabetes, which are known to reduce testosterone, will explain part of the decrease.

The meta-analysis combined six previous longitudinal studies in industrialised countries tracking testosterone. They included data from 118,593 individuals from Israel, the US, Brazil, Finland and Denmark, from 1972 to 2019. Each of the studies found a decline in testosterone. When the data was combined, the overall reduction came out at 54%, appearing to accelerate after 2000.

Manosphere

Testosterone decline has been a obsession in the far-right manosphere at the grassroots and in the rhetoric of political leaders.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services and conspiracy theorist, describes male fertility decline as an “existential problem”.

The far-right has presented testosterone as a symbol of traditional masculinity and a biological counter to left wing politics. Declining levels gave been associated with a panic over the decline of “manliness” in society. Manosphere grifters often promote men’s health (Testosterone Replacement Therapy, sun exposure, strict diets...) to restore male virility, and they believe that will also reduce Democrat voting.

Researchers have warnwed, however, that black-market testosterone may lead to a reduction, rather than an increase, in male fertility, by shutting off sperm production.

Prejudices

The far right, including those in government will pick and choose scientific findings to promote or ignore to fit the prejudices they already have. We must work to counter this. There is nothing wrong with research informed by a political commitment. Indeed, it is necessary. We want science to improve human life — that is a social question. But we don’t want left biology or left medicine as an alternative practice.

In the UK the testosterone drop is far from our only worrying health finding. Child health and healthy life expectancy are stagnating or falling, whilst comparable countries are recovering following Covid

We fight in the labour movement for funding for research, and funding for prevention, screening and treatment for health issues and risk factors we are already aware of.