Selling masculinity – A qualitative analysis of gender representations in social media content about “low T”

Testosterone has long been advertised through gendered messages that link masculinity with strength, sexual performance and vitality. In recent years, this marketing has moved onto social media, where platforms offer new ways to target audiences and shape ideas about men's health. This study examines how gender and masculinity are portrayed in social media content about testosterone testing and treatment on Instagram and TikTok. Using qualitative content analysis informed by performativity theories, we constructed four themes: (1) low testosterone as a crisis of masculinity and male sexual performance; (2) the rebranding of low testosterone from an “old man's problem” to an issue affecting younger men and their fitness; (3) self-optimisation tied to stereotypical masculine ideals; and (4) the construction of a binary opposition between being a “real man” and being feminine. These portrayals align with wider online communities, often referred to as the “manosphere”, which circulate narrow and exclusionary ideas of masculinity and regressive ideas and attitudes towards femininities. The analysed social media posts prey on men's insecurities about relationships and sexual performance and co-opt advocates' emancipatory language to sell testosterone products. Such portrayals of masculinity have medicalising implications for how men perceive themselves and their mental health, but also promote capitalistic practices like consumption of testosterone products for improving the masculine self without supporting evidence.