New Study Suggests Testosterone Levels May Influence Political Views

A recent study by Professor Paul Zak from the Claremont Graduate University discovered that increased testosterone levels in men caused weakly-affiliated Democrats to shift further right.

The study involved 136 healthy men and their political preferences through the 2012 election season. According to the paper, “weakly affiliated Democrats had 19% higher basal testosterone than those who identified strongly with the party.”

“When weakly affiliated Democrats received additional testosterone, the strength of their party fell by 12% and they reported 45% warmer feelings towards Republican candidates for President.”

Interestingly, the testosterone treatment had little effect on strong Democrats and weak Republicans.

This is not the first study to correlate testosterone levels with political preference, albeit indirectly. According to one study conducted by Brunel University, men who attended the gym more often were significantly less likely to support the redistribution of wealth, a core tenant of socialism.

The study postulates that men could adjust their views based on their physical conditions, less egalitarian men work to become stronger at higher rates, or that an unaccounted variable is responsible.

It is no secret that the right-wing strongly opposes the redistribution of wealth and accepts the general premise that strength triumphs over weakness. Given this, paired with the fact that lifting heavy weights increases natural testosterone levels, the shift from left to right should come as no surprise.

Men with higher testosterone tend to be stronger and more muscular, which would lend to the idea that they are more likely to associate with a party that believes in natural hierarchies. That is exactly what a study by Aarhus University affirms, although they phrase it as “Muscular men prefer an unequal society.”

To further support the idea that elevated testosterone levels can affect one’s political leanings, we can look to voting data separated between men and women. According to Pew Research Center, men were significantly more likely to vote for Republican candidates than their female counterparts.

Overall, 51% of men say they voted for the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in 2018 compared to 47% of women. When race is considered, 54% of white men voted Republican over 44% of women.

Most noticeably, non-college men voted for the Republican candidate 66% of the time compared to 32%. It is a logical step to say that the non-college men (often working blue-collar jobs) can attribute their political preference to increased testosterone levels.

Perhaps this gives authority to the joke that the Left consists of a large number of low testosterone men.

Overall, it seems that testosterone is an unaccounted-for fact in politics, and it is good to strive for higher testosterone through a healthier lifestyle. Doing this will certainly benefit the nation.