After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised eyebrows this week for boasting about President Donald Trump’s supposedly high testosterone levels, experts in political science, public humanities and gender and sexuality studies say his remarks reveal a lot about MAGA’s fixation on masculinity.

Kennedy was discussing Trump’s health and eating habits in a podcast interview Tuesday with Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, when he segued into a claim about the president’s testosterone levels.

Trump eats “really bad food” when he’s on the road, Kennedy acknowledged, naming McDonald’s, candy and Diet Coke as a few examples. But he quickly emphasized that the president is in “incredible health” nonetheless.

“Dr. Oz looked at his medical records and said he’s got the highest testosterone levels that he’s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old,” Kennedy said. “I know the president will be happy that I repeat that.”

Kennedy often issues warnings about waning sperm count and testosterone, linking both to declining fertility rates, though researchers have said that the reason behind declining fertility is more nuanced.

“Testosterone levels have been a part of the discussion in the so-called ‘manosphere’ for years at this point,” said Collin Anderson, a clinical assistant professor in the political science department at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.

In these spaces, men who are not viewed as traditionally “manly men” are stigmatized as low-testosterone individuals, he told HuffPost.

Anderson explained that concerns about decreasing testosterone levels have affected how some men view certain foods.

“There’s been an undercurrent among pseudoscience communities for a while about the impact of certain foods, especially soy, on testosterone levels of men,” he said, before he pointed out that previous research connecting soy and low testosterone levels has been flawed.

“Like many [conspiracy theories], there is an underlying nugget of truth; testosterone levels in men have been declining, but research shows that is due to other factors, such as increases in obesity, alcohol use and stress,” he continued.

Still, Anderson said, “right-wing talking heads” have tied declining testosterone levels to a “perceived feminization of men in specifically Western society.”

“Trump, for whatever reason, is perceived amongst conservative men as the pinnacle of masculinity, so having high testosterone is a way to reinforce that image,” he said.

Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

"There is no link to testosterone and strength/masculinity,” one expert told HuffPost, though President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. probably disagree.

It’s actually difficult to tell whether an adult man has “higher-than-normal levels of testosterone,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.

For one thing, it’s hard to define “normal” testosterone levels in the first place, due to the fact that “blood levels of testosterone vary dramatically over time and even during the course of a day,” Harvard Medical School’s website states.

Harvard’s website explains that abnormally high testosterone levels are more typically an issue for athletes, whose levels of the hormone may be affected by the use of anabolic steroids, for example.

The Cleveland Clinic explains that the misuse of anabolic steroids can be associated with a number of health concerns, including increased risk of blood clots, stroke and prostate cancer.

So, why do so many in the MAGA-verse seem fixated on testosterone levels?

“The MAGA movement’s obsession with hyperbolic masculinity reveals a deep insecurity about what masculinity means within that political culture,” said Deepak Sarma, inaugural distinguished scholar in the public humanities at Case Western Reserve University.

Sarma thinks that this “exaggerated masculinity” in MAGA functions as a “compensatory performance — one that seeks to mask vulnerability and assert dominance rather than reflect confidence or stability.”

Toxic masculinity and “sexual prowess are seen as evidence of power,” they said.

Anderson said Kennedy’s claim that Trump has “the highest testosterone levels” Oz has seen mirrors the “standard messaging” used by Trump and others in his administration: “Nothing is ever good, fine, or even above average.”

“It is always ‘the best ever’ or ‘the worst ever’ and nothing in between,” he said, before adding: “Trump has to maintain this public rhetoric that he is the absolute best of all, ever, end of story. It’s a relatively basic but quite effective propaganda strategy.”

Jillana Enteen, professor of instruction in gender and sexuality studies at Northwestern University, said that “the health risks of high testosterone are clear through many clinical trials” and that “the linking of testosterone to masculinity is outdated.”

“Trump, in my opinion, is grasping for virility and strength and using ‘extraordinary testosterone’ levels as evidence when there is no link to testosterone and strength/masculinity,” she told HuffPost. “Perhaps a more interesting conversation about masculinity de-centers strength or virility and instead focuses on clear communication, respecting others, and inviting inclusivity.”

via Associated Press

“Nothing is ever good, fine, or even above average,” in the Trump administration, one expert told HuffPost. “It is always ‘the best ever’ or ‘the worst ever.’"

What might MAGA’s focus on testosterone levels reveal?

“Their worldview is base predatory, and based on brute force,” Sarma said.

“It is ironic that the obsession with masculinity, penis size, and sexual prowess exposes an essential element of homoeroticism, and this is, of course anathema for cisgender, homophobic MAGA minions,” they later added.

Sarma thinks that MAGA’s apparent fixation on testosterone and “hypersexualism” is “merely another form of homoeroticism, though filled with guilt and denial.”

“Perhaps MAGA hypermasculinity, is merely an attempt to mask underlying homoerotic desires or to navigate rigid societal expectations of manhood,” they said later. “Their vehement and often violent denial may, in fact, be evidences of their self-loathing and internalized homophobia.”

Anderson thinks that the MAGA movement’s fixation on testosterone and “alpha” males reflects the current political and cultural climate.

Toxic masculinity has a “tangible impact” on how political opinions are shaped, Anderson said, pointing to the seemingly growing online debate over whether women should lose the right to vote as an example.

“Opinions on the role of women in society are shifting,” he said. “Incel communities are growing and creeping offline into the real world. This isn’t something that will go away on its own.”

“It is something that needs [to be] addressed, lest it continue to fester and hinder progress,” he continued.