Lesbian congresswoman slams Trump admin’s ‘homoerotic feelings of men’

Vermont Rep. Becca Balint is taking aim at Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new military testosterone initiative, arguing that the administration’s obsession with projecting hypermasculinity begs comparison to its continued attacks on LGBTQ+ people.

Speaking with MeidasTouch on 16 July, the out lesbian congresswoman said she believes there are officials in the Trump administration who “have some weird, intense, homoerotic feelings towards men while also being incredibly homophobic – and not just homophobic – but like hate-mongering, fear-mongering about the LGBTQ community”.

She clarified that she wasn’t criticising homoeroticism itself, adding: “I don’t think the homoeroticism is the weird part. The weird part is that they pretend that’s not what it’s about.”

Balint went on to say: “And so, Pete Hegseth is like the example of this, like the manly, manly, rugged, macho man, and it’s like, I don’t know if you know who Tom of Finland is. This is gay male porn that was drawn by a man. And, like, Pete Hegseth is the embodiment of that. So I feel like they must be looking at that as, like, their example of what men look like,” she claimed.

Her comments came one day after Hegseth announced mandatory annual testosterone deficiency screenings for military personnel aged 30 and older as part of what he dubbed a “High-T Department of War.” An initiative which expands access to hormone treatment while the Trump administration continues removing transgender service members from the military and restricting access to gender-affirming care.

Balint also accused Hegseth of undermining merit-based military leadership, pointing to reports that he removed several women and Black officers from a Navy promotion list. “The people who are the best of the best rise to the top,” she said. “The fact that he has systematically been keeping down women and people of colour gives up the whole game. It’s actually not about a merit-based system anymore.”

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