FTM testosterone on TikTok: separating hype from clinical fact

What did @newbeastboy actually say?

Honestly? Nothing. The transcript is three repetitions of a song lyric: "Take me to the king." That's it. There is no spoken claim, no medical advice, no testosterone tip, no dosing guidance, no personal testimony about FTM transition. The video is essentially a sound clip posted under hashtags including #trans, #ftm, and #testosterone. Whatever @newbeastboy intended to communicate, they did not say it out loud in this video.

This matters because the hashtags alone can shape how an algorithm surfaces content to vulnerable audiences, including trans men who are early in their transition journey and actively looking for information about testosterone therapy. A video doesn't have to say anything to influence someone's perception of what's normal or expected on a medical topic.

Does the science back this up?

There is no claim here to evaluate against scientific literature. But since the hashtags frame this in the context of FTM testosterone therapy, it's worth grounding what we actually know.

Gender-affirming testosterone therapy for transmasculine individuals is a well-studied intervention. The Endocrine Society's 2017 clinical practice guidelines (Hembree et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism) remain the primary clinical reference. Testosterone in this context is typically administered via injection, gel, or patch, with the goal of achieving physiologic male testosterone ranges, generally 300 to 1000 ng/dL depending on the individual and their clinical picture.

Research published by Cocchetti et al. (2021, Journal of Clinical Medicine) and prior work by Pelusi et al. (2014, International Journal of Endocrinology) has documented both the expected masculinizing effects and the monitoring requirements, including hematocrit, lipid panels, and bone density considerations. None of that is in this video, because nothing is in this video.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

There is nothing to call wrong here on a factual basis. The creator made zero medical claims. That is, in a narrow sense, a form of getting it right: they did not spread misinformation about testosterone dosing, they did not claim a compound cures anything, they did not recommend an unsafe protocol.

But here is the honest concern: content that is medically adjacent, tagged for a health-seeking audience, and completely content-free creates a strange vacuum. Trans men searching #ftm #testosterone on TikTok are often looking for peer experience, clinical information, or community validation. A viral audio drop with no substance doesn't help them. It also doesn't hurt them directly, but it occupies space in a feed that could have carried something genuinely useful.

The caption, "y'know what she's on to smth," implies the audio itself carries a message the creator endorses. What that message is remains unclear. That ambiguity is the only real issue here.

What should you actually know?

If you landed on this fact-check because you're researching testosterone therapy for FTM transition, here is what the evidence actually supports.

• Testosterone therapy for transmasculine individuals should be initiated and monitored by a qualified clinician, typically an endocrinologist or experienced primary care provider.
• The Endocrine Society guidelines recommend baseline lab work including hematocrit, lipid panel, and liver function before starting, with follow-up every 3 months in the first year (Hembree et al., 2017).
• Polycythemia, or elevated red blood cell count, is the most common monitored side effect. It is manageable with dose adjustment or phlebotomy but should not be ignored (Cocchetti et al., 2021).
• Bone mineral density changes during testosterone therapy are real and require long-term monitoring, particularly in individuals who started therapy before peak bone mass (Vlot et al., 2019, Bone).
• Mental health outcomes are generally positive with gender-affirming hormone therapy. A large systematic review by Nguyen et al. (2018, Hormone Research in Paediatrics) found significant reductions in depression and anxiety scores following initiation of gender-affirming hormones.

TikTok is not a substitute for clinical care. The hashtag community can be a source of peer support, but medical decisions about testosterone therapy require labs, follow-up, and a provider who knows your history.