Monday, June 29, 2009
Sex Save the Males
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Somehow I doubt that we can rely on the same politicians who insist that climate change is a fraud and imagine that there's a worldwide conspiracy on the parts of tens of thousands of scientists to take action on this environmental threat...
Now scientists are connecting the dots with evidence of increasing abnormalities among humans, particularly large increases in numbers of genital deformities among newborn boys. For example, up to 7 percent of boys are now born with undescended testicles, although this often self-corrects over time. And up to 1 percent of boys in the United States are now born with hypospadias, in which the urethra exits the penis improperly, such as at the base rather than the tip.Apprehension is growing among many scientists that the cause of all this may be a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors. They are very widely used in agriculture, industry and consumer products. Some also enter the water supply when estrogens in human urine—compounded when a woman is on the pill—pass through sewage systems and then through water treatment plants.
These endocrine disruptors have complex effects on the human body, particularly during fetal development of males.
Sperm counts are falling and birth defects in boys are increasing... and to address these problems we're going to need to change the way we grow food and eliminate certain chemicals used in tens of thousands of industrial and consumer products. These kinds of big systemic changes seem unlikely when you consider that making the simplest and most obvious changes to benefit the environment—things like banning plastic shopping bags—are nearly impossible, to say nothing of taking action on climate change. We're fucked. The planet is going to roast and our sons' penises are going to fall off.
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4
The selected paragraphs provide useless information. . 7% of what boys? All boys in the world or just the US? What was the figure in the past? What is the baseline rate of descended testes? How many of the 7% testes later "self-correct"?
1% of boys are born with hypospadias, what is the baseline?
What is the correlation between chemicals and these deformities?
It's weak science reporting like this that allows politicians and lay people to be hyper-skeptical of alleged scientific fact.
1% of boys are born with hypospadias, what is the baseline?
What is the correlation between chemicals and these deformities?
It's weak science reporting like this that allows politicians and lay people to be hyper-skeptical of alleged scientific fact.
5
At least there will be millions of cooked cocktail wieners for the aliens when they try to figure out what the fuck happened to us once we're gone.
6
I'm reminded of two movies, Casino Royale, the one with Woody Allen, and Children of Men.
In Casino Royale, Woody Allen intends to make all women beautiful and all men over 5' 9" (or something) dead. This can only mean more potential partners for the heterosexual men still in working order. And being currently in working order I find the idea strangely comforting.
The movie version of Children of Men made an interesting change from the book. In the book humanity is dying out because all men have become infertile. In the movie it's the women.
In Casino Royale, Woody Allen intends to make all women beautiful and all men over 5' 9" (or something) dead. This can only mean more potential partners for the heterosexual men still in working order. And being currently in working order I find the idea strangely comforting.
The movie version of Children of Men made an interesting change from the book. In the book humanity is dying out because all men have become infertile. In the movie it's the women.
8
On the contrary, Dan, the threat of a wonky willy may actually be the only thing that wakes some holdouts up to the threat of environmental degradation.
I'm reminded of the denizens of Bloom County staring down into their pulled-out Y-fronts.
I'm reminded of the denizens of Bloom County staring down into their pulled-out Y-fronts.
9
What are you even trying to SAY here?
Somehow I doubt that we can rely on the same person who writes sentences like these:
Somehow I doubt that we can rely on the same person who writes sentences like these:
Somehow I doubt that we can rely on the same politicians who insist that climate change is a fraud and imagine that there's worldwide conspiracy on the parts tens of thousands of scientists to take action on this environmental threat...
10
Aaaand, this is why I'm going to be a complete OCD freak about what I eat and drink if/when I get pregnant. Forget smug, I think I'll be in batshit crazy territory...
11
@10 agreed - part of the reason I'm such an avid contraceptive user now, is because when I purposefully get pregnant, I want to control every ounce that goes into my body. Planned parenthood = planned nutrition.
12
@9:
Seems pretty clear to me what the meaning here is. But then, I'm a high school graduate with an M.A., so perhaps my reading comprehension skills vastly exceed those of the average SLOG troll.
If you need help, let me know. I'll do my best to dumb it down for you...
Seems pretty clear to me what the meaning here is. But then, I'm a high school graduate with an M.A., so perhaps my reading comprehension skills vastly exceed those of the average SLOG troll.
If you need help, let me know. I'll do my best to dumb it down for you...
13
@8...yay, Bloom County!
@10, I'm reading a really cool book called "Get ready to get pregnant", by Michael Lu, M.D. It's a pre-pregnancy guide for clearing your life and diet of toxins to prepare your body for pregnancy. I've actually been recommending it to everyone, regardless of whether they want to get pregnant, as a way to really examine their environment and find ways to clean up. It's very eye opening.
@10, I'm reading a really cool book called "Get ready to get pregnant", by Michael Lu, M.D. It's a pre-pregnancy guide for clearing your life and diet of toxins to prepare your body for pregnancy. I've actually been recommending it to everyone, regardless of whether they want to get pregnant, as a way to really examine their environment and find ways to clean up. It's very eye opening.
15
12 -- I understand what he is saying. I don't understand how he can allow himself to make posts with glaring errors that frustrate and humiliate his point.
Did I get the SLOG gratuitous bolding thing right??
Did I get the SLOG gratuitous bolding thing right??
16
This doesn't seem surprising, we pollute our environment and thus pollute our self. Perhaps, this will help us work harder to prevent climate changes? Perhaps, it will provide peace to the goofs who are concerned that equality for LGBT community will lead to straight men rejecting women, because climate change will render the penis unusable for procreation?
18
@13 - Thanks for the recommendation. Would be nice to actually sit down and read a book on the topic since sometimes it's easy to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the "OMG, do I need to throw my Nalgene bottles away?!" stuff out there.
19
@18 - there have been books for years on this.
Thing is, you're too busy trying to find a source for lube and not thinking that the packaging it comes in is making your son's penis fall off.
Thing is, you're too busy trying to find a source for lube and not thinking that the packaging it comes in is making your son's penis fall off.
21
Too bad global concerns aren't any more of a priority for Obama than equal rights and health care are. Obama = the biggest bait n switch in recent US history.
22
If this is true, it's likely gender identity (and possibly sexual orientation) will be the first thing to be affected.
This is pretty much impossible to experiment on in humans due to ethics, but it's almost certain that lifelong gender identity is determined by fetal hormones during a very short critical period (sometime from days to weeks while the fetus is in the womb).
We can easily control a rat's permanent gender identity during fetal development by either injecting androgen (testosterone) and causing a lifelong male gender identity, or blocking androgen and causing a lifelong female gender identity. Nothing unusual has to be done to these rats except during a short period of natal development.
A "male" rat (with a vagina, genetically female, but injected with androgen during fetal development) will completely exhibit stereotyped male behaviors -- from mimicking other males to humping female rats. A "female" rat (with a penis, genetically male, with an androgen blocker during fetal development) will show completely "female" behaviors.
So, in short, due to these endocrine disruptors in our environment, we can probably expect to see a huge rise in FTM's and MTF's. These are "invisible" changes that you can't determine by looking a baby's genitals, but will probably be much more common than abnormalities like hypospadias.
This is pretty much impossible to experiment on in humans due to ethics, but it's almost certain that lifelong gender identity is determined by fetal hormones during a very short critical period (sometime from days to weeks while the fetus is in the womb).
We can easily control a rat's permanent gender identity during fetal development by either injecting androgen (testosterone) and causing a lifelong male gender identity, or blocking androgen and causing a lifelong female gender identity. Nothing unusual has to be done to these rats except during a short period of natal development.
A "male" rat (with a vagina, genetically female, but injected with androgen during fetal development) will completely exhibit stereotyped male behaviors -- from mimicking other males to humping female rats. A "female" rat (with a penis, genetically male, with an androgen blocker during fetal development) will show completely "female" behaviors.
So, in short, due to these endocrine disruptors in our environment, we can probably expect to see a huge rise in FTM's and MTF's. These are "invisible" changes that you can't determine by looking a baby's genitals, but will probably be much more common than abnormalities like hypospadias.
23
Usually I'd clap my hands and do a little dance about anything that ensures the failure of the human race to breed so bloody much.
Sadly, this affects just about every other veretbrate on the planet, too. (And indubitably any number of invertebrates.)
Bugger.
Of course, you just know that the republans are gonna use this as an excuse to further limit availability of contraception.
Sadly, this affects just about every other veretbrate on the planet, too. (And indubitably any number of invertebrates.)
Bugger.
Of course, you just know that the republans are gonna use this as an excuse to further limit availability of contraception.
24
Yes, only when dicks are affected will the dicks in charge actually consider really changing their rape of mother earth.
25
I'm going to bet that, before blaming the pollutants that come from agriculture and large-scale production plants, people are going to blame the synthetic estrogen from birth control.
26
Will - Dude, I was being nice to someone who added something interesting to the conversation. I know interesting might be a foreign concept to you, but some of us appreciate it when people's comments here aren't just gibberish.
Plus, the fact that "there have been books for years on this" is totally meaningless. Is a 10 year old book going to talk about the toxins/chemicals the current research says we need to watch out for today (BPA)?
Plus, the fact that "there have been books for years on this" is totally meaningless. Is a 10 year old book going to talk about the toxins/chemicals the current research says we need to watch out for today (BPA)?
27
@21 You're just precious.
Is there anything you don't blame Obama for?
I can almost imagine the little plastic ring on a string coming out of your back. Pull.... "Obama blah blah blah"
Pull... "Obama blah blah blah..."
Is there anything you don't blame Obama for?
I can almost imagine the little plastic ring on a string coming out of your back. Pull.... "Obama blah blah blah"
Pull... "Obama blah blah blah..."
29
I love the blind misandry Dan's title provokes in some of the commenters here. Read the linked article, ladies... This affects you too.
30
@26 - actually, yes, a book written in 1999 does tell us about most of these things, and the recommendations are still good.
That said, you do buy all your produce from organic farmers at the locally grown stands at your farmers' market, don't you?
The things that were said back in the 70s still apply - plastics r bad, local organic food b good, packaging b bad, recycling b good.
Toss me another factory-farmed shrimp on the global-warming-enhancing wood BBQ will you?
That said, you do buy all your produce from organic farmers at the locally grown stands at your farmers' market, don't you?
The things that were said back in the 70s still apply - plastics r bad, local organic food b good, packaging b bad, recycling b good.
Toss me another factory-farmed shrimp on the global-warming-enhancing wood BBQ will you?
33
All the more reason to develop alternative fuels.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one that sees the rise of petrochemicals since 1850 and the simultaneous increase in environmental pollutants as being related. It's not just fuel: it's plastics and their derivatives that are used everywhere, even the keyboard I'm typing on! (pesticides & herbicides use petrochemicals too)
It just seems so obvious that surrounding ourselves with the matter we've extracted from the remains of other living creatures, who died from causes that are still not truly explained, might be a problem.
Global warming and birth defects are just the symptoms of widescale poisoning, and it's pretty clear what that poison is.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one that sees the rise of petrochemicals since 1850 and the simultaneous increase in environmental pollutants as being related. It's not just fuel: it's plastics and their derivatives that are used everywhere, even the keyboard I'm typing on! (pesticides & herbicides use petrochemicals too)
It just seems so obvious that surrounding ourselves with the matter we've extracted from the remains of other living creatures, who died from causes that are still not truly explained, might be a problem.
Global warming and birth defects are just the symptoms of widescale poisoning, and it's pretty clear what that poison is.
34
These chemicals have been increasing the risks of breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer too. I remember watching a BBC documentary on environmental estrogen contamination and this was a boring little side note to the OMG this is bad for men and their reproductive system track the documentary took. What's a little cancer compared to having fewer swimmers?
All kidding aside, if this is what it takes to get the masculinity obsessed right wing to give a crap about the environment, that's a good thing.
All kidding aside, if this is what it takes to get the masculinity obsessed right wing to give a crap about the environment, that's a good thing.
36
Anyone else catch the irony in the fact that all the hormones/contraceptives with hormones that everyone has been on to make sure we only get preggers when the "time is right" and we can "control every thing going into our bodies" are part of the reason these things are happening to teh little baybies?
37
(not that I'm anti-birth control, by the way, I just think it's ironic). Maybe it's time to rethink birth control via hormonal control. That's all.
38
@37. It seems to me the most environmentally-friendly method that will work is the snip. Every boy at 12-ish gets the snip and when he is ready to have kids, gets it repaired. Condoms pollute, hormones are bad, IUDs can occasionally cause damage... this seems rather reasonable.
(And for those one or two who will want to scold or scoff -- I'm being facetious...)
(And for those one or two who will want to scold or scoff -- I'm being facetious...)
39
@37: Birth control via hormonal manipulation still makes good sense. We just have to figure out how to degrade the byproducts in treatment systems before releasing the effluent.
40
I suggest we recycle the hormones into whatever Fnarf's favorite soft drink is.
That will kill two birds with one stone.
That will kill two birds with one stone.
41
Related: Do you all remember when there was all the shock and dismay that fire-retardant was found in breastmilk? It seems that either not everyone heard about that or didn’t connect it all. The issue with the fire-retardant wasn’t so much about the fire-retardant as it was about how everything we eat, inhale, touch, gets absorbed into our bodies and in many cases stays around. Some severe chemicals can get into our DNA, but even the not-so-severe chemicals can leave traces in our bodies for a very long time. I commend Julie above and other women for your desire to be as clean as possible during your potential pregnancies and I don’t want to discourage – because as good as you can do is better than not trying. However, it’ll take years upon years upon decades and possibly centuries to recover from what we’ve done to ourselves.
Consider that right now, I am carrying the eggs that may become my grandchildren. I am pregnant with a girl and she has all her eggs developing right now. So anything I am exposed to can/will affect them. That may not be interesting or amazing to anyone but me, I know, but think of it this way: go back two generations. What were your grandmothers exposed to when pregnant with your parents? What was your mother exposed to and how will that affect your babies?
It seems you can live as cleanly as possible, but some damage may already have been done long ago. It’s a little depressing. --Or maybe if people thought about the scope of our pollution (even if only in the concrete visuals of malformed penises), we’d all be growing our own food, mopping with vinegar, using only natural light and walking everywhere.
Consider that right now, I am carrying the eggs that may become my grandchildren. I am pregnant with a girl and she has all her eggs developing right now. So anything I am exposed to can/will affect them. That may not be interesting or amazing to anyone but me, I know, but think of it this way: go back two generations. What were your grandmothers exposed to when pregnant with your parents? What was your mother exposed to and how will that affect your babies?
It seems you can live as cleanly as possible, but some damage may already have been done long ago. It’s a little depressing. --Or maybe if people thought about the scope of our pollution (even if only in the concrete visuals of malformed penises), we’d all be growing our own food, mopping with vinegar, using only natural light and walking everywhere.
42
Now, Stuart, if you look at the soil around any large US city,
there's a big undeground homosexual population. Des Moines, Iowa,
for an example. Look at the soil around Des Moines, Stuart.
You can't build on it; you can't grow anything in it. The government
says it's due to poor farming. But I know what's really going on,
Stuart. I know it's the queers. They're in it with the aliens.
They're building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to
God
there's a big undeground homosexual population. Des Moines, Iowa,
for an example. Look at the soil around Des Moines, Stuart.
You can't build on it; you can't grow anything in it. The government
says it's due to poor farming. But I know what's really going on,
Stuart. I know it's the queers. They're in it with the aliens.
They're building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to
God
43
The end is coming in less than 3 years anyway, so we might as well do all the drugs we can get our hands and fuck like crazy...
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810045661…
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810045661…
44
@4 read "Our Stolen Future" It will cover the subject more thoroughly and scientifically than a couple paragraphs on Slog.
None of us are who we would have been if not for these chemicals. Every baby on Earth's development is altered by these chemicals since we started synthesizing plastics. Some people that would have been straight are gay because of them. Some people that would have been gay are straight. People that would have been men are women, or feel like they are women. Estrogen mimicking endocrine disrupting chemicals cause changes in behavior and development at a ratio of 1 part per billion in lab rats.
This is a very well documented and concealed subject. The lack of news coverage over endocrine disrupters is a conspiracy. Cleaning our bodies of these poisons, and ceasing production of them would seriously harm corporation’s ability to make profits. We would also have to rework our entire world civilization.
Undescended testicles may fix themselves, but for every obvious deformation, there may be less obvious problems. Will the testicles produce the right hormones? Will the boy develop the way he was supposed to, or will he be stuck in a body that doesn’t suit his mind?
I’m all for the scientific method, but sometimes being pretty sure is good enough reason to take action when the consequences are so sweeping and disastrous.
None of us are who we would have been if not for these chemicals. Every baby on Earth's development is altered by these chemicals since we started synthesizing plastics. Some people that would have been straight are gay because of them. Some people that would have been gay are straight. People that would have been men are women, or feel like they are women. Estrogen mimicking endocrine disrupting chemicals cause changes in behavior and development at a ratio of 1 part per billion in lab rats.
This is a very well documented and concealed subject. The lack of news coverage over endocrine disrupters is a conspiracy. Cleaning our bodies of these poisons, and ceasing production of them would seriously harm corporation’s ability to make profits. We would also have to rework our entire world civilization.
Undescended testicles may fix themselves, but for every obvious deformation, there may be less obvious problems. Will the testicles produce the right hormones? Will the boy develop the way he was supposed to, or will he be stuck in a body that doesn’t suit his mind?
I’m all for the scientific method, but sometimes being pretty sure is good enough reason to take action when the consequences are so sweeping and disastrous.
45
this is one reason why, when you had to live with an annoying eco-conscious roommate/dormmate, they would argue and preach against you buying most of the household cleaning agents on supermarket shelves. Fuckin' hippies, right?
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