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The book Countdown talks about this and the author posits that there is a link. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's) cause smaller penis sizes, smaller anogen
by Dig1t 4y ago
The book Countdown talks about this and the author posits that there is a link. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's) cause smaller penis sizes, smaller anogenital distance, and homosexual behaviors in reptiles and other animals. Lower sperm counts, lower sperm motility, smaller penis size, and smaller anogenital distance (the most important indicator, oddly) are all also linked in humans, via TONS of studies, to the same chemicals.
She treats the subject very delicately, rightly so, because many people will probably call you a bigot for even asking the question.
From chapter 4 of the book: "In a 2019 article in Psychology Today, Robert Hedaya, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University of Medicine wrote, "It is nothing short of astounding that after hundreds of thousands of years of human history, the fundamental facts of human gender are becoming blurry.""
And in a later passage from the author: "One scientific theory suggests that in utero exposure to EDCs, particularly phthalates, which can lower a fetus's exposure to testosterone, may play a role; these chemicals have been associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in males. Interestingly, ASD and gender dysphoria, two seemingly unrelated conditions, occur together more often than expected"
- pflenker 4y agoIt's an interesting book, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and the evidence provided by the book does not really hold up.
- tsimionescu 4y agoIsn't this Countdown the exact book explicitly called out in the article as dodgy and unreliable? Per the article, there doesn't seem to be any real data to prove any change in sperm counts, so all the other arguments go out the window as well. Not to mention, we have 0 idea how prevalent homosexuality was historically (not to mention transgenderism), and animal studies often don't replicate in humans.
- Dig1t 4y agoI would say the author of this article is dodgy and unreliable. Dr. Swan is a leader in her field and cites a ton of research in her book. This is just some random guy with a substack. The book is mostly about phthalates and other endocrine disrupting chemicals, and their effects on reproductive health. There is a ton of research on phthalates in humans, the negative correlation between exposure and sperm quantity/quality is undeniable. Do you want me to link to some studies on it? I would not mind, though it is an easy Google.
- gerikson 4y ago> I would say the author of this article is dodgy and unreliable. I mean I personally agree with this in general but Scott Alexander has many fans...
- thebooktocome 4y agoI’d say that’s more for ideological reasons than the quality of his analysis. He makes his otherwise questionable policy ideas very palatable to the educated techie class.
- staticman2 4y agoThe article writer's committmemt to empiricism is so flimsy that he argues polling his buddies on Twitter is a valid form of empirical evidence: "Selection Bias Is A Fact Of Life, Not An Excuse For Rejecting Internet Surveys" https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/selection-bias-is-a-fact-of-life https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/selection-bias-is-a-fa...
- malborodog 4y agoThat there is a correlation is not the issue. The issue is confounding.
- yosame 4y agoWell a point of evidence that disputes this: homosexual men have larger penis sizes on average than heterosexual men [1].This is the opposite of what you'd expect if EDC's are decreasing testosterone and increasing homosexuality. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10410197/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10410197/