Pesticides Cause Gender Change

by N.M. Lee

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There is now growing evidence that a range of pesticides, industrial compounds, and at least one food additive are causing sex hormone changes in a range of animals from fish to turtles. Some scientists have argued that the effects of these hormone-mimicking chemicals threaten the future of the planet. Whilst governments around the world are preoccupied with the toxic and cancer causing effect of industrial chemicals, they seem to have overlooked the effects of these compounds on the environment at minute concentrations.

Researchers around the world have discovered that wildlife exposed, even briefly, to these chemicals even at critical stages during embryonic development have undergone sex-hormone changes and physical disorders. The result of chemical contamination has meant that there are rivers that only produce female fish; male alligators were born with abnormally small genitals, turtle and bird populations have developed weird reproductive problems, and frog populations around the world have diminished or vanished.

It has been assumed that embryonic development is controlled by genes, but hormones are the essential chemical messages around the body: in effect switching genes on and off. Interruptions of these hormonal messages can have a devastating effect. An embryo has the potential to develop wither male or female characteristics but exposure to hormone-mimicking chemicals may interrupt or alter the development of normal sex organs.

It has been known for some time that sexual orientation/gender is determined during the development of an organism, in higher animals (and humans) this occurs during embryonic development but in other, such as rats, this occurs shortly after birth. Researchers can change the sexual orientation of rats by injecting female hormones into male rats resulting in the rats behaving as if they were female and vice versa. In the 1950's researchers at Syracuse University (New York) shower that genetically male chickens exposed to D.D.T. grew up and acted like hens.

There has been little research on the effects of chemicals on humans and extrapolating field studies on wildlife and laboratory experiments to humans is controversial. Given that the hormones controlling development have stayed constant throughout vertebrate evolution, the hormones controlling development of tadpoles into frogs are the same as which control human sexual development. Theo Colborn, a researcher at University of Wisconsin, has raised the question that if these chemicals are causing a worldwide decline in frog populations what effects are they having on humans? There has apparently been an increase in human diseases and congenital abnormalities that could be linked to hormonal disruption.

What does this mean for the transgender community? The jury is still out as far as a direct cause and effect, but there is some anecdotal evidence.

Theo Colborn, John Peterson Meyers and Dianne Dumanoski have written a book on their research titled "Our Stolen Future"

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