Plastics cause gender change

[iyah360]

http://www.hindu.com/seta/2004/08/05/stories/2004080500311400.htm

Plastics cause gender change

Scientists now fear that seals, dolphins, otters, birds such asperegrine falcons and even honey bees are heading towards a unisex existence that would lead to extinction.

By Mark Townsend

MOTHER NATURE is taking over. An extraordinary feminisation process has begun to affect Britain's wildlife — and scientists warn it could ultimately dismantle the evolutionary process that has existed for 3.5billion years. A trend first noted in whelks is starting to spread rapidly among other wildlife species in the food chain.

The first national survey of 42 rivers by the UK Environment Agency has just been completed and it found that a third of male fish are growing female reproductive tissues and organs. Effects were most pronounced in younger fish, raising grave implications for future stocks.

More species affected

Scientists now fear that seals, dolphins, otters, birds such asperegrine falcons and even honey bees are heading towards a unisex existence that would lead to extinction.

Blame has fallen on the increasing prevalence of a group of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. These are found in plastics, food packaging, shampoos and pesticides and accumulate in the environment.

They can mimic the female hormone oestrogen when ingested. A reduction in the size of male genitals, a lower sex drive and parts of the testes turning into ovary tissue are among the symptoms. As the effect of the chemicals starts to creep up the food chain, concern will mount over the potential effect on human health amid increasing evidence of falling sperm counts and infertility among men.

A very real concern

Charles Tyler, professor of environmental and molecular fish biology at the University of Exeter in south-west England, who is leading an international team studying the impact of so-called `gender-bending' chemicals, warns that a point where a species can no longer reproduce is a very real concern.

Others studying the phenomenon say the feminisation process is a warning from nature that a nightmare is about to unfold. Pressure will again resume soon on politicians to curb the use of `gender-bending' chemicals.

Environmentalists will point to research revealing that honeybees, so vital for the pollination of plants, were found to display a lower sex drive with fewer eggs laid by the queen after exposure to endocrine disruptors.

They also point to recent studies involving bottlenose dolphins in the North Sea. Again, the presence of chemicals has been linked to an increase in birth defects, most notable among male specimens, along with more infant deaths, which has resulted in an ageing of the population. So far the U.K. government has agreed to fund studies into suspicions that the otter's comeback after decades of decline will be hampered by the feminising effects of the chemicals.

Ignorance shows up

A separate study has just been funded into the dipper, a bird, which feeds on invertebrates taken from the rivers. Tyler is among those who have complained that the huge gap in scientific knowledge over gender bending pollutants has so far prevented any action in the outlawing of chemicals.

Toxicology expert Andreas Kortenkamp of the University of London's school of pharmacy, believes the government has `grossly underestimated' the chemicals' effects. He believes that current safeguards to protect wildlife are grossly inadequate. In particular, he warns that nothing is being done to calculate how cocktails of chemicals react in the environment. More than 100,000 synthetic chemicals remain authorised for use, with the European Union holding a list of 550 potential endocrine disruptors.

It is not yet known precisely which ones have altered the male reproductive organs of bream, carp, roach and gudgeon or caused hormone disruption among grey seal pups in the North Sea. Bees were found to be affected by chemicals used commonly on crops in the U.K. countryside.

The findings coincide with renewed concern over fertility levels among men. Sperm counts have fallen by a third between 1989 and 2002, according to some studies, while one in six British couples now experiences difficulty in conceiving.

Contaminated drinking water caused by the by-products of the contraceptive pill flowing back into the system is one of the explanations put forward.

Justin Woolford, a spokesman for the WWF (formerly the World Wide Fund for Nature), said: ``What we do to wildlife we ultimately do to ourselves.'' Yet almost two years have passed since the WHO urged governments to investigate the effects of gender-bending chemicals.

— Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004


http://www.hindu.com/seta/2004/08/05/stories/2004080500311400.htm

[Kebo]

This feminization process is also taking place among humans. Men are getting more and more feminized without their knowledge. There is an organization in America called Men's Division International that is a program in which men bring themselves back to their masculine source. In these days of confusion this is a great resource for a lot of men. Sometimes men need to be reminded who they are and where their power comes from. Just as we need good strong women in society, society and women demand strong men. Great men. Men who are men.

Kebo

[iyah360]

This feminization process is also taking place among humans. Men are getting more and more feminized without their knowledge. There is an organization in America called Men's Division International that is a program in which men bring themselves back to their masculine source. In these days of confusion this is a great resource for a lot of men. Sometimes men need to be reminded who they are and where their power comes from. Just as we need good strong women in society, society and women demand strong men. Great men. Men who are men.

Kebo

I would be interested to know what "bringing men back to their  masculine source" means as this organization describes it. I think we have to look at the HIS-story of the society in which we live - this society is indeed very male oriented HOMOsexual with the exclusion of the female within doctrine, religion, etc. This is the psychic blueprint that this society was built on and this is what we have to work with - in this sense, the feminine aspect IMO factors in as an occult(hidden) force - the aspect does not dissappear when it is repressed - it still exerts influence from the unconscious.

IMO - women are still not respected in the warped Western view of feminism either - her natural role as nurturer and mother is labelled as antiquated in favor of the view that a woman is not indeed respected or "liberated" until she "puts on the pants" and becomes masculine and just as ruthless and competitive as the dominant male power structure.

I feel the imbalance needs to be addressed - starting through our view of the world as not MALE dominated, but rather an outcome of the interaction between FEMALE and MALE, MALE and FEMALE energies. REALITY functions even when we IGNORE it, it is better to ACKNOWLEDGE both sides of an equation. The repression only leads to mental illness, perverted expression of subconscious repressed aspects of reality, and the door is left wide open for MANIPULATION by the masters of psychological engineering who control the media programming that is PROGRAMMING us.

[Kebo]

I'm all for women being women and men being men. Back to the orginal male and feminine principles as I hear people say on this board. Kind of like what you said here Iyah:

"the interaction between FEMALE and MALE, MALE and FEMALE energies"

Its when one sex starts fusing into the other that things become a problem. The organization which I mentioned, MDI, Men's Division International, is not about male domination. In fact, one of the core values is that the men of MDI are men that women can trust. This is the kind of man who is supported and encouraged. Along with this is a commitment to family and being an inspiration to children.

Similar to the concept of MAAT I believe that its important for all nature to be centered. In this day and age many men are off centered, like many other things are off-centered. And I support men getting centered to their own manhood. This is beneficial to the man and to women and to society as a whole.

Kebo

Do me a favor and change the title of this reasoning. I'd like to get other opinions on male female gender roles.

[iyah360]

I'm all for women being women and men being men. Back to the orginal male and feminine principles as I hear people say on this board. Kind of like what you said here Iyah:

"the interaction between FEMALE and MALE, MALE and FEMALE energies"

Its when one sex starts fusing into the other that things become a problem.

What does the I think is the point when the male and female fuse into one another? Are you talking about gender roles?

[Kebo]

Deep inside the man and the woman are blueprints. The man has a blueprint and the women has a blueprint. And they are not alike. They are different and separate. As far as I'm concerned, a female human is more like a female dog than like a male human. Female is female and male is male. Gender roles in society dont even have to be set if men and women operate according to their genetic blueprints.

What happens is in this day and age intelligence is involved. And because the intelligence of our time isnt matured our intelligences pick up mixed messages and Lord knows there's a lot of b.s. messages out in the world. I'll say that along with messages there are also forces. From my view it takes a lot of strength to be a man. The negative forces of the world are so great that a man is susceptible to losing his identity as a man and adopting feminine traits. When he does this he begins to lose his sense of self and confusion sets in and the man doesnt know why he feels strange. In this scenario its because he hasnt recognized the separate forces and principles of the man and woman and thinks its alright to associate among women and communicate as women do.

Homosexuals are another story. I have some trouble understanding the genetic story of homosexuals. I would put them in a third category of their own. Homosexual men are not women, and they also are not men. They just dont operate the same way heterosexual men operate. The more each one of us gets in touch with the genetic roots of who we are the faster we're gonna feel and operate right.

Kebo

[preach]

First the original topic: I believe that the Earth eventually responds to imbalances caused by humans, it is not just coincedental that natural disasters occur. The problem lies in the possibility of the Earth going into overload trying to compensate and  going into self destruct mode. In the pursuit of capital the things that really matter are forgotten, which brings to light the selfiishness of our societies. People laugh and shun organizations like PETA labeling them extremists but at least they care about the bigger picture.

Now: Kebo, exactly what roles should males/females play? What things in your observation are traits that show a man's feminization?

[Kebo]

Why does anybody have to break males and females down into roles? A man and a woman speak for themselves. Nobody has got to decide on how they should behave. A man has a masculine energy and a woman has a female energy. No need to dwell on it I dont think.

To answer your question a man can lose his masculine power by becoming afraid, by losing his courage. By wavering, becoming afraid of the company of masculine men. By becoming frazzled, emotional, emotional in arguments, by losing his cool and calmness.

A man originally, historically has a masculine way about him. Man is the hunter, the protector of the family, the strength. Look at nature, look at the male lion. He's the king, he stands up and battles enemies and threats to his pride. But the negative pressures of the world can break a man down from birth. Especially if a man lacks a strong upbringing in the company of good strong men.

[gman]

Ummmm, actually the male lion spends most of his time lying around and waiting for the female lion to bring him food. Lionesses do the hunting. Other than lying around, male lions do indeed fight against other male lions who get too near. They are also fond of killing lion cubs that are not their own in an effort to promote their genetic supremacy.
Is this the male role you want us to emulate? Or is that of the male bonobo, or the male chimpanzee (quite different roles if you research it).
Obviously men and women have physical and psychological differences. (Thank Jah). But to say that women have more in common with a female dog than with a male human borders on the hilariously laughable.
Also what is wrong with associating with women. Are men now supposed to only associate with other men, "strong men"? Who defines this "strength"? "Emotion" seems to be being defined in contrast to "strength", is emotion then "weak"? Men are defined as "strong", are women then "weak"?
Do y'all like beat drums in the forest and hunt (but not your totem animal of course) and try to emulate poorly-understood native american rituals? Are you sort of like the promise keepers, or what?
Forgive my sarcasm, I just find it amusing when people are so sure they've discovered these "natural" roles... not that there is nothing to the concept... IMO for example males should indeed "protect" the female and young, not because the female is incapable of protecting herself, but because it's she who bears and (at least at first) does most to raise the child, so the man should be willing to be the first line of defense and to sacrifice his life if necessary for the woman and children. But the woman should be well capable of defense as well. Some woman choose to be on the front line as far as defense/warfare, were these all women who were out of touch with their feminine nature or something? I got an ex-girl who was always a physical scrapper, getting in fights with girls and guys too (not looking for ish, but people tended to bring it to her cos she's gorgeous indepenedent and charismatic so girls feel jealous and guys feel threatened around her) and usually winning, she's also very "feminine" in my opinion, is there a contradiction in that?
Is suppressing emotion in the name of "controlling yourself" and "staying calm and 'masculine'" healthy or unhealthy?
If you call me a nigger (Kebo is white for those who don't know) would I be more 'masculine' if (A) I suppressed my emotions, did not lose control of my temper and broke down in cold analytical logic why that word is offensive and degrading coming from a white person, or (B) acted on my spontaneous emotions and proceeded to knock the teeth out of your mouth? If I did (B) would I be combining masculine and feminine characteristics like some sort of emotional hermaphrodite?
It's interesting to note how much the "roles" assigned to females resemble the roles assigned to non white peoples under white supremacy. Supposedly we are more emotional and less logical, ultimately weaker although we may be seen as physically stronger, and whites shouldn't mingle too much with the natives lest their ways rub off on them ('going native').
You might feel like I'm attacking you or whatever but really you opened the door to this by not defining exactly what male and female roles are according to you, just saying "look at nature", well any look at nature without blinkers on would see a great many different roles for male and female. Any look at human societies would reveal quite a variety in terms of what is expected from males and females. Would you say it is just coincidence that y'all's ideas seems (from what I gather- as I said you didn't really define them) similar to `19th century european notions of man as the hard rational logical hunter/protector and woman as the soft irrational emotional helpless breeder/nurturer? Is this actually 'nature' or culture?

[Kebo]

gman is black ya'll in case you dont know. Right on bro.

Whatever any being on this earth is be that thing. Because this world makes you not that thing if you're not careful. Look at the name of this reasoning. Gender change. That makes me ill.

You can confuse it up as much as you want and ridicule a solid reasoning. Is that a racial issue man. Among people I see a Man and a Woman. Two beautiful beings created by God. Adam and Eve. The mother and father of all the children. The yin and the yang. And the fact is a lot of men are struggling with their identity, and this breaks the partnership down, and can take human society down. A lot of men are lost. Men are society's first line of defense, equally as important as women no more no less. But in battle break down the men first and the rest is gonna break down. Men are made to be broken down. There is no one on earth who doesnt know the value of a good man. And these men are not everywhere you look. Many men are breaking down. And to these men I say the remedy lies in your manhood. For men lost in feminine ways, ways that are not your own, unearth the power, unearth the truth. All of society will thank you. Masculine energy is what makes society thrive.

[gman]

Rrrrrewind and come again...
Now this time instead of reacting personally to the HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE I gave you, try to respond to the actual points in my post.
What IS this 'masculine nature' according to you? What are its attributes? What about 'feminine nature'? Give some examples of 'feminine' and 'masculine' type behavior. Show me how your ideas of masculinity and femininity are really based on a blueprint from nature, and not from a particular cultural viewpoint.
And clarify what you mean by "thinking its ok to associate with females", something like that, whatever you wrote (people have accused me of distorting people's arguments here so let me make it clear I'm making that quote or paraphrase from memory, you said something along those lines, refer to Kebo's posts to read word for word what he said). Are you saying that if you hang out socially with women you are in danger of having their femininity 'rub off' on you? Are you saying we should be homosocial, i.e. hang out most of the time just with our own gender and deal with the other gender just for mating/childrearing purposes (as happens in some societies)?
I feel like I'm plenty masculine enough for me (and at least some females seem to think I'm plenty masculine enough for them) but this in no way precludes hanging out socially with females regardless of whether I'm having sex with them, or freely expressing my emotions, etc etc. I suspect that you have far too rigid ideas of what is 'masculine' and 'feminine' for my liking. But I won't know until you actually specifically say what your ideas of masculine and feminine are. So far the closest you've got is to say, look at lions, well I have no desire to emulate the lion type of masculinity (talking bout lions as far as the actual behavior of the animals, not any symbolic connotations of lions). I'm not a feline, I'm a primate. I don't want to spend my days lazing around waiting for my wife to bring me food and occasionally killing small children cos their daddy is someone else.
If you haven't noticed that I can be a bit sarcastic you haven't read much of my posts, it's my personality, just deal with it instead of taking it personally.

[gman]

Also, doesn't feminine energy make the world thrive just as much as masculine energy?
And are warrior women such as Nanny, Assata Shakur, Harriet Tubman and my scrappy ex "out of touch" with their femininity, by your estimation?

[Oshun_Auset]

Great analysis G-Man! For anyone to say displaying emotion is the equivalent of being feminine really can't be talking about African people, or coming from an African cultural perspective, as expressive as we are! Kebo's analysis of feminine/masculaine is definately coming from a western patriarchial cultural perspective whether he is aware of it or not.

I suggest this book be read by anyone who espouses the belief that "Masculine energy is what makes society thrive"...

"A Return to the Afrikan Mother Principle of Male and Female Equality", by Oba T'shaka

Balance is what makes society thrive. Imbalance is what is at the root of Western societies great technological advances and yet total lack of reguard for nature, the environment, people, ect. The denial or supression of the devine femanine is also showing in this culture's sexual expression. If we continue on this imbalanced path we face self-destruction.

What good is the Yin without the Yang? The man without the woman? The God without the Goddess? There is unity in opposites. The ancients knew this. The current arrogance of the white supremacist patriarchal dominant society denies this to it's own detriment.

You may want to read this thread for further reasoning on this subject.

http://www.africaspeaks.com/reasoning/?board=gender;action=display;num=1083133158;start=0

[Kebo]

Check it out. Women love a man who is confident, in control, decisive, and in charge. This makes a woman feel safe and they are attracted to it, cause thats how nature works.

A relationship doesnt need two women. A woman doesnt need a man to get inside her mind and think on here level, and understand her emotions. She doesnt want to hear a man express his emotions or complain when he's down. They dont need that. A woman isnt there for that. A man goes to his men when he needs support with the challenges of life.

A man's mind is much more simple than a woman's. Women's minds tend to be complicated. Its the stability of the man which grounds the woman and she loves it. A woman doesnt need another person who is shaky and insecure, or complicated.

And in my opinion a man shouldnt be expressing his emotions to female friends, or looking to them for counsel. A man wont get what he needs this way. Women are not the source of his power. Men are the source of a man's strength and power.
And every man knows there is nothing in the world as great as the woman.

There's probably nothing wrong with a man having a few female friends and sharing how he's feeling with them. But this wont resolve his problems. Only a man himself and the support and company of his men can resolves his problems.

Seeking counsel from women will mess with his mind. Your girlfriend sounds like she's tough. But I'm guessing she was also feminine. And acted like a woman. A lot of woman fight. A lot of woman are tough and kick each other's asses but they're still women and still feminine. Just because they're tough doesnt make them eligible for a man's counsel.

In general a woman is not to be confused for a man. They dont think like men, they dont understand how men think and thats that. Gman you act like you're ignorant to what I'm talking about. You're spending your time defending women and inquiring about women. Maybe you've been feminized and you dont know it.

Kebo

[iyah360]

Balance is what makes society thrive. Imbalance is what is at the root of Western societies great technological advances and yet total lack of reguard for nature, the environment, people, ect. The denial or supression of the devine femanine is also showing in this culture's sexual expression. If we continue on this imbalanced path we face self-destruction.

True. PLASTICS, a result of these technological "advances" is causing hermaphroditic animals - an outcome of being DENIED an aspect of the NATURAL BALANCE of their environment - just too telling of where we are.