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LGBTQ chemicals conspiracy theory
Anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Conspiracy theories alleging that governments are using endocrine disrupting chemical pollutants in the water supply to create an alleged increase in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) population were popularized in the 2010s. Most notably, American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cited research on the effects of atrazine on frogs, which can induce spontaneous sex change or hermaphroditism, to claim that the U.S. government was "putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin’ frogs gay" as part of a "chemical warfare operation" to increase homosexuality and suppress birth rates.[1] Certain species of frogs however, can spontaneously change sex in non-polluted waterways in response to changes in temperature.[2]
In other animals, exposure to endocrine disruptors during gestation can interfere with prenatal hormones, and consequently the sex differentiation of the brains of their offspring.[3][4] This has led some researchers to speculate about exposure to endocrine disruptors during human pregnancy, and if it has an effect on later sexual orientation or gender identity of offspring.[3][4][5] This hypothesis requires further research.[4][3]
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Animal testing in the 2000s suggested that the herbicide atrazine, an endocrine disruptor, may have a feminizing effect on male frogs causing them to become hermaphrodites.[6][7] Other research failed to reproduce these results in frogs,[8][9][10] though reports of reproductive impact has been reported for other animals, and a meta-analysis conducted in 2010[11] on selected amphibians and freshwater fish showed sublethal reproductive effects at ecologically relevant concentrations. Reviewing 19 studies in total, the United States Environmental Protection Agency concluded in 2013 that atrazine has no consistent effects on development in amphibians.[8]
According to Lambert and Packer:[2]
A direct link between EDCs and sex-reversed frogs has been observed only in the laboratory, not in the wild. What’s causing sex reversal in these wild frog populations is not yet clear, but our latest data suggest that natural temperature variation, occurring independently of urbanization or climate change, may be a catalyst.
In 2015, American conspiracy theorist and radio personality Alex Jones claimed that atrazine had caused a majority of frogs in the US to become homosexual, and that the US government was waging a "chemical warfare operation" to increase rates of homosexuality and decrease birth rates.[12][7] This claim goes far beyond what was reported in the scientific literature.[9][13] A quote from Jones's monologue, "I don't like 'em putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin' frogs gay!" subsequently became an internet meme.[1]
The idea of a link between atrazine and sexual development was later revived by American environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during his 2024 presidential campaign. In various podcast appearances, Kennedy claimed that atrazine contamination was causing widespread delayed puberty or precocious puberty in the Midwest, and speculated that it was causing "sexual confusion" and "gender confusion" in children.[14] Kennedy's theory was criticized in various popular media outlets.[5][15]
Scientific consensus, as summarized in a 2016 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, is that there is "no persuasive evidence that the rate of same-sex attraction has varied much across time or place".[16] In contrast to claims about chemicals in the water, the effects of hormones on sexual orientation appear to occur at the prenatal stage, during organization of the brain.[16] Endocrine disruptor exposure during fetal development has been shown to affect sexual differentiation of the brain in animals,[4] however any effect on human sexual orientation or gender identity requires further research.[4][3]
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