The Disappearing Male

[marmar]

Fascinating and frightening Canadian Broadcasting Corp. doc on the alarming drom in male sperm counts and the link to chemicals.


The Disappearing Male
Thursday September 10 at 1 pm on CBC-TV


"We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subjects." Dr. Herbert Needleman

The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

Some researchers say that declining male fertility rates could be the first sign of extinction.
At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.

Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called "hormone mimicking" or "endocrine disrupting" chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.


http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/

[ShortnFiery]

1. Good! We may get "a little moody" every 28 days or middle age, but we won't be starting WARS.

That seemingly is something that most often involves testosterone plus the attitude: If you cant f**k it, kill it.

More women in this world would make life INTERESTING.

[BoneDaddy]

8. Sigh

Men=bad...women=good. What great simplistic childish drivel.

[ShortnFiery]

11. I know, I should be ashamed ...

but I'm not. :shrug:

[Lance_Boyle]

then would you settle for ignored?

Asshole.

[ShortnFiery]

17. Back at you buddy!

;)

[BoneDaddy]

18. Ashamed? I could care less

ignorant, hypocritical, insensitive, and sexist seems more appropriate. What I find hillarious about women like you is that for all of your pro women bluster, you actually are embodying the negative masculine and have become, to a certain degree, that which you hate. It is a phenomenon that is very active on this board and other so called "progressive" boards.

Sad really

[ShortnFiery]

28. Oh lighten up. I was being glib. Gee, I apologize as I didn't sense this was a hot

button issue. :shrug:

[BoneDaddy]

29. That was a coward's answer

as you are often full of anti male rhetoric. Now you are called on it, by men and women, and you take the coward's way out. Actually it is the bully's way out. Time to grow up and let go of your little hate fest towards men.

[ShortnFiery]

31. Whatever, something is bothering you today and you choose to unload on me.

I hope you feel better tomorrow. And yes, I made a faulty error and should not have been so GLIB.

All I can do is apologize ... hope you feel better soon. :hi:

[BoneDaddy]

48. I don't think so

your apology is about as honest as Dick Cheney.

[ShortnFiery]

32. p.s. I've been married to "a male" for almost 28 years. Give it up, I made a dumb joke

and I'm sorry. Nothing more nothing less.

[EOTE]

46. The best apologies.

Are usually free from words like "whatever" and "give it up". They tend to have more weight that way.

[roguevalley]

38. actually, I took it as a joke what she said. amazing how different

people can perceive things.

[malaise]

44. Ditto

DU is a riot.

[BoneDaddy]

47. Really now...be honest

A joke that if made at a woman's expense would have had the forum descend upon them

[seabeyond]

58. a few women may say something then be attack for not having sense of humor

lighten up, puritan, man hater or not like sex.

the very men i see here bothered by this are some of the same i have heard making comments i just said.

but no

i didn't think stereotype made by poster of either the male or female particularly funny or complimentary.

[Sherman A1]

57. Agreed & Well Said

On so many levels. One wonders however, if the male is a disappearing part of the species due to mutations might not the female be far behind?

This does not bode well for any portion of the human race, but then I guess in some folks opinions that might not be the case.

[Kalyke]

13. This was a bit much, don't you think?

Less males means women will have to either not marry (if they want to) and/or have even MORE incidents of males cheating on them - or worse, society will evolve so that polygamy is OK.

I don't much like any of those options.

And, just so you know, when women get "a little moody" every 28 days, it's, well... because the testosterone in our system is much higher. In effect, we're simply acting like men.

[BoneDaddy]

20. No, you are acting like women

do not confuse testosterone with men and estrogen with women. It is not that simple.

[paulsby]

37. but it is a huge factor - hormones contribute to gender differences

men have on average 10 times the endogenous T that women have.

women have more estrogen than men, also.

give women exogenous T and women start acting more stereotypically masculine. women bbers see this all the time.

similarly, suppress male's T levels and supplement estrogen, and you see the reverse.

vive la difference!

men and women ARE different, and the hormonal milieus play a big part

[Maru Kitteh]

23. I find all forms of gender-bashing to be inadmirable at best, and as one half of a couple that

has faced the incredibly painful and expensive illness that is infertility, personally cutting.

[BoneDaddy]

30. Thank you

for supporting men on this issue.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. You got it. That was completely uncalled for.

For one, some of the greatest warriors in history have been women, so there goes the whole "women don't do war" thingy.

Second, to wish infertility on anyone by virtue of gender alone is pretty sickening.

Third, as I said, all broad-brush negative stereotyping with hostile intent is wrong.

It is one thing to say that it's harder to catch colorectal cancer early in men because they tend to dismiss early symptoms, are less likely to seek screening, and are less likely to seek a physicians help early. This is evidence based observation, and the information is used to help men, not to bash them.

Men gone! Sperm bad! Boys dumb! is just as ugly as "Women never shut up" or "Women are sneaky."

No human being deserves to be discriminated against on the base of their gender.

[proteus_lives]

25. Wow, straight-up misandry.

"Women are good, pure and peaceful. While men are violent and evil."

Utter bullshit of course. Sexism is very ugly.

[mamaleah]

27. You are about as useful or as funny as a misogynist.

And as pathetic.

[FiveGoodMen]

35. Sarah Palin.

Michele Bachmann.

[lumberjack_jeff]

43. DU is the most sexist place I visit. n/t

[Swamp Rat]

54. LOL!

:rofl::hug:

[Missy Vixen]

64. I disagree

I love men.

>More women in this world would make life INTERESTING.<

More women would make the ones who are still here (and identify as heterosexual) even more competitive in search of a mate. No, thanks. I'd also like to mention the fact that women are not perfect. I'd rather have a disagreement with a man any day of the week -- at least they're truthful about why they're mad.

:scared:

[saltpoint]

72. This is part of the reason why we have no Equal Rights Amendment.

[aquart]

2. Now there's an incentive to clean up the environment.

[aikoaiko]

3. In time (probably short), women will be able to reproduce with other womn

by combining haploid material from two ova.

[Kalyke]

14. Sorry... I wouldn't want to.

I'm not gay - don't care if others are - it's none of my business, but I happen to like men. My man, in particular. :) :loveya:

[aikoaiko]

21. rock on.

:headbang:

[Toucano]

53. I don't think lesbianism was implied.

LOL!

I think the poster is saying a male won't be required for reproduction, that the female will be able to reproduce herself - without another individual involved.

You'll still be able to love your man! He just won't knock you up. ;)

[JerseygirlCT]

66. Well, sex really wouldn't be involved, you know...

I mean, that wonderful woman who's your best friend? Could also be the other mother of your child - while you still have your man.

;)

[KansDem]

19. Yeah, but will they want a cigarette afterwards?

[aikoaiko]

34. Only if the OB/GYN is really really good.

;)

[-..__...]

22. Does this mean no more messy strap-on turkey basters?

[aikoaiko]

33. Turkey basters will still be provided for the basterists among us,

;)

[lunatica]

50. cloning?

[aikoaiko]

51. Not necessarily cloning, but that too is a possibility

We can already extract the haploid DNA from sperm and inject it into ova to create new genetic combinations.

It won't be long until we can extract the DNA from an ova and treat it like the DNA from sperm and inject it into an ovum to create a new genetic combination.

[XemaSab]

59. Then all children would be daughters

I think a world without boys would be an impoverished world. :(

[aikoaiko]

70. I agree, but some it might be a dream come true.

;)

[treestar]

4. Low fertility rates would mean fewer children, not just fewer males

It would mean fewer females too. Just fewer children.

With 6 billion people on board, this is not such a problem (except for any specific health threat to the boys involved).

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. yes, less males AND females

[Johonny]

5. interesting but

hormone mimicking chemicals are certainly interesting. But the article seems to be linking male genetic diseases with other problems that are induced by chemicals. It's not clear there is any link to these at all. Just seems very sloppy and not at all convincing because of it.

[marmar]

6. I think the article is just a teaser to watch the doc, n'est-ce pas?

It's a lot more detailed.

[Warpy]

12. Yes, it's just fearmongering

Wake me up when there's actually a decrease in the number of babies being born on this poor, tired planet outside the first world.

[Democrats_win]

9. Because it's business as usual, no one calls this a crime against humanity.

Conservatives and liberals believe people have a right to reporduce. Yet that's what these corporations are destroying and they know it. People who want kids should be lining up at corporate headquarters protesting. Yet that's not happening because the anti-choice movement is a political movement meant to support our coporate world. How evil are corporations?

[DevonRex]

10. But if men can't fertilize the eggs, then we ALL disappear.

[JerseygirlCT]

67. Well, not necessarily - see #3

That said, as the mother of boys, this is scary news.

[MrScorpio]

15. Watching!

[LondonReign2]

16. I'm standing by

Willing to re-populate the whole world, if need be. }(

[saucy susanna]

24. Perhaps this is the Universe's way of balancing things...

Look at all the men who have many children with many women. Or how about the fact that men are capable of impregnating women until they croak? So a one-man sperminator can wreak enough havoc on our fragile eco-system.

[The2ndWheel]

26. Yet another regulation by the government

Let me explain. Each species is a corporation; growth for the sake of growth, etc. The planet is the government; more equitable distribution of resources, etc. The planet regulates all the different species, so that a monopoly doesn't form, and competition and diversity can do what they do, etc, etc. The government regulates all the different corporations, so that a monopoly doesn't form, and competition and diversity can do what they do, etc, etc. The question then becomes whether or not we, as a global corporation with no boundary, accept these regulations, or if we try and find the loopholes, or even write the regulations ourselves, to privatize the profits for a single species, and socialize the costs to whatever life stands in the way. Because as a species, we are Exxon, or Wal-Mart, or Monsanto, etc.

[windoe]

36. Thom Hartman, in Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

writes about estrogen pollution, insecticide uses estrogen to interrupt life cycles of insects, it is in all the chemlawn products, and sprayed on farms. The countless women for decades who have been on the pill and hormone replacement therapy, have introduced non biodegradable female hormones to the groundwater. There have been fish with high levels of female hormones in them. Then there are growth hormones in meat. It is ignorant to think there won't be an impact on human and animal health.

[SoCalDem]

39. Males are the fragile sex.

To even become male, there is some serious "mutating" that has to happen ..with infinitesimal accuracy...in utero. there are many things that can go wrong..and that do go wrong.

Every chemical that Mom comes into contact with, or ingests can affect that baby.

Girl preemies often out-survive their male counterparts in neo Natal units.

[Hannah Bell]

40. no one told mag thatcher, golda meir, queens liz & victoria, etc.

[Thothmes]

71. Don't forget Cathrine Czar of all the Russias

[Arugula Latte]

42. This is how evolution works. Nature will select for those with resilient sperm.

[gatorboy]

45. Someone better hurry up and turn Y The Last Man into a film while it's still fiction.

[lunatica]

49. That's a scary article

But if it's true than it may just give humanity the kick in the ass to do something about it.

[Libertas1776]

52. Hey, as long as we don't start

dying faster than our birth rate, we should be fine. Otherwise, we'll be going the way of the carrier pigeon (They went extinct to those who don't know)

Plus, I would really hate to live through that whole "Children of Men" type world scenario, that movie scared the shit out of me enough as it is:scared:

[pitohui]

61. the carrier pigeon is not extinct

they're mostly out of work except for racing, because we all have cell phones now but they're still around

their best work was i think during world war I but there were hero carrier pigeons in ww 2 as well

[Libertas1776]

62. Aw, fuck

Sorry, I was thinking of the Passenger Pigeon, that's the one that went extinct. I always get those two mixed up, Passenger and Carrier.

[onestepforward]

55. Find less toxic personal care products here:

Link: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php

You can look up shampoos, lotion, etc. You can see how toxic the products that you use are and find better alternatives if needed. This site has been a great reference for me.

[TxRider]

56. So have sex with smelly unkempt men, or no children for you!!!

ROFL...

Hey I don't use many personal hygiene products... Wanna date?

[XemaSab]

60. I'm a biologist, so all the men around are smelly and unkempt

:P

[onestepforward]

65. LOL!

Return of the cave men!

[TxRider]

68. I'll never look at a Geico commercial quite the same again..

[Duer 157099]

63. I think the sperm banks probably have enough deposits

to keep humanity moving along for the foreseeable. And who knows, it may come to that some day, where IVF is the only way to reproduce.

As long as there's a supply of sperm with that Y, fertilization will continue, one way or another.

But clearly there is a huge problem with environmental contamination by these homone-type compounds, and that affect more than just fertility issues.

[MilesColtrane]

69. Jim Bob Duggar will single-glandedly repopulate the Earth.