"The Feminization of American Culture" -- intriguing article from The World & I magazine on the interplay between changing gender identities and, of all things, estrogen-mimicking chemicals in our environment. Both threads are fascinating to me; here's a quote on the new paradigm of maturity, in contrast to the stern 1950's or the macho 1970's: "Today, Dr. Philipson observes, the badge of emotional maturity is no longer the ability to control or sublimate your feelings but rather the ability to express them. A mature adult nowadays is someone who is comfortable talking about her inner conflicts, someone who values personal relationships above abstract goals, someone who isn't afraid to cry. In other words: a mature adult is a woman." Sweet!

But it's not that straightforward -- the author draws a parallel to environmental toxins which act upon human and animal bodies as estrogenic, or otherwise hormonal, agents, a phenomenon widely reported and studied -- intersex fish and alligators, plummeting fertility, and increasing incidence of cancer in estrogenic tissue, i.e. breasts. I read "Our Stolen Future" and "Living Downstream" years ago when I was first diagnosed with PCOS, and I've been drawing my own conclusions about these issues, and the PCOS epidemic, ever since. I think the next 20 years will show not only the consequences of these pervasive pollutants on our bodies, but also the near-impossibility of eradicating them from the environment. Just today, The Lady SB sent me this warning for Nalgene bottle drinkers: maybe they leach a toxic chemical over time, maybe they don't. Sigh.