Woke or castrated? (short version)

In the fog of discussion about wokeness, identity, gender and diversity, there is a focus on definition, questioning or weakening masculinity. At the same time, the number and quality of sperm has been declining worldwide since 1950 to less than half, and testosterone is falling by one per cent per year. Could there be a connection of all this?

The male embryo is especially sensitive

Of the causal factors for the dramatic decline in sperm and testosterone, stress, alcohol abuse and nicotine have always been present, and the mobile phones and COVID vaccination, which have also been blamed, only came decades later. Obesity and lack of exercise, on the other hand, have increased, but they do not seem to explain the decline in testosterone.

However, findings in animals and humans as well as epidemiological data point to the influence of chemicals blocking or simulating hormone effects, also known as endocrine disruptors. The most important of these are phthalates, the plasticisers that end up in food from plastic packaging, but which are also contained in cosmetics, shower gels and sun creams. They block testosterone.

The male embryo is highly sensitive to these substances: testicular development is disrupted and with it later testosterone and sperm production (1). As a result, not only do sperm levels decrease to just under half of their original value, but in Europe, Israel and the USA testosterone levels are also decreasing, by around 1 per cent per year or more. As the decrease in testosterone has been documented for decades, it would not be far wrong to assume a total decrease in testosterone to around half. Measured in terms of these testicular products - sperm and testosterone - men are all subject to hemicastration (removal of one testicle).

The famous castrato Farinelli

Testosterone and behaviour

Testosterone determines the male body type. And sexually typical behaviour is not just a social construct either (4), as boys show earlier, more frequent and more violent child movements than girls even in the womb. In late pregnancy testosterone shapes the typical male preference for ball games, cars and weapons over dolls. Testosterone also slows down speech development in boys and after puberty it promotes muscle development, muscle strength, libido, potency, dominance, aggressiveness and territorial and risk-taking behaviour.

Observations on male infants and young chimpanzees show that endocrine disruptors actually change testosterone-driven sexual-typical behaviour: if they normally prefer to play with car toys rather than dolls, this is reversed under phthalates, and at the same time the language development of these boys accelerates in a similar way to that of girls (1).

Testosterone and society

One social testosterone effect has been known for a long time: Young men have many more car accidents than young women, also in terms of kilometres driven - a consequence of testosterone-induced risk-taking behaviour. Hunting, territorial defence, murder, manslaughter and war have also been primarily the business of men, i.e. testosterone, since time immemorial.

If we subject the male world to chemical castration across the board, to the extent that half of masculinity has already been gone in terms of sperm and testosterone, this should actually have an impact on testosterone-dependent behaviour, including collectively in society. Several otherwise incomprehensible phenomena raise questions about such consequences:

• Theleweit's 1977 book ‘Männerfantasien’ (Men's Fantasies) questioned masculinity and his criticism of fascist militarism was also enthusiastically received by the left-green in Switzerland, even though it does not at all apply to our harmless militia army. What was new at the time were the weeping recruits who could not imagine shooting at anyone. Conscientious objectors were on the increase, the Swiss initiative to abolish the army received 36 per cent of votes, the newly introduced civilian service ushered in the post-heroic age and the annual Wilhelm-Tell games of Interlaken have just been abolished. In view of the Third Reich, the Hungarian uprising and the Prague Spring, this seemed nothing but naïve to us older people, a view that has only become acceptable again since the war in Ukraine (Remember: boys prefer to play with dolls under phthalates).

• It is puzzling that Germany welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees into the country from 2015 onwards without any serious attempt to check their identity and origin (A deficit in testosterone-driven territorial behaviour?).

• It is equally puzzling that hundreds of migrants were able to molest hundreds of German girls and women on Cologne Cathedral Square in 2016 without the German men who were also present intervening. In the Swiss writer’s Jeremias Gotthelf day (mid 19th century), this still would have resulted in a full-scale violent brawl (Was there a lack of testosterone necessary for the male protest?).

• While the world in my youth was clearly divided into boys and girls, the younger generation is increasingly confused about gender roles and affiliations, with endless gender discussions and an increase in gender dysphoria and gender reassignment. The Swiss Joung Socialists became a hetero-free zone, and since Nemo non-binary voices demand recognition and representation (Isn't this exactly what we can expect when we expose our offspring to substances that weaken or distort hormone effects?).

• The cancel culture seemed puzzling, as it is a chivalrous and highly interesting duty to measure oneself against opposing viewpoints - you grow, you learn and you can even come to an agreement. Yes, the woman's weapon is withdrawal of love and contact, but such refusal to talk is cowardly and unmanly behaviour (Is testosterone missing here too?).

• In addition to the blurring of gender roles, we also hear from many sources and countries (Switzerland, Germany, Asia) about declining sexual interest, even asexuality. More people are voluntarily or involuntarily living without a partner. Lonely Japanese people make do with rented families, or even with life-size dolls that have a little artificial intelligence. And Japanese women marry themselves. Testosterone activates a man's sexual interest, and the small amounts of testosterone produced by women are essential for libido and sexual sensitivity - phthalates interfere with both (1).

• Its difficult to resist the view that the decline in testosterone is contributing to the obesity epidemic in men. 

• Last but not least, the dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities in recent decades could be linked not only to seatbelts, speed limits and better roads and cars, but also to a general drop in testosterone levels.

Beyond testosterone

The abnormalities go beyond sperm and the effects of testosterone: worldwide, girls' puberty is being brought forward, increasing their risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer, which is becoming increasingly common, already affects one in eight women, and endometriosis one in ten. Not only men, but also women are becoming less fertile. Here too, epidemiology incriminates endocrine disruptors, this time those with oestrogen and progesterone activity, including certain phthalates and bisphenols, as well as pesticides and hair dyes.

Autism, behavioural disorders and perhaps ADHD also appear to be on the rise. In addition to air pollution, certain pesticides (organochlorines, organophosphates, pyrethroids), PCBs and again phthalates are incriminated.

Unsolved problem

Experts and professional organisations have been issuing warnings for years and calling for a switch to glass for food packaging (2), while pretend that there is a lack of direct evidence and that already sufficient and successful action has been taken (3). However, direct evidence will always be lacking because experiments on humans in this domain are not possible, and the problem remains unresolved given that sperm loss is continuing to progress at a rate of 2 per cent per year. Some analogies to climate change and CO2 come to mind.

Wokeness protects itself from self-knowledge

Scientific results can be cited for each of the above statements, often several and in agreement. Nothing has been invented. Only facts have been compiled and then questions asked. As these questions are of general and public interest, I tried to publish an opinion piece about them in Swiss media, e.g. the Tages-Anzeiger and then in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Schweizerische Ärztezeitung or the online journal Infosperber. Everything was rejected, cancelled so to speak. Infosperber did this even by majority vote of the editorial team.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung pretended that the presented facts are "not sufficiently documented".  Infosperber was so kind to give me some specific reasons for rejecting: Apparently they prefer to see gender roles as a social construct and not as a result of hormonal imprinting. This is in line with modern fashion, but contradicts the facts (4). Secondly, they prefer to be lulled into the illusion that we humans are free and self-determined beings and not animals programmed by hormones. The questions on migration caused particular outrage, but they were just questions that could be asked and then answered either way. Only questions that are asked can be answered. In fact, aspects could be checked by simple, targeted investigation. And the more uncomfortable the results are, the more interesting they become.

As a physician and biologist, I look at people like a zoo keeper looks at his animals (in parliament I always felt like I was on a monkey rock). But how was this again? Might we lack the testosterone needed to face up to an uncomfortable and politically incorrect discussion? Don’t look - down…

References

1. Shanna Swan, Count Down, Scribner, 2021.

2. Microplastics and plasticisers end up in our food: should we therefore avoid plastic containers? Interview with Prof.M.Wilks, Neue Zürcher Zeitung from 24.1.2024.

3. Factsheet on phthalates by the Swiss Federal Office of Health, May 2021: https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/bag/de/dokumente/chem/themen-a-z/factsheet-phthalate.pdf.download.pdf/factsheet-phthalate_de.pdf

4. Annemarie Allemann-Tschopp: Geschlechtsrollen - Versuch einer Interdisziplinären Synthese, Hans Huber-Verlag 1979.

Further literature from the author.