AmericanPapist Comments
But...that would make sense....
Lack of males= faster reproductive maturity, to take the highest advantage of available males....
The plastic argument is not completely off base. Breastfeeding rates are very low for Black children, and plastic bottles and soy formula do wreak some hormonal havoc. Oh, and one of the great predictors of breastfeeding success? A supportive father. So it's all tangled up together.
foxfier, 'nuther thought: evolutionarily, males = protection for females, but not males in general, only fathers or (what we call) husbands. so, if fathers are absent, females seek husbands sooner?
"had the satisfaction of watching the pubic hair vanish."
I found this sentence just a wee bit disturbing.
But multiple causes does seem the most likely; have to figure that the artificial products of our society has some negative effects, to the degree that they are produced and used irresponsibly.
Hmm. I always thought it might be the incredible amount of food that we're now feeding ourselves that has been hormonally altered to be bigger/leaner/more consistent of a product. Plastic makes sense too, but I don't see how either of these might affect one race more than another. I wouldn't discount the environmental causes as real causes, but there certainly has to be something additional.
Teep- most hormones are destroyed by heat.
Mr. Peters- true.
Thom...don't be so hard on them. Plastic does contain various hormone-like compounds. Poor diet can also be a culprit, as the ubiquitous phyto-estrogen containing partially hydrogenated soy is every where in junk food and convenience foods. As was mentioned, bfing is also a factor. Obesity also seems to promote early menses, but then again, hormone imbalances and insulin resistance seem to go hand in hand, as in PCOS. We have mechanisms for all these things, whereas the pheromone connection you cite seems...well...hard to prove. Not invalid, but it would be hard to seperate it out from all of these other, obviously hormonal, influences.
To sum up: plastic, junk food, formula (the poor lifestyle, lack of support factors) and perhaps, lack of father.
Oh, and lets throw estrogen in the water supply in that equation.
Kate-
My mom also got me wondering if maybe the higher rates of cancer might be linked to the estrogen and stuff that mimics it-- she can't drink breakfast shakes or slimfast anymore, because it's got soy, too.
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