This article provides an easy-to-understand look at the theory of frogs being gay as well as a deeper dive into how frogs are being used to represent human sexual identity and sexual orientation. The herbicide atrazine, one of the world's most widely used pesticides, screws up the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study by UC Berkeley's Tyrone Hayes. By Robert Sanders. Hayes, professor of integrative biology.
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. Press Releases. Image Downloads. Popular weed killer demasculinizes frogs, disrupts their sexual development, UC Berkeley study shows 04 April
"The majority of frogs in most areas of the United States are now gay," Jones said in The claim was without evidence. In , a government lab did request funds to pursue the development. In , biologist Dr. Although the manufacturer of Atrazine, Syngenta, argues that the pesticide is safe, Hayes and other scientists have increasingly demonstrated a link between Atrazine and threats to public health and the environment. In this essay, I examine the role of gendered rhetoric in scientific and popular representations of this controversy.
This article offers a genealogy of the gay frog, situating this recent moment in the longer history of “sex panics” over gay animals described by queer ecologists, and in the context of an ongoing backlash against feminism and trans liberation. Its widespread use as a herbicide in industrial farming and corn production has been hotly contested over its environmental impacts. European regulators have banned it for its impact on the environment. In fact, the last time Trump was president, EPA increased the amount of atrazine it considered safe for frogs and other aquatic organisms, in a move that the Biden-era EPA later criticized as politically motivated rather than science-based.
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. .
"The majority of frogs in most areas of the United States are now gay," Jones said in The claim was without evidence. .
The herbicide atrazine, one of the world's most widely used pesticides, screws up the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study by UC Berkeley's Tyrone Hayes. .
Frog research also helps to debunk misconceptions and myths surrounding amphibian sexuality. For example, the idea that frogs are gay is a common misconception that has been perpetuated by misinformation. .