I was gay long before I so much as knew what soy is. And mamma didn't ingest any of it when she was preggers with me either.

by Bob (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments) on Sunday, Dec 17, 2006 at 12:03:45 PM

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Most humans do not have the enzymes to digest soybeans and neither do dogs. I know that for sure: most dog foods have lots of soy in them cause it's cheap and bulky. Check them out. When the poor dog and/or human plump up with awful gas, nausea, and stomach pains, it is not an allergy, it is simply that soy is inedible in the bean form. Remember, there are also humans and other animals, who can't digest milk either. The article is right about tamari, soy sauce and other fermented forms of soy as they are not the same chemical composition as the beans. I disagree with them about tofu, which has also been chemically changed by fermentation. Similar to the process of milk to cheese. Tofu has been eaten in Asia for a long time with no ill effects. I guess if someone is worried about estrogen they could find a food that has testosterone in it to counteract estrogen. Soybeans make great ink, fuel, and probably lots more things that we don't eat. It is a legume, therefore a nitrogen fixer in the soil which is great because that's one less chemical additive to add to soil for mass vegetable production. It took years for me to figure all this out. So if you are troubled by flatulence, swollen and upset stomach, check for hidden soy. :)

by zephyr (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 74 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Dec 17, 2006 at 12:14:01 PM

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Thanks for your kind response to my article. Just so you know, I have nothing against breast feededing - I object to the right wing trying to make women feel bad about choosing not to. I think vegetarians are silly. I don't particularly care for tofu. I detest soy milk. I don't doubt that unusually large quantities of anything, even soy, are bad for you.

by Dana Scully (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Sunday, Dec 17, 2006 at 1:14:12 PM

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I drink soy milk usually several times a day. No wonder I can't think straight.

by Daniel Geery (26 articles, 95 quicklinks, 126 diaries, 912 comments [27 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Dec 17, 2006 at 1:22:33 PM

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...I didn't eat soy much when I was a kid, and I am as queer as the day is long. I ate at McDonald's a lot, which is why I am fat. Unless they lied about their burgers being 100% pure beef, I know it wasn't their burgers that made me gay. I came out of the womb with my FABULOUS gene already inside and waiting to come to the fore. Nothing brought it out of me. It came out on its own. But we all know how the right-wingers are, an ounce of pretense is worth a pound of manure. Besides that, what's emasculating our society has nothing to do with what we are eating, and everything to do with our seeming need for political correctness. That's another story. Blessed be! Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 5:13:19 AM

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Why does everything have to revolve around politics? Before this article came along, my knowledge in nutrition and the hormonal system strongly pointed in the direction that most of our ill health and hormonal inbalance was due to the increase in Soy consumption. I am a liberal/democrat and a transsexual man. But my politics and gender Identity has absolutely nothing to do with my knowledge of nutrition and health. I agree with the article and have been saying for years that soy is bad. It is in every single product we consume, and its fed to the animals we eat. So, looking at the increase in cancer and unexplainable diseases and conditions, I strongly agree that it is altering our system. Its not about being a feminist, or a bible thumper of which I am neither, but it makes perfect sense to me and the research I have done. Eat tons of miligrams of soy a day as most average americans do without knowing it, and you will soon start seeing the results the article talks about. Estrogenic compounds are everywhere, and although it may appear to be in lower doses, it can affect your offspring and alter your hormonal balance in the end. At one point we believed that global warming was bogus, I think we are seeing the truth in this theory. Lets not forget, the world is flat jargon, which we proved other wise. Open mindness and less critical thinking is what will make our future a brighter place.

by Mark Angelo Cummings (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 53 comments) on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 11:59:24 AM

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Soy might very well not be good for you. It might be horrid for babies. Soy may be the most awful thing ever foisted on the unsuspecting American public. However, you can base your entire diet on soy and... It won't shrink your penis. It doesn't confuse men about what sex they are. It won't change boys into girls or men into women. It doesn't make you gay. Your question, "Why does everything have to revolve around politics?" Is just plain stupid. Never mind this is a progressive political opinion site. The point is that right wing, fundy nut-jobs like Mr. Rutz use homophobia to push all sorts of agendas. In the process they continue to make and push "arguments" based on the fallacious premise that people are gay because they choose it or because something made them that way. If he objected to soy on health grounds, then he could make his case with actual health information. Despite cribbing most of the "facts" in his article from a June 2004 issue of Mothering magazine article on the dangers of feeding soy to your children, he didn't bother to provide anything but passing references to the research that prompted that article. What he did instead was to use the controversy to forward the right's assertion that being gay is not a perfectly normal and natural outcome. The Right would have you believe that something "makes" someone gay, or that someone "chooses" to be gay. The only thing that makes men gay is a desire to have sex with other men. There are millions of people worldwide that are perfectly happy to be gay, but they didn't "decide to", they are. If your internalized transphobia requires you to fix blame upon something because you are transgendered, that is your issue, but it wasn't soy. If you are, you just are, learn to deal with reality. Finally, I'm all for having an open mind. What gave you the impression mine was not? Perhaps if you would engage in rather more critical thinking and rather less blind acceptance of the Right's propaganda, our future would be brighter.

by Dana Scully (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 4:22:27 PM

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I am not defending the right wing or the religious not jobs, I am not blaming my transsexualism on soy, that was caused by hormonal treatments my mother had. I have done the research and it points in the direction that gender identity and sexual preference has much to do with hormonal bathing of the brain. Endocrine disrupting chemicals are altering the gender center of the brain. Now all I am saying is that there is a possiblity that soy can be altering the hormonal activity in an individual. I don't go by what the Political right party is saying, I go by studies and research. I am neither homophobe or transphobe, I advocate for both groups, and for the right of self expression.

by Mark Angelo Cummings (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 53 comments) on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 5:30:12 PM

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...This time with a more serious tone. There are SOOOOO many theories on the biological "cause" for homosexuality, it's hard to say what is and isn't right. Some say it's genetic, and there is enough proof even on an anecdotal level to give some credence to that idea. Some say it's the environment inside the womb, and the presence and absence of hormones at the time. There is evidence to support that as well. There have also been recent studies that lay the predisposition for gay male children off on the number of male children previously brought to term by the mother. Once again, there is some amount of evidence to support that as well. The point is, there are many "reasons" given, and some amount of evidence to support some of those reasons. Is it "A" or "B"? To my mind, that's not even the question. A better question would be why does it matter? No one spends a lot of time wondering why children grow up to be heterosexual. The fact that they are assumes that they are fulfilling their mission in life: passing on their genes to a new generation. All the time spent trying to figure out why some children come out gay is really wasted time. Does it matter? If they find a reason why, does that open the door to anti-homosexual eugenics? It could. I wouldn't put it past the Religious Reich and their political handmaidens. Is soy bad for you? Could be. Does it throw the hormones into a tailspin? Maybe. Is it any worse for you than say the growth hormones fed to livestock? Probably not. Is it more deadly than, let's say, a lifetime of eating fast food? I doubt it severely. So why all the hubbub, Bub? I could come up with numerous reasons why I came out of the womb as a homosexual. The fact is, I am homosexual. The "why" doesn't matter. What am I going to do about it and how am I going to live my life are the questions that do matter. So what am I going to do? I am going to be the best forty-four year old fat homosexual I can be given the circumstances of my reality. Can I ask for anything more? Sure, I could, but I won't get it. I am happy with who I am and what I am. Maybe instead of looking for reasons why, it's more important to just be. Blessed be! Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 2:56:08 AM

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Pappy you hit it on the head. We spend so much time wondering why things happen instead of accepting who we are. But I think that as long as there are haters and people that feel they are superior because of their race, religious beliefs, sexual preferance, there will always be people trying to justify why we are who we are. Maybe to prove to those self rightous folks that we have the same right to walk this earth as they do. I wrote a poem and performed it in you tube that basically sums it all up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb1Pgjtuo4E Mark Angelo Cummings

by Mark Angelo Cummings (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 53 comments) on Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 9:34:41 AM

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Pappy you hit it on the head. We spend so much time wondering why things happen instead of accepting who we are. But I think that as long as there are haters and people that feel they are superior because of their race, religious beliefs, sexual preferance, there will always be people trying to justify why we are who we are. As long as people hold onto their fears, they will always feel the need for the things listed above as well. Fear breeds the need to feel we are better than our fellows, because we fear we are worse. Fear becomes hatred. Hatred fuels intolerance and bigotry. They in turn create more fear, and so the cycle spirals out of control. Then you wind up with what we have in this country now: a bunch of morally bankrupt people who are busy pointing out the faults and failings of others so we won't look at them and see their faults and failings laying at their feet. It's classic misdirection, and it's everywhere we look. Why else would otherwise intelligent citizens buy into the bullshit of DUBYA? Maybe to prove to those self rightous folks that we have the same right to walk this earth as they do. I wrote a poem and performed it in you tube that basically sums it all up I had to move over to my Windoze box since the Linux box doesn't have a soundcard. Nice poem. Great sentiment. Perhaps you'd consider posting it here in written form, yes? Blessed be! Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006 at 4:30:13 AM

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