Panic at the toy store? Plastics can have a potent effect on the unborn.
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Of all the charges leveled at plastics: the health risks, the waste creation, the resource-intensive production—this one is definitely the strangest. New research suggests that if women pregnant with boys are exposed to certain plastics, it will alter the brains of their unborn children. And make them girlier.
Seriously.
According to the BBC, researchers have found that pregnant women who were in contact with phthalates, a chemical prominent in many prominent plastic products, subject their child to a bit of unintentional gender-bending: "Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found."
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Phthalates are found in vinyl and PVC—two very common plastics already associated with a slew of other health risks. And this goes far beyond behavioral impacts: "The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys are born with genital abnormalities." Plastics can actually 'feminize' boys.
We've been railing against both vinyl and PVC as long as we've been writing—for both health and environmental reasons. The best way to avoid any health effects or 'gender abnormalities' in your children? Simple. Avoid the stuff altogether. Vinyl is especially common in flooring and PVC shows up in products like shower curtains. It's best to steer clear of as many plastic products as possible of course, but especially take note of those two.
And keep your boy from turning into a girl.
