What is xenoestrogen? The chemical that conspiracy theorists believe is 'feminising' men

Right-wing conspiracy theorists are known for the bizarre and outlandish beliefs they hold, well known conspiracies include that Hollywood and Democratic elites are running a child sex ring, the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, climate change is hoax, and more. But one of the more fringe beliefs centres around a chemical called xenoestrogen.

Xenoestrogens are a type of synthetic chemical that can mimic the effects of estrogen. The chemical can feature in some products such as plastics and cosmetics, often as a result of the industrial process. For example, in plastic manufacturing Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has xenoestrogenic effects, has historically been used as it can produce clear, lightweight, and durable plastic known as polycarbonate.

But many conspiracy theorists believe its actually being used in products to "feminise" men.

In a post from the r/conspiracy subreddit, one user detailed how they believed that a “powerful group of people who try to control the general population” may be trying to do it “through giving us extra estrogen”.

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The user claims “we are being bombarded from everywhere. With so many different sources of xenoestrogen in things we use every single day, multiple times per day, and with no/few studies being done on how all of these combine and how they effect our bodies, I find it hard to believe that we are not being affected.”

Whilst most organisations don’t believe xenoestrogens to be severely harmful for humans, more studies are being conducted and the use of xenoestrogen and chemicals that mimic its effects are being limited in certain products whilst research is ongoing. But the effects of xenoestrogen has never been something that has been attempted to be covered up, like some claim.

One user commented that it makes men “display the traits of domestication”, another said “it makes sense with the men now days being such cry babe snowflake p*****s”.

“I 100 per cent believe our younger boys are being pumped with estrogen for some reason,” commented another.

And the conspiracy is popular on Twitter too. One user tweeted his support for RFK Jr.’s presidential bid - a known supporter of conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine propaganda - because “he is the 1st & ONLY anti-xenoestrogen candidate.”

Another user suggested that Democrats make sure there is an “abundance of xenoestrogen pollutants” so people vote Democrat because it makes modern society “overly-emotional”:

Another believer in the theory claimed that xenoestrogen is the reason people are transgender, but it's not being addressed because it “would trigger the biggest legal event in world history”:

More extreme right-wing individuals on platforms such as 4chan have even pushed the conspiracy into antisemitism.

Studies that have looked into xenoestrogens effects have widely be criticised for their research methods, with some saying their research is too minimal to prove change or danger is caused by the chemical.

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