Drowning in a sea of estrogens : sex hormones, sexual reproduction and sex

C. Roberts

Contemporary life is taking its toll on sex, according to scientific, environmental and pop-scientific literature. Both women and men are being overwhelmed with estrogens and hormonally active chemicals in their environments -in water, plastics, and food. Such 'estrogenization' produces interesting questions about the 'nature' of sex, gender and reproduction, and their relations to each other. This paper critically juxtaposes contemporary discourses on estrogenization with feminist work on sex, gender and reproduction. It asks: How might a feminist theorizing of the body take on questions about sex hormones without essentializing sex or reproduction, or underestimating their relevance as biological actors in the production of sex?