The Female of the Species Is More Doubly Than the Male

Inuit villagers give birth to twice as many girls as boys

Posted at 4:05 PM on 12 Sep 2007

Twice as many girls as boys are being born in Arctic communities across Greenland and northern Russia, where Inuit villagers are known to have high levels of human-made chemicals in their blood. Many babies are being born premature; baby boys tend to be small. Hormone-mimicking chemicals originate in industrialized countries, travel to the Arctic by wind and water, and rise up the food chain to reach high levels in traditional Inuit fare of seals, whales, and polar bears. Greenland resident Aqqaluk Lynge tells it like it is: "This has become a critical question of people's survival but few governments want to talk about the problem of hormone mimickers because it means thinking about the chemicals you use." More food for thought: Recent research has also shown the gender ratio favoring girls for the first time in the U.S. and Japan. We're all about girl power, but this is ridiculous.

sources:  The Guardian, The Independent, The Times