‘The Hops in it Will Feminize You’: Anti-LGBTQ Pastors Condemn Beer, Claiming it Makes Men Effeminate

Steven Anderson speaks out against drinking beer, saying that it gives men a “beer belly” and “the man-boobs.” (Photo: Hemant Mehta/Twitter)

Two outspoken anti-LGBTQ pastors have condemned the act of drinking beer, claiming that the hop-based alcoholic beverage is responsible for feminizing men, reported LGBTQ Nation.

Steven Anderson and Jonathan Shelley both preached their strong opinions on alcohol in recent sermons. Clips of each sermon featuring the admonishment of drinking beer have been posted to Twitter by blogger and activist Hemant Mehta.

Christian hate-preacher Steven Anderson says beer is bad because you’ll get a belly and man boobs and the hops will “make you more feminine.” pic.twitter.com/qIn27piPTU

— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) January 7, 2023

In the video, Anderson stated: “People who drink a lot of alcohol, they end up getting a beer belly. But not only do they get a beer belly, they get the man-boobs.”

“And I’ll tell you why they get that, not only just because of getting overweight but also because of the fact that beer has in it hops and there are phytoestrogen mimickers in beer that actually hormonally can, you know, make you more feminine as a man,” Anderson continued.

“So, the reverse of being so manly because you drink so much alcohol, in fact drinking beer specifically can actually give you more feminine features to your body and cause you to, you know, yeah, like I said.”

Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley says beer is bad because “the hops in it will feminize you.” pic.twitter.com/KRnsiIOxQc

— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) January 7, 2023

Shelley said: “I hate alcohol. It causes so much adultery and infidelity. It causes abuse. It makes men just become stupid losers — and effeminate. Hey, let me tell you something: Beer makes you effeminate. The hops in it will feminize you. On purpose.”

Richard van Breemen, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy shared his insight on the topic in 2015 with Business Insider in response to internet rumors that claimed drinking hop-heavy beers made men develop “man boobs.”

“It’s true that there is a minute quantity of [the estrogen-like compound, known as] 8-prenylnaringenin, in hops, and there ought to be a trace of it in beer, but I would say the levels are too low to function as a [hormone] disruptor,” said van Breemen.

Van Breemen added that any primary health problems stemming from the consumption of beer are, if anything, more related to its high-calorie and alcohol content.

Who are Anderson and Shelley?

The two men are members of the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist movement (NIFB), which Anderson founded in 2017 alongside other Baptist pastors. NIFB is known to be strongly homophobic, evident by Anderson once calling for the “execution of all gays,” according to Phoenix New Times.

Shelley is a pastor at the Stedfast Baptist Church in Watauga, Texas, and Anderson is a pastor at the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona.

In 2016, Anderson commented on a “bright side” of the Pulse nightclub shooting, stating that “there are 50 less pedophiles in this world,” per the report. The video of the sermon has since been removed from YouTube for violating its hate speech policy. Furthermore, in 2019, Anderson became the “first person to be banned from Ireland” in response to his anti-gay and anti-Semitic views, according to BBC.

As for Shelley, in May of 2022, he said, “we should hate pride, not celebrate it,” adding in that homosexuality is among other crimes “worthy of capital punishment,” according to Advocate.

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