A MAGA social media commentator has drawn widespread ridicule after dramatically misrepresenting a scientific study, concluding, incorrectly, that headphones are “making men gay”.
Ian Miles Cheong posted to X on 24 February, referencing Dutch research analysing potentially hazardous chemicals in 81 models of European headphones.
The study, titled The Sound of Contamination: A Comprehensive Analysis of Endocrine Disruptors and Hazardous Additives in the Headphones, examined the presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other additives that may pose long-term health risks with prolonged exposure.
Researchers noted:
“While these products do not pose an acute or ‘imminent’ danger, the cumulative and synergistic effects of chronic exposure to these chemical classes pose a long-term risk to public health.”
The paper identified possible links to cancers, reproductive complications and chronic diseases. It did not claim that headphone use affects sexual orientation.
The Viral Misinterpretation
Cheong, however, framed the findings very differently.
“Dutch scientists: Your headphones are making you gay,” he wrote.
He further claimed the study found headphones contained “endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic hormones, that can cause neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of males”. The study itself does not draw conclusions about sexual orientation, nor does it claim headphone use causes men to become homosexual.
At the time of writing, the post has amassed 4.6 million views.
Social Media Reacts
The claim was swiftly mocked across the platform.
“Just found out I’m gay because of my headphones of seven years from Ian Miles Cheong,” one user joked.
“Insecure men asking which headphones are okay to use in the comments, I am DYING,” another wrote.
The episode highlights how scientific research — particularly studies involving complex topics like endocrine disruptors — can be misinterpreted or exaggerated when filtered through culture war rhetoric.
