Gym Owner Sorry for Soy Makes You Gay Claim

The owner of a chain of gyms in New Zealand has apologized for an e-mail newsletter claiming that drinking soy milk makes men gay.

The newsletter from Club Physical linked to an article that said use of soy products is "feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality."

The author of that article, conservative American writer Jim Rutz, has also written about "the little foibles of liberals, homosexuals, Muslims, radical feminists, Nazi retreads, atheists, FDA bureauquacks, lawyers, Marxists, AP reporters, FEMA officials, Democrats, New Agers, politically correct trendoids and most recently, Hindus," according to the New Zealand Press Association.

Paul Richards, the chief executive of Club Physical, said that he didn't necessarily agree with the article but thought it was interesting.

However, Auckland gym member John Kingi, a gay man who is also the treasurer of an LGBT support group, did not find the article too intriguing. Kingi has led the charge against the gym, saying its motto as being hypocritical.

"Although they claim the gyms are 'A Place Where You Belong,' this clearly doesn't apply to GLBT people," he said, according to GayNZ.com.

Richards told Radio New Zealand that anyone who canceled their membership because of the newsletter was small-minded.