On ignoring the "f" word in questions of early puberty

Liberal Feminist blog Feministing.com, in their "weekly feminist reader" notes this article in Colorlines ("the national newsmagazine on race and politics"), which claims that plastic is the reason why black girls enter puberty earlier than white girls:

"A 1997 study, conducted at pediatricians’ offices nationwide, found that girls were showing the first signs of puberty about a year earlier than was considered normal. Most striking was that Black girls were beginning puberty about a year earlier than white girls."

What I found most striking is the entire article never once mentions the many many studies which claim that early puberty normally occurs in situations where there is no biological father present during the girls' upbringing (it's a pheromone thing). African American homes in the United States, sadly, often do not have the original biological father present through the entirety of childhood.

In other words, lack of a father, not the presence of plastics, can begin to account for some of the disparity in the statistics along ethnic lines.

But if there's anything I've learned from reading these radical feminist blogs, it's to never accept a sound sociological/biological explanation when a hypothetical ecological/lifestyle solution can be offered instead.