A university in the United Kingdom rejected a research proposal on transgender athletes in sports after it mentioned the word “male.”
Professor John Armstrong at Kings College London said they had been asked to survey athletes about their views on transgenders in sports, but the ethics committee rejected the proposal due to the words “male” and “female” being present.
“I submitted a proposal for ethical review… which stated that the aim of the research was ‘to find the views of athletes and volunteers on the question of when males should be allowed to compete in the female category,’ he said, as reported by Fox News. “The ethics committee rejected the proposal, on the grounds that using the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ in this sentence constituted ‘misgendering.’”
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas dives past the other swimmers during the 100 Freestyle prelims at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Armstrong said that he then had to seek input from the “Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team on the ‘wording used in the survey’ and the ‘presentation of the research.’”
Armstrong argued that the ethics board essentially dictated that he could not acknowledge biological sex in the slightest.
“By preventing me from using the word ‘male,’ the ethics review was in effect preventing me from using the concept of sex at all,” he said. “Activist interference in what can be researched erodes the integrity of science… Political policing of research introduces a new ethical-review bias. If the ethics team at my university limits what questions can be asked about gender-identity, this introduces a bias into all the work conducted on gender at the university.”
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kings College London later released a statement saying that the school is committed to “research” of the highest quality.
“While we can’t comment on individual research applications, we are strongly committed to ensuring that the research carried out by our staff and students is consistently of the highest quality and to the most rigorous standards,” the statement said. “This is important to instill confidence in academic communities, funding bodies, and crucially the public that the data, findings, and results produced by our researchers are sound and trustworthy.”
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.