Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Bath Spa University is conducting an internal inquiry into claims that it turned down an application for research on gender reassignment reversal because it was "potentially politically incorrect" and would attract criticism on social media.
James Caspian, a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender people, proposed the research about "detransitioning" to the university in south-west England, which, he said, initially approved the application.
When he went back with his preliminary findings that suggested growing numbers of young people, particularly women, were regretting gender reassignment, Bath Spa said his proposal would have to be resubmitted to the ethics committee, which rejected it.
Caspian, who enrolled on an MA course at the university, said he was "astonished" by the decision and had sought legal advice.
"The fundamental reason given was that it might cause criticism of the research on social media, and criticism of the research would be criticism of the university. They also added it's better not to offend people," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday.
I was going to add some snark here but they pretty well covered making a mockery of academia for me.
Source: The Guardian
Also at: The Times
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:05AM
I'm curious: How many trans people do you know personally? I've met a few, one male, three female and one intersex. I've asked most of them if the have regrets, and the only I heard was one of the girls who regretted getting her surgery done when she did because the technology got better a few years later and she had a less effective result. They do not appear to be the broken, mentally ill people everyone says they are. It's so strange. But clearly the evidence of your report from The New Atlantis trumps the evidence of my own eyes and the attestations of the very people we're talking about.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.