University blocked transgender sports research after proposal mentioned term 'male:' Term is 'misgendering'

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley gives his take on Harvard's council on academic freedom and free speech on 'America Reports.'

An ethics board at an university in the United Kingdom rejected research on transgenderism in sports because the proposal mentioned the world "male," according to the researcher. 

John Armstrong, a senior lecturer of mathematics at Kings College London, said he was asked to survey elite athletes on their views on transgender participation in sports.

"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. "The ethics committee rejected the proposal, on the grounds that using the terms ‘male’ and 'female' in this sentence constituted 'misgendering.'"

The professor said that the proposal was separate from the survey, and the questions itself didn't cause any concerns. 

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"Nevertheless, I was told that I must seek input from the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team on the ‘wording used in the survey’ and the ‘presentation of the research,'" he said. 

Penn's Lia Thomas dives into the warmup pool at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at Harvard University, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Cambridge, Mass.  (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

The professor blasted the ethics board for refusing to allow him to address biological sex, which he believed would undermine the credibility of science. 

"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