54 academics, including Dr. Paul Sagar from King’s College London’s Department of Political Economy, have been accused of being transphobic in their research of transgender issues.
The academics are employed over a multitude of subject areas, including sciences, commerce and arts & humanities. They have raised their concerns about academic censorship, claiming that critically analysing transgenderism through various perspectives is purely professional and cannot be deemed as transphobic. According to the group, ‘disagreement is reasonable and even productive’ in academia.
Some of the 54 members have reportedly faced campus protests and harassment. According to them, organisations that advocate trans-rights have a very broad definition of ‘transphobia’, one that ‘could not withstand academic analysis.’ These academics think that they cannot properly discuss the causes and results of transgenderism without being labelled as transphobic, which often leads to censoring of their research in journals and other forms of media.
The criticism has led some to become advocates for academic freedom, urging the Government to protect their research from ‘ideologically driven attacks’.
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