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Richard Dawkins vs. transgender people

Richard Dawkins is a British biologist, author, and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Clinton Richard Dawkins was born on March 26, 1941 in Nairobi, Kenya to Jean Mary Vyvyan (1916–2019) and Clinton John Dawkins (1915–2010). Dawkins has a younger sibling Sarah.

The Dawkins family returned to their country estate in England in 1949. Dawkins was raised Anglican but became atheist after learning about evolution. Although atheist, Dawkins has self-identified as culturally Christian and culturally Anglican. While at Chafyn Grove School, Dawkins was molested by a teacher. Dawkins attended Oundle School, then earned a degree in zoology at Oxford in 1962 and a doctorate in 1966.

Dawkins taught at University of California, Berkeley from 1967 to 1969 before returning to Oxford in 1970. In 1995 Dawkins was named Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science.

Dawkins founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science in 2006. It merged with the Center for Inquiry in 2016.

Dawkins is known for work supporting the gene-centered model of evolution, outlined in the 1976 book The Selfish Gene. As part of that work, Dawkins coined the term meme, which Dawkins describes as the behavioral equivalent of a gene.

Anti-transgender activism

Dawkins’ anti-trans views stem from support of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. Dawkins’ views align with those of Steven Pinker and others characterized by their critics as Darwinian fundamentalists. Trans biologist Joan Roughgarden’s 2009 book The Genial Gene: Deconstructing Darwinian Selfishness is a critical response to Dawkins. Roughgarden proposes that social selection as an alternative to the Darwinian sexual selection model promoted by Dawkins, an idea outlined in the 2004 book Evolution’s Rainbow.

On October 26, 2015, Dawkins posted on Twitter:

Is trans woman a woman? Purely semantic. If you define by chromosomes, no. If by self-identification, yes. I call her “she” out of courtesy.

In April 2021, Dawkins posted on Twitter:

In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a white chapter president of NAACP, was vilified for identifying as Black. Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men. You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as. Discuss.

The American Humanist Association retracted Dawkins’ 1996 Humanist of the Year Award in response to the tweet. Conservative and anti-trans activists criticized their decision.

Dawkins’ 2024 “Final Bow” tour was hosted by a number of anti-trans activists, including Helen Joyce, Peter Boghossian, Andrew Gold, John McWhorter, Coleman Hughes, Kmele Foster, Steven Pinker, Nick Gillespie, Jesse Singal, Angel Eduardo, and Michael Shermer.

References

Molay, Jack (August 2, 2023). How did a biologist like Richard Dawkins end up dismissing real science, becoming an ally of transphobes? Transgender World https://trans-express.lgbt/post/724533357675970560/how-can-a-biologist-like-richard-dawkins-dismiss

Molay, Jack (August 1, 2023). Why is it so hard for a scientist like Richard Dawkins to understand the difference between sex and gender? Crossdreamers https://www.crossdreamers.com/2023/08/why-is-it-so-hard-for-scientist-like.html

Kornick, Lindsay (August 1, 2023). Richard Dawkins slams transgender ‘distortion of reality’: ‘Sex really is binary.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/richard-dawkins-slams-transgender-distortion-reality-sex-binary

Mehta, Hemant (August 1, 2023). Richard Dawkins has abandoned science to justify his transphobia. Religion News Service https://religionnews.com/2023/08/01/richard-dawkins-has-abandoned-science-to-justify-his-transphobia/

Soave, Robby (April 26, 2021). By Canceling Richard Dawkins, the American Humanist Association Has Betrayed Its Values. Reason https://reason.com/2021/04/26/by-canceling-richard-dawkins-the-american-humanist-association-has-betrayed-its-values/

Hayton, Debbie (April 21, 2021). How Richard Dawkins fell victim to the transgender thought police. The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-richard-dawkins-fell-victim-to-the-transgender-thought-police/

Flood, Alison (April 20, 2021). Richard Dawkins loses ‘humanist of the year’ title over trans comments. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/20/richard-dawkins-loses-humanist-of-the-year-trans-comments

Media

Richard Dawkins (April 13, 2024). Richard Dawkins on Transgenderism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzTLmJ3EaU0

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Richard Dawkins Tour (richarddawkinstour.com)

Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science (richarddawkins.net)