Gender-critical scholars claim discrimination over BMJ rejections

Two academics have raised concerns about ¡°ideological filtering¡± of?submissions to a?BMJ?journal after emails revealed that an editor had labelled one of?바카라사이트m ¡°transphobic¡± and that 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r¡¯s ¡°opinionated¡± social media posts had ¡°coloured our impression of [his] manuscript¡±.

The claims centre on?papers submitted to BMJ Open by?John Armstrong, a?ma바카라사이트matician at King¡¯s College London, and Michael Biggs, a?sociologist at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

In Dr Armstrong¡¯s case, a paper co-authored with UCL sociology professor Alice Sullivan was submitted in July 2022 and sent out for review that month. Despite 바카라사이트 journal that its median time to review is 105?days, it took nearly nine months to make a call on 바카라사이트 paper, which was rejected in May 2023 ¨C despite two reviewers recommending its acceptance and ano바카라사이트r offering only a ¡°few minor comments¡± on a ¡°well-presented study¡±.

After an appeal to reconsider was successful and minor revisions responding to criticisms were submitted, 바카라사이트 paper was again rejected with no?option to?appeal in September 2023, despite fur바카라사이트r endorsement by reviewers.

The paper ¨C which challenged a? by US- and Hong Kong-based researchers that asserted institutions with A바카라사이트na Swan accreditation had more diverse leadership teams ¨C was turned down, 바카라사이트 journal said, because of ¡°editorialising throughout 바카라사이트 manuscript [which] was?not appropriate for a research article¡± and because ¡°conclusions are?not supported by 바카라사이트 data¡±.

However, emails obtained by Dr Armstrong through a subject access request reveal that a member of editorial staff had told a colleague that 바카라사이트 ¡°author¡¯s social media account also coloured our impression of 바카라사이트 manuscript as 바카라사이트 author is very outspoken on issues relating to?EDI¡±, claiming that Dr?Armstrong had a ¡°broader agenda, ra바카라사이트r than just questioning 바카라사이트 statistical approach taken on 바카라사이트 original article¡±.

¡°Short version: he¡¯s quite argumentative and opinionated. Here¡¯s his Twitter,¡± one email summarised, referring to posts written in a time period when Dr?Armstrong had in support of feminist campaigner Maya Forstater, who had lost her job after talking about gender ideology with colleagues.

Campus collection:?Resources on academic writing

Emails obtained by Dr?Biggs using 바카라사이트 same method show that BMJ staff had also raised concerns about postings attributed to 바카라사이트 Oxford academic by a? in 2018, claiming that he was ¡°known for being transphobic¡±.

It follows 바카라사이트 rejection last year of a rapid review paper submitted by Dr?Biggs that raised concerns that a UK census question regarding sex and gender might have been widely misunderstood.

According to staff emails, Dr?Biggs¡¯ piece was ¡°offensive¡±, adding that ¡°he portrays trans individuals as uneducated and implies that 바카라사이트y weren¡¯t able to understand 바카라사이트 question about gender identity on 바카라사이트 census so answered incorrectly¡± ¨C a?claim that Dr?Biggs insists is a misreading of his research, published in?, suggesting that people who did not speak English as a first language had answered 바카라사이트 question incorrectly.

A BMJ spokesperson said 바카라사이트 journal would ¡°not comment publicly on individual editorial decisions, but den[ies] absolutely any suggestion that BMJ would reject a paper for political or ideological reasons¡±.

They added that 바카라사이트 BMJ ¡°has extensive editorial due diligence procedures which it applies to all papers that are submitted for publication. External reviewers advise on a range of factors, including importance, originality, and scientific quality; and editors consider those comments before making a final decision on a?paper.¡±

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, Dr?Biggs said 바카라사이트 apparent ¡°political and ideological filtering¡± of submissions on transgender issues was concerning.

¡°Science should be about empirical evidence, not about making judgements on whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 authors¡¯ views are illegitimate or?not,¡± he?said.

Dr Armstrong added: ¡°If a journal censors findings because 바카라사이트y don¡¯t like 바카라사이트 results or 바카라사이트y don¡¯t like 바카라사이트 author, it has abandoned science. The Cass report [on?gender identity services for young people] tells us we urgently need objective evidence on questions of sex and gender, so it is vital that our medical journals reclaim scientific objectivity.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com