Almost a third of scientists in the UK believe that biological sex is non-binary, a new poll has revealed.
A Censuswide poll surveyed almost 200 British scientists at universities, with 29 per cent agreeing with the statement “sex is not binary”.
“To me this just means that at least 29 per cent of the academics that filled out this questionnaire do not understand the biological concept of sex, and at least 22 per cent of them do not know what gender means,” Dr Wolfgang Goymann, professor for behavioural biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, told The Telegraph.
Goymann recently published an article where he slammed some scientists for arguing that sex is on a spectrum, rather than being binary.
The survey found that 29 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement 'sex is not binary'
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Writing in the journal BioEssays, he said: “Leading science journals have been adopting this relativist view, thereby opposing fundamental biological facts.
“While we fully endorse efforts to create a more inclusive environment for gender-diverse people, this does not require denying biological sex.
“On the contrary, the rejection of biological sex seems to be based on a lack of knowledge about evolution and it champions species chauvinism, inasmuch as it imposes human identity notions on millions of other species.”
More than half of the poll’s respondents were educated to PhD level or higher.
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Out of the 200 academics surveyed, 58 per cent believe that sex is binary.
Meanwhile, one in eight (13 per cent) had no view or preferred not to answer.
The information comes as the Government launches a major review into the use of data about people’s gender identity.
The report will have the power to suggest that the biological sex of trans people should be used instead of gender identity.
Yesterday, Suella Braverman expressed fears that she could be criminalised for her personal views should transgender conversion therapy be banned in the UK.
The former Home Secretary said she teaches her children that “a boy cannot be a girl” and because of that view, fears she could be criminalised.
Almost a third of scientists in the UK believe that biological sex is non-binary, a new poll has revealed
PASpeaking during a debate on proposals to ban conversion therapy, which aims to stop or suppress someone from being gay, or from identifying as a different gender to their sex recorded at birth, Braverman expressed concern for parents “valiantly to navigate this unchartered territory”.
She urged MPs to oppose plans to ban the practice despite several professional bodies, including NHS England, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society, calling the therapy “unethical and potentially harmful”.
Previous plans to ban conversion therapy were scrapped entirely, much to the anger of campaigners, but were eventually re-instated.
However, the old plan did not include a ban on practices aimed at transgender people.
The Government has now said it will ban all forms of conversion therapy in England and Wales - including those that target trans people.
Braverman is also calling for transitioning to be banned for under-18s.