News
2007-10-23
Paper Finds
Controversial Northwestern Researcher Acted
Appropriately
An ethics scholar
at Northwestern University published a paper this
summer claiming that controve
An ethics scholar
at Northwestern University published a paper this
summer claiming that controversial scholar and author J.
Michael Bailey acted appropriately while researching
his 2003 book about transsexuals, The Man Who Would
Be Queen, according to an article in The
Daily Northwestern.
Alice Dreger
wrote in the report that critics conducted a smear campaign
intended to ruin Bailey, also a professor at Northwestern,
because they disagreed with the basic findings of his
book.
“I am led
by what I find to be true, not what I find to be
popular,” Dreger told the newspaper.
In his book
Bailey states that male-to-female transsexuals are either
“homosexual transsexuals,” inherently feminine
men who are attracted to men, or
“autogynephilic transsexuals,” men who are
aroused by the thought of having a woman’s
body.
Transsexual
activists Lynn Conway, Deirdre McCloskey, and Andrea James
have questioned Bailey’s findings and research
methods, claiming he refused to interview subjects who
would disprove his theories. They attempted to have
the book disqualified from consideration for a
literature award and wanted Bailey investigated for
reportedly practicing psychology without a license.
The more serious
allegations, however, came from Bailey’s sources. Two
transsexuals included in the book -- Anjelica Kieltyka and a
woman referred to as “Juanita”-- claimed
that Bailey wrote about them without their permission.
Juanita further alleged that Bailey had sexual
relations with her while conducting research for the book.
An ethics board
began investigating Bailey’s work in 2004 but never
released its findings.
Bailey continues
to conduct sex research at Northwestern. He is now
studying 1,000 pairs of gay brothers to explore the link
between genes and sexual orientation.
Kieltyka, who was
a friend of Bailey’s for 10 years, said she believes
he is part of a broad conspiracy. In attempting to
find a genetic cause for homosexuality, she said, his
research implies that it is a disease that should be
cured. She told The DailyNorthwesternshe plans to file a civil suit against
Dreger for fraud. (The Advocate)
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