The National Science Foundation is allocating over $900,000 in taxpayer funds to three universities to conduct a study claiming biology courses inaccurately portray sex and gender as binary, in order to make them more inclusive for transgender and non-binary students.
The study aims to explore how sex and gender topics are taught, their impact on transgender student belonging and interest, and ways to create a more inclusive curriculum acknowledging diversity in sexes and the complex relationship between sex and gender.
While the NSF claims strong theoretical foundations and peer review support the research, critics argue it amounts to denying basic biological realities in order to push an ideological agenda.
“There is a strong theoretical foundation on which the research questions are based,” a National Science Foundation spokesperson said, noting that its “merit review process is recognized as the ‘gold standard’ of scientific review.”
Concerns have been raised over the politicization of federal agencies and wasting of public funds to embed extreme gender ideologies in institutions, as part of broader DEI initiatives, when evidence for related medical interventions remains limited.
