Brown University and PLoS ONE: Defend academic freedom and scientific inquiry

A university has a duty to maintain scientific rigour in its thinking. It's not acceptable to cave in to dogma (unscientific nonetheless) to stop meaningful research into a vastly debated topic, that of rapid onset gender dysphoria. Pulling this paper is an admission this university accepts the mantra "born in the wrong body" with no questions asked, despite the lack of scientific proof to prove this theory is valuable in any way. This is a double standard. I'm in favour of papers being scrutinised before and after publication, but a university also has the intellectual duty to scrutinise the trans narrative, when this has no foundations in science, instead of force feeding it to students as it were a belief that can't be challenged. Shame on you brown University, you're showing a great amount of intellectual dishonesty. This is an unforgivable sin which will rightly damage your institution if not fixed at once.

This issue is particularly relevant to my family at this time. Thank you.

ROGD may well be a legitimate diagnosis and more research clearly needs to be done. Discouraging research in such an unscientific manner is unethical and pandering to those whose feelings may be hurt irrespective of the consequences.

Nothing must be out of bounds for scientific research

We have to put the needs and mental, not to mention physical, health of our children ahead of our need to be politically correct. When valid research is belittled and discredited because it provides evidence based on impartial studies just because it's politically correct, this is a tragic statement about where society and this country is going. How sad that in a country that was hailed as the land of the free and the home of the brave, we've allowed ourselves to become bullied and silenced by the minority fringe, but elite, of society. Please don't squelch free speech and freedom of thought in this country. The future of our country and future generations depend on this fundamental truth.

Those who resist open enquiry are anti-science. Those who do it because they experience hostility are cowards. Brown University has defined itself.

I work in public health research and am a parent who has experienced this exactly. When my 13 year old daughter and 7 of her friends all came to parents and said they were trans, wanted to wear binders, and be called they, out of the blue - I knew it was a scientific impossibility. I encouraged her to fight gender based social constructs and stereotypes and embrace her healthy female body. I didn't make a big deal out of it. My daughter has desisted over the last two years. She was doing the normal adolescent thing of trying on different personalities. On the other hand, I discovered how difficult it was to have a conversation with anyone about it without me being labeled as transphobic, homophobic,... and I am extremely liberal with a Master's Degree in Public Health. This is a conversation that needs to be had

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to support your cause by signing this petition

I am sick and tired of the McCarthyite bullying by some trans activists towards anyone that dissents from their Alice through the looking glass lunacy.

We need to be able to read about research regardless of its outcome.. this is information that can be used to make informative decisions

With no understanding of psychology or spirituality, without having been cautioned or warned ahead of time, a (young) gullible naive mind is highly malleable, subject to influence, sponge-like and programmable via neuroplasticity. Yes, the youth today are being turned LGBTQ on purpose by people intentionally using psychological tactics on them, or by weak minded "useful idiots" who have been brainwashed into it themselves. And yes, by choice, one can rewire their brain back to hetero if one chooses to. Ultimately, it's all by agreement, consciously or unconsciously.

very importsmt piece of research. we must keep investing in research from a science perspective and get a balanced view.

Academic discussion should never be silenced. This was a measured, well researched piece written from a scientific perspective. There is no reason why it should be censored. Going down the path of censoring academic work where it doesn't support a particular view is clearly a very damaging route and one that runs contrary to the purpose of scholarship.

I am a sexologist in Australia. Speaking in schools I see young girls with the 'typical' symptoms and history

I am a woman. My daughter is a little girl.

Openness is healthy.

This research will be life saving. I live in the San Francisco Bay area where since the mid-1990's, myself and a group of research-minded and socially concerned individuals have been tracking the trend of young lesbians ingesting unregulated amounts of testosterone to gain a type of more mainstream acceptance by trying to pass as male. We watched as every organization that used to protect the rights of lesbians along with our gay brothers and bisexually identified individuals withdrew their previous support in favor of a type of 'inclusion-at-all-cost'. This has greatly reduced any lesbian membership or active participation in these organizations as we witnessed big funding come into play towards pressing a transitioning agenda = big pharma profiteering. We feel this trend is one dangerous, homophobic of campaigns that is pushing the binary gender agenda more than ever, and it's costing society the lives of especially youth who have not had the experience or agency of self to even understand their own sexuality development or expression before being peer pressured and media pressured to adopt the opposite sex. This campaign chooses to alter the narrative so subversively as to try and create a chaos of confusion in understanding the very concept of 'gender' vs. 'biological sex'. To that end, there are now natal males donning societally approved 'feminine' clothing and claiming that they are both 'women' and 'lesbian', and young inexperienced females who feel their sexual identity to be 'lesbian' are being coerced in accepting these biological males as sexual partners - 'lesbians with penises' is the new narrative. This is in large part due to peer pressure and fear of being labeled 'bigots', thus strengthening the rape culture that already exists. Dr. Littman needs be supported to continue this much needed research without any obstacle of a false social pressure based on exactly what is being referred to as a modern social contagion driving the very commodification

The madness has to end. Research, data & critical thinking are the only way out of the asylum we're living in.

Because universities should be places where discussions are opened up, nit closed down.

This outrageous silencing of women MUST be stopped