The Man Who Would Be Queen
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''The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism'' is a 2003 book by the American psychologist
J. Michael Bailey John Michael Bailey (born July 2, 1957) is an American psychologist, behavioural geneticist, and professor at Northwestern University best known for his work on the etiology of sexual orientation. He maintains that sexual orientation is heavily ...
, published by
Joseph Henry Press Joseph Henry Press (JHP) is an American publisher which is an imprint of the National Academies Press, publisher for the United States National Academy of Sciences. The imprint is named after American scientist Joseph Henry. The imprint publishes ...
.Bailey, J. Michael (2003). ''The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism''. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press (National Academies Press). In the first section of the book, Bailey discusses gender-atypical behavior and
gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
in children, emphasizing the biological determination of
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
. In the second section, he deals primarily with gay men, including the link between childhood gender dysphoria and male
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
later in life. Bailey reviews evidence that male homosexuality is congenital (a result of genetics and
prenatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...
environment), and he argues for the accuracy of some
gay stereotype Stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, pe ...
s.Bailey (2003), p. 76. In the third section, Bailey summarizes evidence for the
Blanchard Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse. Geographical distribution As of 2014, ...
typology of
trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...
that claims there are two forms of
transsexualism Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...
that affect transgender women: one as an extreme type of male homosexuality and one that is a sexual interest in having a female body, called
autogynephilia Blanchard's transsexualism typology is a proposed psychological typology of gender dysphoria, transsexualism, and fetishistic transvestism, created by sexologist Ray Blanchard through the 1980s and 1990s, building on the work of prior researchers, ...
. The book caused considerable controversy, which led to complaints and a formal investigation by
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
, where Bailey was chair of the psychology department until shortly before the investigation concluded. Northwestern ultimately found no basis for the complaints, and a university spokesperson said that his departure from the department chairmanship had nothing to do with the investigation. According to Bailey, some of his critics were motivated by a desire to suppress discussion of the book's ideas about the autogynephilia theory of transgender women., Northwestern Chronicle, 10-09-2005


Summary

''The Man Who Would Be Queen'' is divided into three sections: "The Boy Who Would Be Princess", "The Man He Might Become", and "Women Who Once Were Boys". It starts with an anecdote about a child Bailey calls "Danny". Bailey writes of Danny's mother, who has been frustrated by other therapists she has seen about her son's "feminine" behavior.Bailey (2003), p. 16. Bailey discusses psychologist and sexologist
Kenneth Zucker Kenneth J. Zucker (; born 1950) is an American-Canadian psychologist and sexologist. He was named editor-in-chief of ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' in 2001. He was psychologist-in-chief at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) ...
's work with children whose parents have noticed significant gender-atypical behaviors. Bailey uses the anecdote about Danny to describe
gender identity disorder Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
, a label applied to males with significant feminine behaviors and females with significant masculine behaviors, such as
cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...
. For example, this class includes boys that prefer to play with dolls and regularly identify with female characters in stories or movies, and girls that prefer to play with
toy car A model car, or toy car, is a Physical model, miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were ...
s and identify with male characters. This section of the book also discusses some case studies of men who were, for varying reasons, reassigned to the female sex shortly after their birth, and emphasizes the fact that, despite this, they tended to exhibit typically male characteristics and often identified as men. The second section deals primarily with gay men, including a suggested link between childhood
gender identity disorder Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
and male homosexuality later in life. Bailey discusses whether homosexuality is a congenitally or possibly even genetically related phenomenon. This discussion includes references to Bailey's studies as well as those of neuroscientist
Simon LeVay Simon LeVay (born 28 August 1943 in Oxford, England) is a British-American neuroscientist. He received a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1966, a Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy at the University of Göttingen in ...
and geneticist
Dean Hamer Dean Hamer (; born May 29, 1951) is an American geneticist. He is known for his research on the role of genetics in sexual orientation and for a series of popular books and documentaries that have changed the understanding and perceptions of hu ...
. He also discusses the behavior of gay men and its stereotypically masculine and feminine qualities. In the third section, Bailey summarizes a taxonomy of trans women that was proposed by
Ray Blanchard Ray Milton Blanchard ( ; born October 9, 1945) is an American-Canadian sexologist, best known for his research studies on transsexualism, pedophilia and sexual orientation. He found that men with more older brothers are more likely to be gay tha ...
about fifteen years earlier. According to Blanchard, there are two types of trans women: one described as an "extreme form of male homosexuality", the other being motivated by a sexual interest in having a female body. Bailey also discusses the process by which transition from male to female occurs.


Reception

The book elicited both strongly supportive and strongly negative reactions. The controversial aspects included the contents of the book, whether the research was conducted ethically, whether it should have been published by the National Academies Press, and whether it should have been promoted as a scientific work. According to
Benedict Carey Benedict Carey (born 3 March 1960) is an American journalist and reporter on medical and science topics for ''The New York Times''. Biography Carey was born on 3 March 1960 in San Francisco, and graduated from the University of Colorado with a d ...
's story in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "To many of Dr. Bailey’s peers, his story is a morality play about the corrosive effects of
political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
on
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
." Interviewed by Carey, bioethicist
Alice Dreger Alice Domurat Dreger () is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Dreger engages in academic ...
argues that "what happened to Bailey is important, because the harassment was so extraordinarily bad and because it could happen to any researcher in the field. If we’re going to have research at all, then we’re going to have people saying unpopular things, and if this is what happens to them, then we’ve got problems not only for science but free expression itself." However, critics such as
Deirdre McCloskey Deirdre Nansen McCloskey (born Donald N. McCloskey; September 11, 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is the distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is also adjunct pr ...
think that the pointed criticism, including filing charges, was warranted: "Nothing we have done, I believe, and certainly nothing I have done, overstepped any boundaries of fair comment on a book and an author who stepped into the public arena with enthusiasm to deliver a false and unscientific and politically damaging opinion". The concern over academic freedom was dismissed by
Charles Allen Moser Charles Allen Moser (born 1952) is an American physician specializing in transgender health, a clinical sexologist, sex therapist, and sex educator practicing in San Francisco, California. He is the author of numerous academic publications and ...
, who wrote: "The death of free speech and academic freedom has been highly exaggerated. Science is not free of politics, never has been, and never will be."


Positive reactions

''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' concluded: "Despite its provocative title, a scientific yet superbly compassionate exposition."The Man Who Would Be Queen
via
National Academies Press The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Research C ...
. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
The book received praise from sexual behavior scientist
Simon LeVay Simon LeVay (born 28 August 1943 in Oxford, England) is a British-American neuroscientist. He received a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1966, a Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy at the University of Göttingen in ...
, from sex-differences expert
David Buss David Michael Buss (born April 14, 1953) is an American evolutionary psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, researching human sex differences in mate selection. He is considered one of the founders of evolutionary psychology. Biogr ...
, and from research psychologist
Steven Pinker Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. P ...
, who wrote: "The Man Who Would Be Queen may upset the guardians of political correctness on both the left and the right, but it will be welcomed by intellectually curious people of all sexes and sexual orientations."Pinker, Steven (June 28, 2003)
Pages for pleasure.
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
It also received praise from ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' magazine's
Daniel Seligman Daniel Seligman (September 25, 1924 – January 31, 2009) was an American newspaper editor and columnist at '' Fortune'' magazine from 1950 to 1997. He also wrote for ''Forbes'', ''Commentary'', ''The American Mercury'', '' Commonweal'', and ''The ...
Seligman, Dan (October 13, 2003)
Transsexuals And the Law.
''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''
and from Mark Henderson at ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''.Henderson, Mark (December 6, 2003)
Who’s got the brains in this relationship?
''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''
Conservative commentator
John Derbyshire John Derbyshire (born 3 June 1945) is a British-born American far-right political commentator, writer, journalist and computer programmer. He was once known as a paleoconservative, until he was fired from the ''National Review'' in 2012 for wr ...
said: "a wealth of fascinating information, carefully gathered by (it seems to me) a conscientious and trustworthy scientific observer."Derbyshire, John (June 30, 2003)
Lost in the Male.
''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
''
It also received a positive review from writer Ethan Boatner of ''
Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
'' magazine and Duncan Osborne in '' Out''.Osborne, Duncan (March 2003). 'The Man Who Would Be Queen' (review). '' Out'', March 2003, Vol. 11 Issue 9, pp. 54–54. Research psychologist
James Cantor James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias. A former senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto,APA's Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues (Division 44). In December 2003, the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
(SPLC) reported that many of the early supporters of Bailey's book, ''The Man Who Would Be Queen'', were members of the
Human Biodiversity Institute The Human Biodiversity Institute (HBI) refers to a group of far-right scientists, academics, and others associated with pseudoscientific race theories and neo-eugenics. These theories were given the euphemism ''human biodiversity'' (HBD). Ideas ab ...
. The group was founded by
Steve Sailer Steven Ernest Sailer (born December 20, 1958) is an American paleoconservative journalist, movie critic, blogger, and columnist. He is a former correspondent for UPI and a columnist for ''Taki's Magazine'' and VDARE, a website associated with wh ...
and acted as an online
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
promoting
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
race theories and
neo-eugenics New eugenics, also known as liberal eugenics (a term coined by bioethicist Nicholas Agar), advocates human enhancement, enhancing human characteristics and capacities through the use of reproductive technology and human genetic engineering. Those w ...
under the euphemism "human biodiversity" (HBD). Both J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard were associated with the Human Biodiversity Institute. The group included journalists who worked to promote the books and theories of its members.
Bioethicist Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...
Alice Dreger Alice Domurat Dreger () is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Dreger engages in academic ...
confirmed Bailey's membership in the Human Biodiversity Institute.


Negative reactions

The public response of members of the transgender community was almost entirely negative. Among other things, they opposed the book's endorsement of Blanchard's taxonomy of male-to-female transsexualism,Klein, Julie M. (May 2004)
Ethical minefields: The sex that would be science.
''Seed Magazine'', May/June 2004
and its publication by the
National Academies Press The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Research C ...
, by whom it was "advertised as science"Krasny, Michael (August 22, 2007)
Transgender Theories.
Forum with Michael Krasny, KQED
and marketed as "scientifically accurate," which they argued was untrue. They also claimed the book exploited children with
gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
.Carey, Benedict (August 21, 2007)
"Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
Among those criticizing the book were computer scientist
Lynn Conway Lynn Ann Conway (born January 2, 1938) is an American computer scientist, electrical engineer and transgender activist. She worked at IBM in the 1960s and invented generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advance used in out-of-order ...
,Marcus, Jon (August 1, 2003). Transsexuals Protest. ''
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'', p. 13
biologists Joan RoughgardenRoughgarden, Joan (June 4, 2004)
"Twist In The Tale Of Two Genders"
''Times Higher Education''. No. 1643, p. 20.
and
Ben Barres Ben A. Barres (September 13, 1954 – December 27, 2017) was an American neurobiologist at Stanford University. His research focused on the interaction between neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. Beginning in 2008, he was chair of the ...
,Holden, Constance (July 18, 2003)
Transsexuality Treatise Triggers Furor.
Science/AAAS) mirrored a

/ref> physician Rebecca Allison,Staff report (June 25, 2003)
Trans Group Attacks New Book on 'Queens.'
''Windy City Times''
economist
Deirdre McCloskey Deirdre Nansen McCloskey (born Donald N. McCloskey; September 11, 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is the distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is also adjunct pr ...
,McCloskey, Deirdre (November 2003)
Queer Science: A data-bending psychologist confirms what he already knew about gays and transsexuals.
''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'', November 2003
psychologist Madeline Wyndzen, writers
Dallas Denny Dallas Denny (born August 18, 1949 in Asheville, North Carolina) is a writer, editor, behavior analyst, and transgender rights activist. Education Denny holds the M.A. degree in psychology from The University of Tennessee and the B.S. degree in ...
,Denny, Dallas (December 13, 2004)
Viewpoint: Why the Bailey Controversy Is Important.
''Transgender Tapestry'' #104, Winter 2004
Pauline Park Pauline Park (born 1960) is a transgender activist based in New York City. Early life and education Born in Korea, Park was adopted by European American parents and raised in the United States. As a child, she attended Public school (government f ...
,Park, Pauline (May 30, 2003)
Sympathy, But Finding Pathology.
''Gay City News''
Jamison Green Jamison "James" Green (born November 8, 1948) is a prominent transgender rights activist, author, and educator focused on policy work. Green began living openly as a trans man in the late 1980s and is considered one of the few publicly open tra ...
,Green J (2003)
Bailey’s wick.
''
PlanetOut PlanetOut, Inc. is an online media company or entertainment company exclusively targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) demographic. Originally founded as an early internet-based media company by Tom Reilly in 1995, it operat ...
''
and
Andrea James Andrea Jean James (born January 16, 1967) is an American transgender rights activist, film producer, and blogger. Education James grew up in Franklin, Indiana,Bartner, Amy (June 3, 2016)"Transgender activist amid Hollywood's transition" ''In ...
,Surkan, K (2007). Transsexuals Protest Academic Exploitation. In Lillian Faderman, Yolanda Retter, Horacio Roque Ramírez, eds. ''Great Events From History: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Events, 1848–2006.'' pages 111–114. Salem Press as well as Christine Burns of
Press for Change Press for Change (PFC) is a UK-based campaign group focusing on the rights and treatment of trans people. Its stated aim is "seeking respect and equality for all trans people in the UK". The group led the campaign for full legal recognition for ...
, and Executive Director Monica Casper of the
Intersex Society of North America The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Amb ...
.The Ups and Downs of J. Michael Bailey. ''Transgender Tapestry'' #104, Winter 2004, pp. 53–54. James, a transgender advocate, attacked Bailey by constructing a website with pictures of Bailey's children taken from his public website beside sexually explicit captions. Negative responses also came from outside the transgender community. Liza Mundy of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' thought the book exceptionally dull despite the potentially interesting topic.Mundy, Liza (March 23, 2003). Codes of Behavior. ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
Sexologist
Eli Coleman Eli Coleman is an American sexologist. He is the director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota, and a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. In 2007, he was appointed the first endowed Chair ...
referred to the book as "an unfortunate setback in feelings of trust between the transgender community and sex researchers,". Eli Coleman was then President of the
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and g ...
(
World Professional Association for Transgender Health The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and g ...
). In response to the criticism, Ray Blanchard resigned from his position at HBIGDA on November 4, 2003. Eli Coleman's colleague, Walter Bockting, wrote that it was "yet another blow to the delicate relationship between clinicians, scholars, and the transgender community."
Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indi ...
Director John Bancroft said the book promoted a derogatory explanation of transgender identity that would hurt many vulnerable transgender people, and that the book, which was written in a
popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
style, did not support the material in a scientific manner. Psychologist Randi Ettner said of Bailey, "He's set back the field 100 years, as far as I'm concerned." ''The Man Who Would Be Queen'' was originally one of the finalists for the
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...
for the "transgender" category. However, after judicial review, the book was determined to be "
transphobic Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
" and "not appropriate for the category", so it was removed from consideration. In 2008, Northwestern University professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics Alice Dreger commented on Bailey's response to the negative reactions: Physician
Charles Allen Moser Charles Allen Moser (born 1952) is an American physician specializing in transgender health, a clinical sexologist, sex therapist, and sex educator practicing in San Francisco, California. He is the author of numerous academic publications and ...
, though, believes that Bailey caused his own controversy by being mean-spirited:


Allegations against Bailey

Two of the trans women in Bailey's book, two who mistakenly thought they were represented in the book, and several organizations have accused him of ethical breaches in his work by talking to them about their life stories without obtaining formal written consent.Wilson, Robin. "Transsexual 'Subjects' Complain About Professor's Research Methods." ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' 25 July 2003, Vol. 49, Issue 46. ''"The book contains numerous observations and reports of interviews with me", C. Anjelica Kieltyka, one of the transsexual women, wrote in a letter this month to C. Bradley Moore, Northwestern's vice president for research. She added: "I did not receive, nor was I asked to sign, an informed-consent document."'' All of the people were aware that Bailey was writing a book about trans women at the time of the interviews: some of them read the drafts of the book before publication, and several said they felt their stories had been told "accurately and sympathetically." Bailey has denied that it is unethical for a university professor to talk to people in the same manner that
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
s do, or to write books with the resulting anecdotes. He also stated that the book was "popular and not 'scientific'" so it was not required to follow IRB rules. According to Dreger, whether federal regulations required professors to obtain formal approval from a university IRB before interviewing people was uncertain at the time; she points out that shortly after publication of the book, the US Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the
Oral History Association The Oral History Association (OHA) is a professional association for oral historians and others interested in advancing the practice and use of oral history.American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
, issued a formal statement that taking
oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
, conducting interviews, collecting anecdotes, and similar activities do not constitute IRB-qualified research, and were never intended to be covered by clinical research rules, when such work is "neither systematic nor generalizable in the scientific sense.". See als
An Update on the Exclusion of Oral History from IRB Review (March 2004).
Also cited as harassment of Bailey were legal complaints that Bailey was
practicing psychology without a license Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profess ...
. The basis for these complaints was that sex-reassignment surgery in the US requires authorization letters from two psychologists, and Bailey had written a second letter, at no charge and upon request, for some individuals Bailey had spoken with while writing the book. American bioethicist
Alice Dreger Alice Domurat Dreger () is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Dreger engages in academic ...
notes that there was no legal basis for this claim, as Bailey received no compensation for his services, and was forthright in his letters about his qualifications, even attaching copies of his C.V.: "Presumably all this was why llinoisnever bothered to pursue the charge, although you'd never know that from reading the press accounts, which mentioned only the complaints, not that they had petered out." State regulators took no action on these complaints. In her book ''
Galileo's Middle Finger ''Galileo's Middle Finger'' is a 2015 book about the ethics of medical research by Alice Dreger, an American bioethicist and author. Dreger explores the relationship between science and social justice by discussing a number of scientific controv ...
'' (2015), bioethicist
Alice Dreger Alice Domurat Dreger () is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Dreger engages in academic ...
accused Bailey's critics of attempting to make it look as though virtually every trans woman represented in Bailey's book "had felt abused by him and had filed a charge". One of Bailey's critics, transgender academic
Deirdre McCloskey Deirdre Nansen McCloskey (born Donald N. McCloskey; September 11, 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is the distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is also adjunct pr ...
, argued that the critics' actions had not overstepped the boundaries of fair comment about what she saw as an "unscientific" opinion.


See also

* Causes of gender incongruence


References


External links


Men Trapped in Men's Bodies
Chapter 9 of the book in HTML (about autogynephilia)
The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism (2003)
The full book, for purchase or free PDF download

by author J. Michael Bailey

by Madeline H. Wyndzen {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Who Would Be Queen 2003 non-fiction books English-language books Sexology Sexual orientation and medicine Transgender non-fiction books Men and sexuality Trans women LGBT-related controversies in literature