British atheist evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, disappointed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) for removing an article that supported the traditional definition of sex, ultimately left the board of the organization.
The 83-year-old Dawkins withdrew from the honorary board of the FFRF after the organization decided to remove the article titled "Biology is Not Bigotry," written by honorary board member Jerry Coyne, following backlash from LGBT activists.
On December 26, an article was published in response to FreeThought Now's piece “What is a Woman?” in which Coyne pushed back against the claim that “A woman is whoever she says she is.”
Coyne opposed this viewpoint, stating, “This of course is a tautology, and still leaves open the question of what a woman really is. And the remarkable redefinition of a term with a long biological history can be seen only as an attempt to force ideology onto nature.”
Coyne defended the biological definition of a woman as “an adult human female” and warned of the consequences of ignoring biological differences, particularly the dominance of women's sports by trans-identified male athletes.
He emphasized, “It is not 'transphobic' to accept the biological reality of binary sex and to reject concepts based on ideology.” Coyne also highlighted that “transgender women, for example, should not compete athletically against biological women; should not serve as rape counselors and workers in battered women's shelters; or, if convicted of a crime, should not be placed in a women's prison.”
On Dec. 27, FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor issued a statement describing the decision as “an error of judgment,” stating, “We have decided to remove it as it does not reflect our values or principles.” In response to this, Dawkins resigned from the board on December 29, sharing his resignation email with Coyne on his personal blog.
Dawkins wrote, “It is with real sadness, because of my personal regard for you both, that I feel obliged to resign from the Honorary Board of FFRF.” He asserted, “With this action, the Foundation is no longer a defender of freedom from religion but the imposer of a new religion, complete with dogma, blasphemy, and heretics. It has turned its back on reason: if your readers wrongfully perceive the opposite of a clear statement that you support the expression of contesting opinions, the appropriate response is to stand by your statement, not ratify their error.”
Dawkins has consistently voiced his opposition to the rejection of traditional definitions of sex by LGBT activists and has asserted that it is not possible to change one’s sex. In a 2023 appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," he declared, “As a biologist, there are two sexes and that's all there is to it.”
Additionally, in 2021, Dawkins signed a “Declaration on Women's Sex-based Rights,” opposing laws that define “mother” to include individuals who are not biologically female.
