Alice Roberts - what the hell?

[GenderApostate19]

I can’t tell you how utterly disappointed I feel by her comments about Sex and reproduction not being binary. She knows the truth, what the hell is she doing? I’m even more upset by her than by Sarah Champion, she’s a Scientist ffs.

I imagine that the NHM twitter is not twitted by a scientist.

Is there some sort of agency where these organisations hire an off-the-shelf twitterer from?

GC it's a religion akin to Scientology.

I'm not up to speed with what's happening on the NHM twitter feed, but it looks as if the young person charged with the account started responding from his own Twitter account and was rumbled. Account now private. Josh something, allegedly very pro trans rights, so the long thread of tweets about queer animals was perhaps to be expected. Anthropomorphism is not really what I expect from the NHM.

What a shame.

I imagine that the NHM twitter is not twitted by a scientist.

I had a student who was let loose on the Twitter account of the LGBT group of a major bank when she was a 20-year old intern. One summer vacation. Safe to say that the people behind some of these accounts in big organisations are all confidence but no capacity.

I think Alice has modelled herself as a slightly boho, hippy new age type scientist who is all about being an individual with feelz. It’s the characterisation she’s built a career on. And that career would be sent straight down the pan and round the u bend by the BBC woke police if she stated any scientific facts about sex.

However she knows which are male and female skeletons when she digs them up. Funny that.

''How I feel in myself has no bearing on what someone feels. If someone who looks like a man and has XY chromosomes tells me he feels female - I cannot tell her she is ‘wrong’. Would you?''

She could most certainly enter into a discussion about what 'feels female' might, and can't, mean. Asking questions which get to the truth is what scientists are supposed to be good at.

There are all kinds of things that are true that might not be appropriate to mention in a particular interaction.

This would be the Alice Roberts who is the Professor of the Public Engagement in Science at Birmingham Uni then? This Alice Roberts who is blocking people for asking tricky questions? Not really engaging with the public, I feel. Bit fobbing off, really.

The list of people I no longer respect in any way, shape or form grows longer every day.

Those university research funds don’t grow on GC trees unfortunately.

Who the fuck actually has time to piss around on Twitter? I always thought it was for people who are trying to avoid doing any actual proper work. I don't think I know anyone in real life who is on it - apart from my BIL who is incredibly self obsessed and posts a lot about depression and suicide stats for men. I find it hard to understand why anyone takes it seriously as it seems to be about 99% crap anyway.

Science communication is often done by non-scientists. Don't get me started....

For shame, Alice. I have always been such a fan. She is so switched on generally. Utterly gutted to read this.

Yes, it's a religion. This has been recognised by many thoughtful people (often, these people are on the right politically).

I'm not surprised at all that this person is a humanist.

The paper she quoted just last year refers to the bipotential of male and female.
twitter.com/theAliceRoberts/status/979454451185602566

A religion yes but unlike other religions it's being blindly obeyed by institutions who might otherwise be thought of as neutral, it's being used to obliterate women's rights.

Gutted. Oh well. Won't be on my telly again.

It makes me so sad. I love her, as does DH.

There are all kinds of things that are true that might not be appropriate to mention in a particular interaction.

Quite. For the record, I have never actually seen a beautiful baby. They all look like Winston Churchill to me. I’d never say that to the mother’s face.

What is ridiculous about this is that a few years ago she did a bbc documentary with dr Mosley on gender and the brain. Her stance was firmly that there's no difference in terms of gender expression between the sexes and that stereotypes cause bias etc.

She was quite animated about it so I can't believe she didn't believe it. Dunno if that's pre humanists though; she may have to toe the line with them?

This is heavily on Moseley's side; the programme weighed research equally and Roberts' examples were as convincing.

Both need to read the gendered brain by Gina Rippon. Who has dissected the arguments Mosely puts forward.

Is your brain male or female? www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29405467

For shame, Alice. I have always been such a fan. She is so switched on generally. Utterly gutted to read this

Yes, but she does do the 'red hair' thing and is active in academic left kind of circles.....

What's the 'red hair thing'?

How does she know the sex of skeletons she examines. They, when alive, might have felt male/female/both. But their bones are thick be sex or the other.
I regret I don't know anything about the skeleton of someone that is intersex but it is such a rare condition and has no real bearing on trans debates.