I’ve been participating in an ongoing conversation on Twitter with other researchers about the sustained hero-worshipping of famous scientists who have a public record of sexism, racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.

Dr James Watson is famous for being awarded a Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA along with Francis Crick, but they did so by stealing the work of a white cisgender woman scientist, Rosalind Franklin. Watson has also promoted scientific racism and sexism throughout his career, arguing that Black people are less intelligent and that women have no value in science careers. Recently, coordinated efforts by faculty, staff and students led to the University of Illinois rescinding Watson an invitation to speak on campus. Consequently, these colleagues have been facing death threats.

Despite there being a precedence for taking a stand against promoting scientists who contribute to harm of cisgender women and minorities, some universities and research institutes continue to provide them a public platform.

Inviting bigoted speakers is not a way of promoting fair exchange of ideas. In most cases, these scientists already have a prestigious record of grants and paid positions. Moreover, the perpetuation of sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination already has a wide audience, reflected in the status quo. Tolerance of hate speech on campus emboldens further violence against cis-women and other minorities.

There are negative, real-life consequences when scientists are invited to indulge hate speech at university events. This includes:

• reinforcing science inequality
• normalising pseudoscience on race and gender
• making campus unsafe for cis-women and minorities, by creating an environment tolerant of discrimination
• undermining students, staff and faculty who promote equity and diversity, diminishing their efforts and putting them at risk when they speak out.  

It’s time to end the hero worshipping of scientists who perpetuate discrimination and harassment.

Originally published on Twitter.