Richard Dawkins decries gender surgery for kids as 'surgically mutilating children'

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Richard Dawkins decries gender surgery for kids as 'surgically mutilating children'

Dawkins' comments came in response to a social media post from author JK Rowling criticizing the policing of speech in regards to transgenderism

Marc Tamasco Fox News

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December 3, 2025 3:45pm EST

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Richard Dawkins insists that it's 'absolutely clear' that sex is binary

Biologist Richard Dawkins stated that people can only be either male or female while discussing gender ideology on his podcast "The Poetry of Reality."

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Famed biologist Richard Dawkins, who rose to fame for his books about atheism and biology, took to X on Tuesday to J.K. Rowling’s latest comments on transgender ideology and the policing of speech surrounding the issue.

Responding to Rowling's post, which criticized those who acknowledge concerns about transgender ideology but take issue with the messaging being "too blunt," Dawkins concurred with the Harry Potter author and offered some thoughts of his own.

"Be nice? Yes, let's be nice. What is NOT nice is hormonally or surgically mutilating children, cheating your way to stealing women's athletic medals, lying your way into women's spaces, debauching language etc." he wrote.

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In her post on Monday, Rowling wrote that time and again, she's "seen and heard well-educated people who consider themselves critical thinkers and bold truth-tellers squirm when put on the spot" about transgender ideology.

"'Well, yes, maybe there's something in what you're saying, but it's hateful/provocative/rude not to use the approved language/pretend people can literally change sex/keep drawing attention to medical malpractice or opportunistic sexual predators. Why can't you be nice? Why won't you pretend? We thought you were one of us! Don't you realise we have sophisticated new words and phrases these days that obviate the necessity of thinking any of this through?'" she wrote, mimicking the arguments she hears from those who feel her messaging on the topic is too harsh.

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She added, "Either a man can be a woman, or he can't. Either women deserve rights, or they don't. Either there's a provable medical benefit to transitioning children, or there isn't. Either you're on the side of a totalitarian ideology that seeks to impose falsehoods on society through the threat of ostracisation, shaming and violence, or you're not."

J.K. Rowling photographed at the "Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore" world premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on March 29, 2022, in London, England. (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Dawkins' support for Rowling's latest remarks was not a one-off occurrence; the biologist had previously praised the author for challenging Scotland’s hate speech laws during an episode of his podcast last year.

"Brave and courageous people, like @jk_rowling, who speak out about the distortion of the definition of woman, will allow the tides to turn," he wrote in a social media post with a clip from the episode.

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Dawkins argued on the podcast that Rowling is "really out there in the thick of it. She's invited the Scottish government to arrest her, and it would be very entertaining if they do. She's not an easy person to put in prison, I would have thought."

Aside from publicly praising those who have taken a stance against transgender ideology, Dawkins has also taken action within his own professional circles.

Richard Dawkins at Dissident Dialogues 2024

Famed atheist Richard Dawkins resigned from a prominent atheist foundation after it "censored" an article on its website arguing that gender is determined by biology. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

The biologist resigned from the board of a prominent U.S. atheist organization last year, after it censored an article arguing that gender is tied to biology.

British outlet The Telegraph reported on Dec. 30, 2024, that the Freedom From Religion Foundation pulled the article "Biology is not Bigotry" from its site following backlash from pro-trans individuals. In turn, Dawkins resigned.

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In his resignation letter to the foundation, Dawkins called the removal of the piece "an act of unseemly panic" and accused the foundation of having "caved in to hysterical squeals from predictable quarters and retrospectively censored that excellent rebuttal."

Fox News' Alexander Hall and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

Richard Dawkins decries gender surgery for kids as 'surgically mutilating children'