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Colin Wright is an American evolutionary biologist and writer best known for defending the position that there are only two sexes in humans and that sex is not a 'spectrum' or a social construct, in the debate surrounding transgender issues and sex and gender distinction. Wright has written openly about the backlash he received after publishing a series of essays defending the reality of biological sex and critiquing several aspects of gender identity, which contributed to his decision to leave academia to pursue a career in journalism. He is currently the Managing Editor of Quillette.

Education
In 2008, Wright began pursuing a career as academic biologist. He received his B.S. in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity from the University of California, Davis, in 2012, and his Ph.D in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2018. In June 2018, Wright took a postdoctoral position at Pennsylvania State University as an Eberly Research Fellow.

Views
Wright defends the position that an individual’s sex is biological and immutable, and should not be conflated with someone’s gender identity. He believes this distinction is essential for upholding women’s sex-based rights and protections.

In his writing, Wright makes several references to cognitive psychologist Stephen Pinker’s The Blank Slate, a 2002 book making the case against social constructionism in the social sciences.

In an interview for The Daily Caller, Wright describes an environment in academia that is becoming increasingly intolerant of heterodox or conservative views, which led to his abrupt departure.

In a personal essay for Quillette, Wright cites some inspiration from the Grievance studies affair.

Leaving academia
Against the advice of his colleagues, Wright published his first article, “The New Evolution Deniers,” in Quillette in November of 2018. In the essay, Wright compared the denial of biological sex and other sex differences commonly argued by left-wing social justice activists with the right-wing evolution-denying creationists.

In September 2019, Wright co-authored another essay in Quillette with endocrinologist Dr. William Malone and author Julia Robertson, titled “No One is Born in the ‘Wrong Body,’” which argued that “a lack of understanding regarding the distribution of sex-related personality and behavioral differences has led to confusion that impacts children who fall at the extreme tail-ends of the distribution, and who would be statistically more likely to grow up to be gay, lesbian or bisexual adults if allowed to experience uninterrupted puberty. Additionally, telling a child that he or she was born in the wrong body pathologizes ‘gender non-conforming’ behavior and makes gender dysphoria less likely to resolve.”

Shortly after the publication of his second article, while applying for academic jobs at the height of recruitment season, Wright was alerted to a new listing on the largest ecology and evolutionary biology job board that read, “Colin Wright is a Transphobe who supports Race Science.”

In February 2020, The Wall Street Journal published an article Wright co-authored with developmental biologist Dr. Emma Hilton, titled “The Dangerous Denial of Sex.” In this essay, Wright and Hilton claim that one’s sex is a biological reality, and that denying this fact “raises serious human-rights concerns for vulnerable groups including women, homosexuals and children.”

In a personal essay for Quillette, Wright recounts the events that followed the publication of his essay in The Wall Street Journal: "“Even more than other pieces I’d bylined, this one unleashed a tidal wave of online hate—perhaps because we’d pricked the precious conceit that gender ideology saves children instead of harming them. Several Penn State professors publicly denounced the essay as transphobic. Students and faculty complained to my department’s diversity committee that I’d launched ‘a personal attack on individuals with non-binary gender identity,’ and that my presence at PSU ‘made them feel less comfortable.’”"In April 2020, he chose to leave academia, citing that he did not want to spend his time “constantly responding to false accusations of transphobia and racism.” He also believed that his views and reputation would make finding an academic job much more difficult.

Career
In April 2020, Wright became the Managing Editor of Quillette, a magazine that describes itself as a “platform for freethought.”

In June 2020, Wright published an essay for Quillette titled “JK Rowling is Right, Sex is Real and it is not a ‘Spectrum,’” which defended British author J.K. Rowling’s statements on transgender activism and women’s rights.

In November 2020, Wright launched a Substack newsletter, Reality’s Last Stand, exploring the debate around sex and gender.

In June 2021, Wright was interviewed on episode 1673 of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Publications

 * Wright, Colin (30 November 2018). "The New Evolution Deniers". Quillette.
 * Malone, William J., Wright, Colin M. & Robertson, Julia D. (24 September 2019). "No One Is Born in ‘The Wrong Body’". Quillette.
 * Wright, Colin M. & Hilton, Emma (13 February 2020). "The Dangerous Denial of Sex". The Wall Street Journal.
 * Wright, Colin M. (7 June 2020). "JK Rowling Is Right—Sex Is Real and It Is Not a “Spectrum”". Quillette.
 * Wright, Colin M. (30 July 2020). "Think Cancel Culture Doesn’t Exist? My Own ‘Lived Experience’ Says Otherwise". Quillette.
 * Wright, Colin M. (23 December 2020). "On Sex and Gender, The New England Journal of Medicine Has Abandoned Its Scientific Mission". Quillette.