The Nuzzo Letter

UN Women Did Its Misandry Thing Again!

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:53:54 GMT

I previously wrote about United Nations (UN) Women’s X post on June 27, where the international entity stated that women and girls should be “placed at the center of rescue efforts and immediate humanitarian response” regarding the earthquakes in Venezuela. For their misandry and complete disregard for international humanitarian law, UN Women received significant backlash on X, including the following Community Note:

“For women and girls to be “placed at the center of rescue efforts” would inherently imply discriminating against men and boys during humanitarian response, which is explicitly forbidden by international legal frameworks for humanitarian action.”

Yet, remarkably, only two months later, UN Women has made a similar statement regarding the floods in Nepal. On August 29, 2026, UN Women said “[t]he needs of women and girls must be central to the response and recovery.”

UN Women’s post has received over 200 comments. Nearly all those comments have condemned UN Women. Moreover, UN Women’s post, again, received a Community Note. This time, the Community Note pertained to UN Women’s apparent inaccurate reporting of how many girls and women in Nepal have been impacted by the floods.

Most commenters understand that the rational and ethical criterion by which people should be helped in these types of emergencies is individual medical need, not sex/gender. Thus, nearly all commenters, including women (i.e., the group that UN Women supposedly represents), reject UN Women’s sexist position. Women often have husbands, boyfriends, sons, fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, male cousins, and male friends, who they want helped if those relatives or friends are at serious health risk. Those women understand that a disabled man who loses his wheelchair or a sick boy who loses his medications during a flood are at greater health risk than a healthy woman who loses her backpack or baby stroller.

UN Women has a history of adolescent-like thinking and behaviour, and they are now increasingly called out for this on X. Yet, the international entity refuses to introspect and reform. Instead, they continue to badmouth men, propagandize, and spin and suppress data. These behaviours endure, because UN Women is guided by intersectional feminism.

Recognising these issues with UN Women, both the United States and Israel stopped funding the entity in early 2026. Nevertheless, no other counties have, to my knowledge, followed suit, and UN Women still receives hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars from other members states. At the end of last year, UN Women made it clear that it would use such funds, not to reform, but to fight against, what it calls, the “backlash against gender equality.”

Yet, “gender equality” is far from what UN Women stands for. Its history of communications on X clearly reveals this, including its posts on natural disaster response efforts.

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Tattoo Prevalence in Men and Women

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 23:01:34 GMT

The current data brief shows the proportions of men and women in eight countries who have at least one tattoo. The results from Brazil, China, France, and Russia were published in one study in 2018. The results from Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United States of American (AUS) were published in separate studies that were conducted between 2015 and 2023. The sample sizes across the eight countries ranged from ~2,000 to ~15,000.

Key Points

In six of the eight countries, the prevalence of having at least one tattoo was greater in women than men. In China, there was no sex difference in tattoo prevalence. In Russia, the prevalence of having at least one tattoo was lower in women (9%) than men (15%).
The country with the highest prevalence of tattoos in both sexes was the USA. In the USA, 27% of men and 38% of women have at least one tattoo. The USA was also the country that had the largest sex difference in tattoo prevalence (i.e., 11% difference).
Tattoo prevalences in Norway and Sweden were the same or similar for both men and women.

Sources

Kluger et al. The prevalence of tattooing and motivations in five major countries over the world. J Eur Acad Dematol Venereol. 2019

Pew Research Center. 32% of Americans have a tattoo, including 22% who have more than one. 2023.

Renzoni A, et al.. The tattooed population in Italy: a national survey on demography, characteristics and perception of health risks. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2018.

Sagoe D, et al.. Prevalence and correlates of tattooing in Norway: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Scand J Psychol. 2017.

Nielsen C, Jöud AS. Tattoos in the general Swedish population: prevalence, determinants, and exposure characteristics. Eur J Public Health. 2025.

Bonus Commentary

The above graph reveals that tattoo prevalences often differ between countries and between men and women. For example, men and women in the USA and Brazil are more likely to have tattoos than men and women in Russia and China. However, within most countries surveyed, greater proportions of women than men had at least one tattoo. The higher prevalences of tattoos among women than men in these countries suggests that these women are not living oppressive patriarchies that seek to control female bodily autonomy.

Below are some other interesting findings about tattoos from other studies:

Tattoo location: Women are more likely than men to get tattoos on their ankles and low back, whereas men are more likely than women to get tattoos on their arms.
Tattoo motivations: Common motivations for getting tattoos include remembering or honoring someone, making a statement about one’s beliefs, or trying to improve one’s physical appearance. Sometimes, tattoos are also acquired on impulse or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Tattoo regret: Roughly one in four Americans (24%) regrets getting one or more of their tattoos. The prevalence of tattoo regret is identical among American men and women.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 21:06:53 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

Sculpting the Narrative

Men Are Good

How researchers can build the desired conclusion into the questions they ask.

WEEKLY VOICE

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THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

The New Feminist Buzzwords You Need to Know

Episode description: In this episode, the four investigate a new crop of feminist buzzwords — and the much more serious ideas hiding behind them. From himpathy and medical misogyny to vicarious violence and leg harrassment and gender washing, many of these terms are presented as ways of describing injustice. But what happens when subjective feelings of grievance are turned into categories of harm. Some of the examples are easy to laugh at but others are already moving from academia into journalism, government policy and legislation.

Top Cited Paper at the European Journal of Sport Science

Our meta-analysis on sex differences in muscle strength in kids, which was published in April 2025, is now one of the top cited papers in the European Journal of Sport Science over the past two years. You can download a full-text copy of our paper at the journal’s website here. For copies of all of my other open access papers, see the page Dr. Nuzzo’s Research at The Nuzzo Letter.

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Australia Confronts a Widening Divide Affecting Its Men and Boys

International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB)

The Evolutionary Roots of the Male Mental Health Crisis

Psychology Today

If we attempt to destroy traditional masculinity, what will emerge in its place?

Gender equality can’t ignore the ways men are falling behind

Austin-American Statesman

Breaking the silence over sexual violence against men and boys in war

United Nations

Lindsay Clancy and the Perennial Innocence of Killer-Mothers

The Fiamengo File

Western criminal law has been soft on violent mothers for at least the past 250 years.

Epidemiology

Domestic Relationships and Violent Crimes, 2020-2024

FBI

United States Life Tables, 2024

National Center for Health Statistics

Alcohol-Induced Death Rates Among Adults Aged ≥45 Years, by Sex — United States, 2014–2024

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Summary: From 2014 to 2024, the age-adjusted death rate for alcohol-induced deaths among adults aged ≥45 years increased from 19.5 to 25.2. Death rates increased among men and women and were higher for men (36.8) than women (14.3) in 2024 and throughout the period.

Education

UNC System first to answer Secretary McMahon’s reform challenge

The College Fix

Jason Arday and the DEI System that Just Won’t Die

Mises Institute

Dr. Nathan Cofnas - Was It Right to Alert the World About Jason Arday?

Equal Opportunity? Not at Edith Cowan University

Episode description: Edith Cowan University claims to have zero tolerance for racial discrimination. So why are multiple university job vacancies locked to specific racial backgrounds under the banner of “anti-racism”? A look inside the upside-down world of modern university hiring policies.

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Misogynistic views are biggest red flag for violent extremism, report finds

ABC

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Pampered sons and performative rage: digital feminist critique of the gendered crisis in South Korean democracy

Frontiers in Political Science

Abstract: On 19 January 2025, the Seoul Western District Court was stormed by young men who live-streamed their violence to far-right YouTube channels. This paper examines how this riot reveals a gendered dimension of democratic crisis in South Korea. Democratic backsliding is often analysed through institutional or economic lenses; however, this study focuses on the political weaponisation of a specific gendered affective structure that contributes to shaping South Korea’s political instability. Drawing on digital ethnography of South Korean online forums, I examine how feminist internet users theorise contemporary masculinity through memes and satire. Through their critical articulations, I identify ‘pampered masculinity’, anchored in the digital feminist imaginary of the ‘man-cubating’ system, which diagnoses a society that coddles men, leaves them aggrieved when their expected privileges remain unmet, and legitimises their grievance. I explore how gendered grievance is weaponised through the gamification of politics, as it is enacted as performative interaction in digitally mediated contexts and circulates across platforms and is mobilised in populist politics, extending into offline political action. Tracing this masculinity as articulated in digital feminist critiques, the paper shows how gendered grievance destabilises the constitutional order and materialises in offline political violence.

The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway

Politics & Gender

Abstract: Previous research from predominantly Western contexts finds that men consistently show less concern for climate change and the environment than women, a pattern known as the Green Gender Gap. This article investigates whether political gender socialization contributes to this phenomenon. Drawing on two unique data sources from Norway, I find that among adolescents aged 15 to 18, girls are more supportive of the Green Party, consider environmental protection more important, and are more likely to prioritize the environment over oil production and industrial development. I also find that girls express greater concern about climate change than boys from as early as age 13, the earliest age at which data are available. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early-life political gender socialization plays a key role in shaping the Green Gender Gap. The gap emerges before structural gender sorting into different educational and occupational trajectories, and while most adolescents still live at home and share the same formative environment. These findings are particularly striking given the Norwegian context, which is characterized by minimal structural gender segregation among adolescents. The findings in this article point to gendered socialization, rather than structural differences between women and men, as one of the driving forces behind the Green Gender Gap.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

The European Union-Intersectionality Framework: Unpacking Intersectionality in the ‘Union of Equality’ Agenda

Political Studies Review

Abstract: In recent years, the concept of intersectionality has gained significant prominence in the policy discourse of the European Union (EU). However, several scholars have noted a lack of engagement with intersectionality’s core social justice principles and stressed the need to carefully examine how intersectionality is taken up in EU policy. To contribute to this effort, the authors propose a new ‘EU-Intersectionality’ framework to analyse intersectionality in EU policy, combining elements of Critical Frame Analysis and identifying eight core criteria to operationalize intersectionality in EU policy texts and leverage its politically emancipatory potential. The resulting framework sheds light on how intersectionality has fared within EU policy contexts. Specifically, it asks which dimensions of intersectionality are captured, and which elements are left behind. We illustrate the framework by analysing the EU’s ‘Union of Equality’ strategies on anti-racism; gender equality; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer equality; Roma equality and the rights of persons with disabilities. We conclude that the EU-Intersectionality framework allows to dissect the varied and conflicting ways in which intersectionality is operationalized within EU policies – while some aspects of the ‘Union of Equality’ agenda resonate with the social justice aims behind the concept, the use of intersectionality remains superficial and largely maintains the status quo. Our findings caution against the co-optation of intersectionality in EU policymaking, while recognising the progressive advancements made within the EU equality policy area.

Gender and unpolitics in the European Parliament: untangling radical right populist opposition to EU rules on violence against women

Journal of Contemporary European Studies

Abstract: This research examines how right-wing radical populists (RRPs) in the European Parliament employ ‘unpolitics’ in their opposition to binding rules on violence against women, by means of an in-depth frame analysis of plenary debates spanning from 2016 to 2024 on the Istanbul Convention and the Directive on Violence against Women. The findings show that radical right populist Members of European Parliament (MEPs) employ unpolitics to oppose both gender policies and broader EU integration. Rather than engaging in substantive policy debate, they construct emotionally charged narratives that reject shared norms, terminologies, and values underpinning EU decision-making. By portraying the EU as weak and elitist, particularly in its handling of issues such as violence against women and migration, they position themselves as defenders of ‘the people’ against a corrupt establishment and alleged threats like immigration and ‘gender ideology’. In this context, the issue is not framed as a matter for democratic deliberation, but as evidence that the system is already rigged. The politicization of gender issues, combined with the high visibility of plenary debates, provides a strategic stage for opposition. This performative stance serves primarily rhetorical goals: despite their vocal criticism, many RRP MEPs ultimately supported the directive, emphasizing its symbolic importance.

Intersectional justice and normative power in the planetary organic crisis

Cooperation and Conflict

Abstract: This article examines how intersectionality can sharpen a normative power approach (NPA) in addressing the planetary organic crisis—the interlinked environmental, social, and economic injustices intensified by neoliberal capitalism. Building on Manners’ vision of an NPA that seeks to reshape harmful global “normalities,” the analysis foregrounds intersectional justice as a critical lens for both diagnosing inequalities and guiding transformative action. Drawing on seven intersectional principles that help to better understand planetary crisis—including multilevel analysis, reflexivity, relationality, and the interrogation of power—I demonstrate how overlapping systems of oppression (race, class, gender, coloniality) shape vulnerability to environmental degradation and economic exploitation, while disproportionally benefiting the wealthier and powerful. From there, the discussion moves from analysis to action, highlighting how intersectional justice can inform fairer governance practices, emphasizing redistribution, inclusive decision-making, and policy reforms, such as progressive wealth and carbon taxes or corporate accountability measures. By merging intersectionality’s focus on social justice with the NPA’s emphasis on redefining “the normal,” this integrated framework offers conceptual tools for scholars, activists, and policymakers to reimagine politics in a way that prioritizes those most affected by structural inequalities.

Race

Indigenous excellence: confronting racism and complicity in peer review

Health Promotion International

Abstract: Racism in peer review is a common, structurally embedded, and systemic problem. However, it is often framed as isolated acts of individual-level bias. Racism in peer review manifests across interconnected societal, system, and process levels, shaping who participates in knowledge production, what is deemed credible evidence, and whose work is published. This Indigenous-led Perspective examines racism in peer review through a three-layer framework: (1) societal, (2) system, and (3) process (decision-making and interpersonal), situating peer review as one domain within the broader problem of anti-Indigenous publication bias. Grounded in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Indigenous Data Sovereignty, and lived experience, we integrate conceptual analysis with illustrative examples to identify intervention points. At the societal level, colonial structures and socio-political forces determine whose knowledges count. At the system level, editorial governance, publishing models, and reward structures reproduce inequities. At the process (decision-making and interpersonal) level, racism cuts across reviewer selection and feedback, editorial decision-making, and dissemination through racialized assumptions, assessment and evaluative practices. We propose concrete, systemic reforms to dismantle racism in peer review, including structural policy reform, diversification of reviewer and editorial pools, anti-racism and cultural safety training, and explicit guidelines. We also outline (co)author responsibilities to act in solidarity when racism occurs. Equity, justice, and fairness in peer review demand more than goodwill. They require enforceable structural change, accountability, and culturally safe practice. Confronting racism is both an ethical imperative and a prerequisite for research excellence, integrity, and health promotion that serves all communities.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Education

Job Advertisement: Inclusive Education Consultant at Murdoch University

Inclusive Education Consultant

192KB ∙ PDF file

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Dis-comfort as method in queer migration research

Feminist Theory

Abstract: This article reflects on unresolved affective tensions in the field, not as failures or impasses but as analytical tools for (un)doing research. Shifting from a distant and detached analysis of my interlocutors’ narratives towards a decentred account of myself, I trace my disorientations, discomforts and troubles in encounters with queer refugees and asylum seekers. Through this ephemeral self-accounting, I approach the self as an aporetic, political and theoretical space of (un)becoming, examining how (non-)normativities emerged in my PhD research and how I navigated them while oscillating between affirmation and resistance. From this autotheoretical standpoint, and in confronting the inescapability of discursivity, I write through uncertainties, ambivalences and affective conflicts, approaching writing not as closure or as a constraint to ‘write what we already know’ but as an invitation to relate and (un)learn through the performative act of writing itself.

Honoring Student Resistance

Communication Education

Abstract: This essay honors student resistance and calls on communication educators to not only include but to center student activism as emergent case studies in navigating political life in late capitalism. Failure to do so, this forum essay argues, lends itself to ahistorical claims that organizing and learning are at odds when they have been and remain co-constitutive forces, particularly in the political context of institutionalized education.

(See Colin Wright’s critique of this article on X here.)

Other

Turning It Around: Progressive Strategies for Challenging Right-Wing Populism in the Era of MAGA

Race and Justice

Abstract: The ascendancy of right-wing populism and neo-liberalism has sapped many, if not most, progressives’ optimism. Since President Donald Trump got re-elected, it appears that things are getting worse every day. The movement toward a harsher, more unequal and less secure society, however, is not confined to the United States—though its expression there may be the most extreme and glaring. What is to be done? In 2019, in response to Trump’s first election, Walter DeKeseredy and Elliot Currie complied an edited volume—Progressive Justice in an Age of Repression: Strategies for Challenging the Rise of the Right—that aimed at rejuvenating progressive scholars amid bowdlerization. At the 2026 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences conference, the authors of this article led a conversation drawing inspiration from DeKeseredy and Currie and contriving further strategies to combat the rise of authoritarianism in the United States, academia, and around the world. This piece expands that dialog to suggest bold, creative strategies to challenge the MAGA agenda and restart the movement toward a sustaining and humane world order. We hope it inspires novel research, social action, and policies that promote true justice for all.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

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Gynocentrism and Animal Rights Collide

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:08:57 GMT

Photo by National Library of Medicine on Unsplash

It was inevitable. At a certain point, individuals who advocate simultaneously for women’s health research and animal rights were going to have to unravel the knot that they were tying themselves into. On one hand, these individuals bemoan the “underrepresentation” of females in animal studies. On the other hand, they believe that scientific experimentation on animals should be stopped.

Unlike clinical trials in humans, where the claim that women have been “underrepresented” as participants is untrue, the claim that animal models have tended to be more male than female appears mostly true. In fact, one of my studiessupports this claim. In exercise and fitness research published in Research Quarterly before 1980, I found that male animals were more commonly experimented on than female animals.

In making the case that women’s health is “understudied”, women’s health advocates sometimes cite such animal research. However, citing female “underrepresentation” in animal research implies that one also believes that more research on animals is needed to make up for the alleged knowledge gap in female physiology. However, this puts many women’s health advocates in a bind, because there is a good chance that they are also animal rights activists, or, at minimum, advocates for banning animal research. A Gallup poll from 2003 found that 42% of women compared to 28% of men favoured banning all medical research on animals.

Realising this intellectual quagmire, Irina Kovlyagina and Ivana Jaric published an article in Nature Neuroscience in May 2026 titled, “Phasing out animal research prematurely will maintain gender inequities in medicine.”

In the article, Kovlyagina and Jaric concluded that perhaps animal research is not so bad after all—if it is done in the names of “justice” and helping women:

“…ending animal research before we have used it to correct human-focused inequities does not erase injustice. It risks creating a new form of structural sexism: one in which moral concern for animals, however genuine, is prioritized over completing the unfinished work of understanding and treating diseases that disproportionately affect women.”
“Our aim is not to defend the status quo of animal research, nor to deny the moral urgency of reducing animal suffering. Rather, we argue that a just transition away from animal models must be temporally and structurally aligned with the project of closing the gender gap in biomedical knowledge.”

Yet, the authors did not provide any details about what a “just transition” looks like. They did not state what measurable outcome can be used to determine if the “just transition” is complete, nor did they state what type of knowledge must be acquired about female physiology before animal research should stopped. This lack of specificity is useful to the authors. It allows them to project a general and malleable agenda, which then shelters them from blame for any particulars that might go wrong along the way.

Ultimately, this affair reveals another example of the intellectual quagmires that gynocentrists work themselves into. These quagmires occur because gynocentrists do not attempt to anchor their thinking to objective principles. Instead, they seek to maintain the female victimization narrative at any given moment, as this helps them in the acute political sense. However, in the long term, objective reality always wins. Intellectual inconsistencies are eventually revealed, and people are forced to pick sides, including whether they support or oppose more animal research in the name of women’s health.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 23:55:57 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

Throwing Like a Girl: Is Biology Allowed to Explain Anything?

Reality’s Last Stand

Fausto-Sterling’s treatment of sex differences in throwing reveals how modern Blank Slate thinking survives by acknowledging biology in principle while dismissing it in practice.

WEEKLY VOICE

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Can the WNBA Define a Woman?

City Journal

Two former NBA stars declare themselves eligible for the league’s dra, forcing a reckoning over gender identity in women’s basketball.

United Nations is Now Controlled by a Cabal of Radical Feminists

Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance (DAVIA)

Dr Rebekah Wanic on the Just Checking In podcast

Episode description: Rebekah is an academic, leadership consultant, life coach and the Founder of ‘Vent To Reinvent’. She is also the Founder of the SubStack ‘PsychSkeptics’. We came across Rebekah through an article she wrote on a publication called Minding The Campus called ‘The Disappearing Male Student’ which friend of the pod Dr James Nuzzo shared. In the article she talks about the disparity in student numbers between male and female students on US college campuses, where men now make up around 41-44% of the student population. She also wrote about how male students are treated on these campuses, whether it comes to political debate, fears of cancellation by their female peers or even their female professors. In this episode we discuss Rebekah’s wider academic journey, why she enjoys the freedom and flexibility academia gives her as a career, a deep dive into the men on campus article, some of the other articles she’s written and her own attempted cancellation she experienced in a previous job. For Rebekah’s mental health journey, she was hospitalised a lot as a child for asthma issues. She suffered from depression from the age of 13 to her mid-20s and an eating disorder from 13-30 as well, which came in the form of anorexia and then developed into bulimia. We talk about the impact that had on her mental health, how she overcame it, her positive experience of therapy and how it empowered her to overcome her ED, take action and own it.

Education

University suspends academic whose investigation exposed disgraced Cambridge Professor Jason Arday

The College Fix

Ghent university shouldn’t have suspended Nathan Cofnas

The Spectator

Elite Universities Reward Disgraced Leaders with Million-Dollar Soft Landings

National Review

Professor turned writer-whistleblower exposes rot in modern academia

The College Fix

DOJ says federal programs to increase racial minorities in STEM are unconstitutional

The College Fix

Department of War orders research security audits at 30 U.S. academic institutions

The College Fix

Med Schools Are over Their Politics Fever

Off Label

Exercise Science

Ultrasound Muscle Thickness Is a Poor Index of Criterion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures of Resistance Training-Induced Muscle Growth

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise

Abstract: Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare group level resistance training (RT)-induced changes in ultrasound measured muscle thickness (ΔMTUS) with criterion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of muscle growth (i.e. changes in maximum anatomical cross-sectional area [ΔACSAMRI] and volume [ΔVOLMRI]), and examine the relationship between ΔMTUS and both ΔACSAMRI and ΔVOLMRI, for the quadriceps femoris (QF) and its constituent muscles. Materials and methods: Healthy young males (n=39) completed 15 weeks of lower-body RT (knee extension, knee flexion, and leg press; x3 sessions/wk). Pre and post RT participants undertook dominant thigh musculoskeletal scans. Ultrasound and MRI scans were manually segmented to quantify pre to post ΔMTUS, ΔACSAMRI, and ΔVOLMRI of constituent muscles and the overall QF. Results: ΔMTUS significantly underestimated increases in ΔACSAMRI (0.001≤ p ≤0.002) and ΔVOLMRI (0.001≤ p ≤0.012) for the overall QF and two out of four constituent muscles (vastus lateralis and vastus medialis), with a mean offset/underestimate of more than half the change in criterion MRI measures, and an average individual error that was typically more than the change in criterion MRI measures. Although vastus intermedius and rectus femoris ΔMTUS did not differ compared to ΔACSAMRI, and ΔVOLMRI (0.057 ≤ p ≤ 0.113). There were no significant bivariate correlations between ΔMTUS and either ΔACSAMRI or ΔVOLMRI for the overall QF (-0.152 ≤ r ≤ -0.015, 0.393≤ adjusted p ≤1.431) or any constituent muscles of the QF (-0.197 ≤ r ≤ 0.422, 0.140≤ adjusted p ≤1.002) in absolute or relative terms. Conclusions: Overall, ΔMTUS was not an accurate or valid index of RT-induced muscle growth and it is recommended to exercise substantial caution in the use and interpretation of MTUS in the context of RT adaptation.

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Boys are rarely taught to be caring. If they were, we could better prevent domestic violence

The Conversation

‘Feminists need to push back’: how did the women’s movement become so divided – and how can it reunite?

The Guardian

(See my brief post on X for why this article is in the Rubbish Bin.)

Queensland University of Technology defends removing ‘merit’ from hiring policy

ABC (2023)

(NB. Credit to Critiquing Feminism for bringing this article to my attention, after I shared the article that I have linked below on X.)

Integrating Merit and Equality to Address Gender Inequality at Work

Gender, Work & Organization

Abstract: Although the extant literature provides a comprehensive account of workplace gender inequalities, the mechanisms that produce inequalities, and the underlying assumptions and principles of those mechanisms, remain opaque. The concept of “merit,” although morally persuasive and ubiquitous in organizational contexts, is a significant point of tension in redressing gender inequality. This article firstly identifies three significant critiques of merit/ocracy identified in the literature, challenging assumptions that merit is objective, impartial and unbiased; independent of social, historical, and organizational contexts; and a reflection of individual circumstances and choice. Based on these three critiques, the paper then develops a framework that articulates the discourse, praxis and outcomes of meritocratic systems which undermine gender equity principles and practices. Finally, the paper draws on strategies that have attempted to redress gender inequality in order to illustrate how meritocratic systems can be imbued with, and hence directly confront, the current and historical reality of unequal gender outcomes.

How Gender Equity Schemes Might Inadvertently “Gender-Wash” Universities, Provoke Backlash, and Propagate Inequality

Gender, Work & Organization

Abstract: This paper explores the work experience and career trajectories of people working across 12 UK-based universities awarded an Athena Swan Charter, an international scheme that recognizes commitment to gender equality. Despite, or perhaps due to institutional reward leading to gender-washed “peacocking”, everyday sexisms and gender regimes are sustained through acts of gendered microinsults that often go unnoticed and are individualized. Women in “awarded” institutions report being spoken over, disproportionately allocated academic housework, experience re/enforced gendered boundaries, and inadequate equality policy provision. They also identify microinvalidations through exclusion from meetings, mis/appropriation of their ideas, gender inequality denial, and overt or covert resistance to gender equity initiatives. An analysis of these microaggressions determines their interconnected, mutually constitutive, and reproductive nature; it suggests that institutional gender-washing propagates a misconception of current levels of gender inequality which kindles “equity-backlash”. The findings reveal unintended outcomes of gender award schemes that might be mitigated through visibilising and addressing inequality regimes and their impacts.

Gender inequality in education in the United States: evidence from PIAAC

Studies in the Education of Adults

Abstract: The research on gender inequality in education covers an all-round and whole-process analysis of education’s access, process, and outcome. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) directly measures adults’ critical cognitive skills. It contains detailed information such as education history, employment history, and family background, which provides a data source that reveals the multidimensionality, continuity, and imbalance of gender inequality in the function of the whole education system. Taking the function mode of UNESCO (input-process-output-outcome-ultimate outcome) as the analysis framework, through the analysis of 12,330 samples of the US PIAAC survey, it is found that there is significant gender inequality in the US education, and inequality runs throughout the whole education system. This kind of inequality is complex. Although there is no absolute dominant gender, women are at a disadvantage on the whole. Solving the multidimensional gender inequality in education is crucial for realising all-around and substantive equality for its role in sustainable development, peaceful societies, and individual well-being.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Sacralizing Masculinity: Rethinking Anti-Feminist Politics on the Far Right

International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society

Abstract: Prominent accounts of the far-right upsurge rest on the notion of backlash. However, I argue that backlash explanations for the rise of anti-feminist and far-right mobilization, which center on defensive reactions concentrated among older, white, materially precarious strata against progressivism, are inadequate to explain the youth-centered gender polarization and the emergence of the manosphere, a loose digital ecosystem centered around radicalized views of masculinity, men’s rights, and misogyny. I advance an alternative theoretical explanation that centers on sacralization, a social process by which collectives deem certain values as sacred. The theory explains masculinity politics through the power of collective sacred symbols and the formation of in-groups and out-groups. Drawing on Hans Joas, it highlights tensions between the universalist and particularist tendencies of sacralization. These tensions lead to the paper’s original typology of universalized particularism, which appropriates universalist narratives for particularist ends, and particularism contra universalism, which pits particularist ideals against universalist moral claims. The utility of the sacralization framework and the typology is illustrated through an analysis of Andrew Tate, a manosphere influencer known for promoting violence against women, by examining his religious messaging and the collective sacralization of his following.

Against cure, against backlash: neuroaffirmative responses to antifeminism and the war on autism

Frontiers in Political Science

Excerpt: “Antifeminism is the backbone of global far-right politics (Sanders and Jenkins, 2022) and is intersectional by nature (Goetz and Mayer, 2024) as it attacks non-conformity at its heart by calling for a racialized and able bodyminded sex-gender system, differentially affecting those who do not comply with white supremacist views (Choi et al., 2025; Maddox, 2025). A particular aspect of this political quest for conformity has recently gained visibility in Trump’s administration: the war on autism (McGuire, 2016). Through an intersectional framework (Collins and Bilge, 2020), we argue that autism reveals the core contradiction of far-right supremacy: a logic that can glorify a trait as a “superpower” in some (white, male) bodies while seeking to eliminate it as a defect in others. This paper historically situates the pursuit of autism’s prevention and cure within the broader contexts of eugenic fascism and antifeminist backlash, to understand its contemporary weaponization by the far-right. We then delineate the consequences of this war for autistic lives and conclude by exploring neuroaffirmative counterstrategies.”

“Instead of just a drive by”: Clinician and birthing person perspectives on consent for toxicology testing during pregnancy

Pregnancy

Abstract: Introduction: Although state, federal, and professional guidelines stipulate the need for informed consent for toxicology testing during pregnancy, consent is often inadequately obtained. The objective of this study was to explore birthing person and obstetric clinician experiences with consent for toxicology testing during pregnancy. Methods: Semi‐structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 obstetric clinicians and 15 birthing persons who had toxicology testing performed during their delivery hospitalization. Interviews assessed clinical decision‐making around toxicology testing, perceptions of testing utility, as well as consent and communication practices. Transcripts were then double‐coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Three primary themes were identified. First, information disclosure during consent conversations for toxicology testing deviated from normative standards for informed consent in obstetrics. Second, barriers to adequate information provision included clinicians’ limited knowledge of and discomfort with the test’s risks, the infrequency of testing in clinical practice, and birthing peoples’ discomfort asking questions within the physician–patient power hierarchy. Third, birthing people felt unable to decline testing due to fears of child protective services involvement and perceived pressure from clinicians to undergo testing. Conclusion: While both birthing people and clinicians identified challenges related to appropriate information provision during consent conversations, birthing people critically underscored a lack of voluntariness related to their fears of child protective services and experiences of pressure from clinicians to consent to testing. As a result, consent practices failed to adhere to normative standards for informed consent within obstetrics, which undermined patient autonomy.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Race

Learning as action? How white racial ignorance limits equity work in schools and communities

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

Abstract: This qualitative case study explores how parents and community leaders in a predominantly white, small town in the Midwest understand racism and racial equity, and how they work to promote racial equity in their schools and community. I use Mills’s concept of white racial ignorance to analyze the relationships between participants’ understanding, learning, and action around issues of race. The findings indicate that most white participants described racism primarily as an individual or interpersonal problem and perceived themselves as needing to learn about race. As a result, their racial equity efforts mainly focused on learning. However, this learning was disconnected. It had a limited impact on their stated understandings of racism and did not prompt them to take collective action for institutional change. Based on the research findings, I conclude that learning about race in ways that do not explicitly and intentionally address structural racism ultimately perpetuates white supremacy.

Education

Beyond performative decolonization: Epistemic justice in degrowth curricula

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

Abstract: While universities across the Global North increasingly adopt decolonial rhetoric, most initiatives remain limited to what Ahmed (2012) calls “non-performative” diversity work, which obscures rather than challenges underlying power structures. This article moves beyond performative decolonization by examining how degrowth curricula operationalize authentic epistemic justice in university transformation. Through critical analysis of the Autonomous University of Barcelona MA program in Degrowth: Ecology, Economics and Policy, this paper demonstrates how heterodox (economic) pedagogies move beyond symbolic inclusion to implement structural changes that challenge epistemic violence and promote intersectional environmental and social justice. Drawing on Fricker’s epistemic injustice framework, Santos’ (2014) concept of epistemicide, and Schöneberg and Narayanaswamy’s (2024) critique of performative decolonization, this paper offers an integrated theoretical framework that distinguishes authentic transformation from institutional co-optation. The analysis reveals how the Barcelona School moves beyond performative gestures through the systematic operationalization of anti-utilitarian frameworks, the implementation of pluriversal pedagogies that center Global South leadership, and the structural integration of Indigenous knowledge systems that challenge, rather than accommodate, existing academic hierarchies. The study employs document analysis of curriculum materials, theoretical synthesis informed by COST 19129 decolonizing development networks, and critical policy analysis to name concrete mechanisms for moving beyond performative diversity toward structural epistemic justice. This paper advances decolonial scholarships by developing an anti-performative analytical framework that distinguishes authentic transformation from inauthentic university propaganda. Findings show that degrowth education offers tangible pathways beyond performativity by dismantling rather than diversifying mainstream economic paradigms; implementing collective rather than competitive knowledge production systems; centering rather than merely including Indigenous and Global South epistemologies; and structurally transforming rather than symbolically addressing institutional power relations.

Bringing intersectionality and (De)Coloniality into dialogue: Theoretical insights and political pathways for decolonizing higher education

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

Abstract: This conceptual article engages with the ‘decolonial turn’ in higher education and argues for a decolonial-intersectional framework that integrates decoloniality and intersectionality to address the interconnected oppressions of race, gender, class, and other axes of marginalization. Drawing on foundational scholarship in decolonial thought and intersectionality theory, this framework critiques the coloniality of power and knowledge, while advocating for transformative practices that affirm diverse epistemologies and lived experiences of marginalized communities in higher education. By conceptualizing intersectionality as inherently decolonial and decolonization as an intersectional process, the framework highlights how colonial legacies and intersecting oppressions co-constitute inequities in academia. The article theorizes the potential of this approach to foster epistemic resistance, reimagining universities as spaces that interrogate and dismantle colonial structures and Eurocentric biases. This potential is shown through illustrative examples and recommendations, emphasizing the value of a decolonial-intersectional lens in advancing equitable, just, and decolonized academic practices and research agendas.

Notes on collective care as black feminist praxis within, outside, and against the academic industrial machine

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

Abstract: In this collaborative meditation, understandings and practices of academic living in the Nordics as Afro-Nordic feminists are enacted through an explorative methodology of engaging and re-imagining forms for knowledge production through the lens of Black feminist theorizations. In particular, we rehearse practices of collective care through a form of collective note keeping, a practice which is in kinship with Christina Sharpe’s concept of notes (2023). In practicing this collective note keeping, we attempt to make explicit some of the conditions, contexts, and practices which make up the antiblack climate (Sharpe, 2016) of academia, as well as the Black feminist values and practices which help us weather these conditions. In our notes, we offer a generative critique of not only the conditions which structure the experiences of African and Black feminists in Nordic academia, but also the often seemingly progressive efforts which purport to make academia a more inclusive space. Grounded in our specific, overlapping yet different positions, experiences, and relations to academia, we also explore the ways in which our collective facilitates experimentation with alternative ways of being, relating, and co-creating knowledge which center Black feminist ethics of care, collaboration, and shared memory. We share these notes reflecting on our work together to illustrate the possibilities of imagining and creating fugitive spaces of collective care within, outside, and against the academic industrial machine.

“Angry, Mad, Sick and Tired” Black Women in the Academy: A reflective dialogue about anti-Black sexism in the academic industrial complex

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

Abstract: This paper captures honest and courageous intergenerational dialogue between three Black women - 2 students, and 1 faculty member – who reflect on their experiences in the Canadian academy. In this, the authors reflect on issues such as imposter syndrome, Black humanity, anti-Black sexism, EDI initiatives, and the impact of all of these dynamics in our places of learning and work on our overall health and wellbeing. Towards this end, we also reflect on what keeps us motivated to continue doing the good work we are engaged in.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here).

Other

Mad, mentally ill and neurodivergent professionals: epistemic injustice in practice

Disability & Society

Key points: Though Madness, mental illness and neurodiversity (MMIND) differ in important ways, they all carry (mis)perceptions that people are less capable and less credible. Beliefs that Mad, mentally ill and neurodivergent people are less credible may be a particular problem in professional work contexts. Experiences of Madness, mental illness and neurodivergence may bring valuable strengths to professional practice, yet those are undermined when people are perceived as less-capable and less-trustworthy. When professionals are pressured to hide their Mad, mentally ill and neurodivergent identities, there are costs to them, to their colleagues, to their clients/patients, and to their professions, as new and different ways of doing, being and thinking get suppressed.

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Paid Subscriptions Are on the Way

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:01:08 GMT

Photo by Tijs van Leur on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

I created The Nuzzo Letter in April 2023. Since that time, I have published over 300 items, including original Essays, Data Briefs, Weekly Roundups, and more. All this content has been made available for free. Now, after nearly 3.5 years, I am announcing that paid subscriptions will soon be available at The Nuzzo Letter.

The start date of paid subscriptions will be September 15, 2026. This date was not chosen randomly. It represents the one-year anniversary of my academic cancellation story.

Since publishing my academic cancellation story, The Nuzzo Letter has continued to grow and raise awareness of men’s health, the “great feminization,” and issues in higher education. The Nuzzo Letter is now regularly referenced in press releases and news stories, and my posts on X now receive hundreds of thousands of views each month. My scientific papers are also impacting public discourse and policy. But don’t take my word for it. Read what some of the leading voices in science, education, and men’s health are saying about The Nuzzo Letter (more reviews here).

Reviews

“James is a bold academic pushing back against dominant, false, scientific narratives using real data.”

Colin Wright, PhD, Reality’s Last Stand

“James Nuzzo is one of the bravest and most honest commentators on gender issues there is. He has a knack for shattering preconceptions and showing that some of the dominant narratives of our age get things wrong - or even exactly backwards.”

Steve Stewart-Williams, PhD, Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche-Newsletter

“I 100% recommend The Nuzzo Letter. James Nuzzo is one of the top academic voices on men’s health. The quality of his research is second to none. His unflinching and undeniably accurate critiques of feminism are the single reason he isn’t already a professor at a leading university.”

John Barry, PhD, Centre for Male Psychology

“The Nuzzo Letter sizzles with startling data and insights.”

Janice Fiamengo, PhD, The Fiamengo File

“James Nuzzo is a pioneer for men’s health, a gentleman, and a scholar! Thanks Jim, for all you do for men’s health!”

International Coalition for Men and Boys (ICMB)

“James L. Nuzzo of The Nuzzo Letter produces high-quality and original content, challenging our academic institutions to lift their game and prompting our societies to treat males with the dignity that they deserve.”

David Maywald, Celebrating Masculinity

“James consistently delivers the most thorough, unbiased research available, raising vital awareness about the challenges facing boys and men. His work inspires me and provides resources I rely on every week.”

Lisa Britton, Evie Magazine

“Jim Nuzzo, PhD is my favorite researcher. Jim is unafraid of finding data that varies from his preconceived ideas and this sets him apart in today’s climate. His willingness to look at gender differences is refreshing. Read a few of his posts and you will see.”

Tom Golden, Men Are Good

“James Nuzzo’s work will blow your mind like it did mine, making you question studies you once trusted and see the hidden flaws in mainstream research. He has a rare ability to cut through the noise and expose uncomfortable truths—all in a credible and scientifically rigorous manner. If you’re interested in standing up to the woke takeover of our institutions, this is a Substack you need to follow, share, and spread far and wide.”

Hannah Spier, MD, Psychobabble

“The Nuzzo Letter provides the type of insights that are data driven and fearless.”

Sean Kullman, In His Words

“The Nuzzo Letter never ceases to impress me. It presents high-quality facts and data on a wide range of topics important to those of us who advocate for a reasonable approach to gender equality. James’s work is a unique contribution to public knowledge and is worth following.”

Blair Daly, Washington Initiative for Boys & Men

“I feel like I owe James a recommendation, as he is so frequently a critical source of inspiration for my own infographics and content. So much of TheTinMen, particularly in health, is inspired by, or downright plagiarised from The Nuzzo Letter, that it has become of extreme and indispensable personal and professional importance to me. Can’t recommend it highly enough, there’s really nothing else quite like it!”

TheTinMen

“In The Nuzzo Letter, Dr. Nuzzo curates informative research and data in addition to sharing his own highly insightful work and perspective. I appreciate his willingness to provide access to information on so many topics that others avoid and the clarity with which he does so. Do yourself a favor and subscribe now!”

Rebekah Wanic, PhD, PsychSkeptics

“No one cuts through the popular myths and misconceptions around sex, gender, and men’s health like James. He uses real, solid data to show how much of what we are told, even by some of the largest and most trusted NGO’s, is completely misguided, if not downright fraudulent. James is both brave and rigorous, a lethal combination.”

Brandon McMurtrie, PhD, Backcountry Psychology

“The Nuzzo Letter presents facts and data which challenges accepted narratives. James also provides incisive commentary and observations which opens debate. Well worth subscribing to.”

Joe Kosterich, MD, Dr Joe Unplugged

Thus, The Nuzzo Letter is consistently praised for its rigorous, data-driven analysis, its willingness to challenge major institutions and prevailing narratives, and its focus on topics that are often overlooked or avoided. But that’s not all. Nearly every week, I receive emails and messages from people around the world—mostly men—who thank me for the work I do. These people feel they have no voice and that the objective pillars of civilization are collapsing around them. They contact me in confidence, fearful of losing their jobs or otherwise being cancelled if they express their views publicly. This is why The Nuzzo Letter must continue!

The Future of The Nuzzo Letter

I love working on The Nuzzo Letter. It is what I spend most of my working hours doing, and I want to keep publishing it. But for The Nuzzo Letter to be sustainable over the long term and continue to have an impact, I need to generate income from it. I am no longer formally employed in an academic or research role, my current income is very limited, and, given my outspokenness on DEI and sex and gender issues—the very things that people praise The Nuzzo Letter for—I am unlikely to work at an academic institution anytime soon. Paid subscriptions are therefore a necessity.

What Will Paid Subscriptions Look Like?

The Nuzzo Letter will have three types of subscriptions: free, paid, and Nuzzo Letter Patrons.

The cost of a paid subscription will be US$9/month, discounted to US$99/year for those who sign up for an annual subscription (i.e., one month free).

Nuzzo Letter Patrons will be individuals who voluntarily choose to pay more than the standard annual subscription.

Much of The Nuzzo Letter will remain free, while access to certain content will now be available only to paid subscribers. The Weekly Roundup, select essays, Dr. Nuzzo’s Notebook (a new feature), and the archives of The Nuzzo Letter will now be available only to paid subscribers. Further details on paid subscriptions are provided below and at The Nuzzo Letter’s About page.

What You Get with a Free Subscription

Access to free Essays
Partial access to Data Briefs (partial access means that you will be unable to view all the contents of a Data Brief, which might include certain graphs or key points or Dr. Nuzzo’s Bonus Commentary at the end of each Data Brief)
Access to a selection of Dr. Nuzzo’s published research papers
Full access to Dr. Nuzzo’s podcast interviews
Full access to Dr. Nuzzo’s crossposted essays and interviews

Essays and data briefs that are made available to free subscribers will still be subject to paywall after entering the archives two weeks after publication.

What You Get with a Paid Subscription

Access to everything that free subscribers have access to plus:

Full access to all Essays
Full access to Data Briefs
Full access to the Weekly Roundup
Full access to archives of The Nuzzo Letter, totalling over 300 Essays, Data Briefs, Weekly Roundups, and other content
Access to Dr. Nuzzo’s Notebook – a new and evolving feature of The Nuzzo Letter that includes exclusive posts such as bonus essays, presentations, and notes that Dr. Nuzzo has organized in preparation of media requests and appearances

Nuzzo Letter Patrons

Becoming a Nuzzo Letter Patron is a way to provide additional support for The Nuzzo Letter. Patrons voluntarily choose to pay more than the standard annual subscription, with a recommended contribution of US$250 per year. Flexible pricing allows Patrons to choose the level of support that best suits them, provided the amount is higher than the standard annual subscription of US$99 per year.

With permission, Nuzzo Letter Patrons are recognized on The Nuzzo Letter’s website. Patrons also have the option to participate in up to two private Zoom conversations with Dr. Nuzzo each year. Patrons may also receive early access to major announcements or projects.

Pledges

Paid subscriptions will be activated on September 15, 2026. If you are eager to show your support for this transition, you can do so now by pledging to become a paid subscriber. According to Substack, you will need to enter your payment information when pledging, but you will not be charged until September 15, when paid subscriptions are activated.

Subscribe now

What Will Happen to the Donorbox?

Over the past couple of years, some subscribers have given one-time or recurring monthly donations to The Nuzzo Lettervia Donorbox. Thank you to all the amazing donors! The Donorbox will remain available for individuals who wish to support The Nuzzo Letter with one-time or recurring monthly donations of any amount. These donations are separate from paid subscriptions and provide another way to support the research conducted at The Nuzzo Letter. If you are currently giving a recurring monthly donation through Donorbox, I will contact you shortly to discuss future options.

If you have any questions about any of the above, just let me know.

For now, it’s time for me to get back to work! Back to the fight! Back to winning!

Sincerely,

James L. Nuzzo, PhD

Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1950-2024

James L. Nuzzo — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 23:01:04 GMT

The current data brief shows the number and rates of maternal mortality deaths in the United States (U.S.) between 1950 and 2024. Please see the Bonus Commentary for why these data should be interpreted cautiously.

Key Points

Maternal mortality is defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as: “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, but excludes those [deaths] from accidental/incidental causes.”
The total number of maternal deaths in the U.S. declined from approximately 3,000 in 1950 to 334 in 1980 to about 500-800 per year since 2005 (top graph).
In 2024, 649 maternal deaths occurred.
Rates of maternal mortality expressed relative to every 100,000 live births (i.e., accounting for population growth) exhibited a similar trend over this time (bottom graph). However, parts of these trend lines can be explained by changes in data reporting methods (see Bonus Commentary below).

Sources

Hoyert DL, National Center for Health Statistics. (2026). Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024.

National Center for Health Statistics. Table 36. Maternal mortality for complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium, by race, Hispanic origin, and age: United States, selected years 1950-2007.

Rossen LM, Womack LS, Hoyert DL, Anderson RN, Uddin SFG, National Center for Health Statistics. (2020). The Impact of the Pregnancy Checkbox and Misclassification on Maternal Mortality Trends in the United States, 1999-2017. Vital Health Statistics (44):1-61.

Bonus Commentary

Technological advancements and enhanced knowledge of human physiology have presumably helped reduce maternal deaths over time. Nevertheless, monitoring these deaths has been hindered by incomplete and inconsistent reporting. At first glance, the data in the graphs seem to suggest that maternal deaths have increased in recent years – a concerning trend if true. However, these data are confounded by the fact that reporting practices for maternal deaths have been inconsistent.

In 2003, a pregnancy question (a series of checkboxes) was added to the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death to try to improve the identification of maternal deaths. This new reporting method was not adopted consistently across the U.S. In 2020, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) published a report detailing how the adoption of the pregnancy checkboxes on the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death impacted numbers of maternal deaths between 1999 to 2017. The NCHS reported an increase in maternal deaths between 1999 and 2017 and concluded that “the observed increases in [maternal mortality rates] during this time were largely due to the staggered implementation of the checkbox, which increases identification of maternal deaths.” Thus, the NCHS does not recommend using these national vital statistics data to “examine trends in maternal deaths during this transition period” (see the NCHS website for details). Nevertheless, assuming the new reporting method continues to be used, the above graphs present the new baseline that future trends can be compared against.

Maternal mortality is a health issues that carries significant emotional salience, and it is often cited in calls for more funding for women’s health. Maternal mortality is indeed an important health issue, and ideally, the number of such deaths would be zero. Nevertheless, the number of maternal deaths per year (~700) should be remembered within the broader context of causes of death. For example, each year, roughly 400 women die from fatal occupational injuries, 1,000 die from accidental drownings, 30,000 die from drug overdoses, 10,000 die from suicide, and 40,000 die from breast cancer. Moreover, it may surprise some readers to know that approximately the number of men who die each year from breast cancer (~500 men) and testicular cancer (~600 men) is similar to the number of women who die each year while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 20:07:27 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

DEI must die to prevent another Jason Arday scandal

The Spectator

(NB. This article was written and published prior to Arday’s death.)

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

Study: School police officers utilize ‘niceness as whiteness’ to validate arrests of students

The College Fix

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

The Gender War Is Real And Goes Far Beyond The Web

Institute for Family Studies

A Forgotten Debate: Washington’s Paternity Fraud Legislation

Washington Initiative for Boys and Men

Showcasing the strongest arguments people offered for and against allowing a man to terminate parental obligations if genetic testing proves he is not the father.

The Relentless War on Masculinity : Does it Ever End?

David Maywald of Celebrating Masculinity has made the digital version his first book, The Relentless War on Masculinity, freely available through the National Library of Australia.

My review of David’s book:

“David Maywald’s book on the war on masculinity highlights many of the issues currently facing boys and men. Maywald overviews the causes of this war, its effects on men and society, and how the war can be resolved. Maywald’s conceptualization of the “four horsewomen” of modern feminism – misandry, gamma bias, gynocentrism, and gaslighting – is a particularly important contribution. To progress on boys’ and men’s issues, which Maywald believes is possible and indeed necessary for a healthy society, the “four horsewomen” of modern feminism must be acknowledged and addressed accordingly.”

100 of the Best Books for Men : Honouring the Authors, Elders, and Thought Leaders

David Maywald has also made the digital version of his second book, 100 of the Best Books for Men, freely available through the National Library of Australia. David published this book earlier this month.

The Double Standards in Genital Mutilation

European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Abstract: This article extends a decade of phenomenological research on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Iran (Ahmady et al., 2015) to critically examine the parallel practice of male genital mutilation (MGM). The initial study, which documented the perpetuation of FGM outside its commonly assumed geographical borders, revealed the need for a comparative analysis of MGM, a practice often defended by similar cultural and religious arguments. This paper confronts the profound double standard in which FGM is internationally condemned as a human rights violation, while MGM persists with broad societal and even medical endorsement. Presenting a comparative ethical and human rights analysis, this paper deconstructs the complex matrix of justifications rooted in tradition, patriarchal authority, and religious mandates that sustain non-therapeutic male circumcision. The analysis revealed that MGM and FGM share striking parallels, functioning as mechanisms of social control and gender identity construction. It is argued that MGM constitutes a significant violation of a child’s right to bodily integrity and is as much an attack on masculinity as FGM is on femininity. By challenging the segregated ethical discourses surrounding genital cutting, this article calls for a consistent, gender-neutral application of human rights principles, concluding that the protection of all children requires unequivocal rejection of medically unnecessary genital alterations.

Health Science

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024

NCHS Health E-Stat

Abstract: In 2023–2024, 1.6% of adults had ever been diagnosed with any inflammatory bowel disease, including 1.2% who had ever been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and 0.5% who had ever been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The prevalence of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and overall inflammatory bowel disease increased with age. Women were more likely than men to have ulcerative colitis and overall inflammatory bowel disease. White non-Hispanic adults had the highest prevalence of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and overall inflammatory bowel disease.

Education

Harvard lays off nearly one-third of social sciences staff covered by latest restructuring

The College Fix

First-year classes this fall range from Wonder Woman to ‘queer’ art to the occult

The College Fix

Georgetown center requires work-study students to attend ‘white supremacy’ training

The College Fix

University of Michigan plans to shield 2027 freshman letter grades from transcripts in new mental health plan

Fox News

Next year, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will no longer include letter grades on first-semester transcripts.

Will pass/no credit curb stress or lower standards? UMich’s new grading policy draws fire

The College Fix

Other

Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty for Those Convicted of Murder

Pew Research Center

Wide partisan gaps over whether capital punishment is morally justified, deters people from committing serious crimes.

Thomas Sowell Legacy: A Conversation With Justice Clarence Thomas and Peter Robinson

Hoover Institution

Episode description: Justice Clarence Thomas reflects on the ideas, friendship, and intellectual courage of Thomas Sowell—and the enduring importance of thinking for oneself.

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Gothic Black Feminist Interventions: The Dilapidated American Mansion and Other Peculiar Rites

Psychology of Women Quarterly

Abstract: Black womxn’s endurance of the American Gothic is distinct—one filled with corporeal violence, blood-thirsty systems, and haunting histories—thus, their healing requires the development of an equally attuned Gothic approach. Gothic Black feminism is an emerging theory that considers Black American womxn’s madness to be the intended consequence of presumably permanent systems of power—henceforth referred to as the American Gothic. This piece, the third within a three-part Gothic Black feminist series, carries the thread of its conceptual and clinical innovation. The present work presents five novel interventions organized between two overarching sections: (1) Gothic Psychotherapy: Roots of an emerging praxis and (2) Gothic Black feminist intervention: Applying its lens to existing approaches. Section one, Gothic Psychotherapy, introduces two interventions foundational to the emerging praxis: (1) Co-witnessing and (2) Gothic Black feminist psychoeducation. Section two, Gothic Black feminist intervention, introduces three novel interventions that demonstrate the application of its lens to existing clinical approaches: (1) Gothic card sorting/clinical cartomancy/Gothic Black feminist tarot, (2) Macabre metaphors and Gothic storytelling, and (3) Gothic narrative work. Two composite case vignettes, demonstrating the applied use of these interventions in the treatment of Black womxn clients, are included.

Teacher education as visionary feminist projects in anti-feminist times

Critical Studies in Education

Abstract: This manuscript argues for the framing of teacher education research and programs through a visionary feminist lens. We believe that teacher education serves as an important space for the education of women, yet these spaces have a history of reproducing patriarchal, sexist, and misogynistic ways of thinking and being in the world that are not in the best interest of the very students in these programs, and indeed are harmful to them. Thus, we present the work of Jane Addams, analyzed through the work of bell hooks to illustrate a visionary feminist theory and pedagogy that incorporates: the critique and decentering of patriarchy and patriarchal power through the centering of girls’, women’s, and other marginalized people’s lives; non-hierarchical ways of being in solidarity; and approaching education as a political project grown out of lived experiences. Overall, we argue that the radical, visionary feminist projects of Addams and hooks is one possible combination that can inspire a conceptual lens for designing and studying teacher education that is up for the task of our personal, social, political, and economic lives in 2025 and beyond.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Reactionary dis/affect: exploring the affective politicization in the manosphere

Journal of Gender Studies

Abstract: This article examines the affective politicization of the manosphere, focusing on how a discourse of dis/affect shapes its political imaginaries. This theory-building piece with ethnographic insight conceptualizes the manosphere as an affective space embedded in digital affect culture. Drawing on theories of disaffection as a politics of feeling, the article argues that manospheric actors appropriate and rearticulate the affective logic of disaffection through narratives of male grievance, dispossession and perceived victimization. Rather than challenging existing structures of power, this discourse reverses the political orientation of disaffection, mobilizing feelings of loss and resentment in ways that feed anti-feminist and reactionary imaginaries. It traces how a discourse of dis/affect circulates through digital interactions and media practices, mobilizing a constellation of subject positions: (1) the injured subject, (2) the dis/affected man and (3) the counter-revolutionary. Rather than unfolding as linear stages, these positions coexist and intersect, offering a repertoire through which participants navigate and articulate political belonging. By theorizing dis/affect as reactionary appropriation of a politics of feeling, the article shows how emotions shape political subjectivities, reinforce anti-feminist gender imaginaries and sustain the affective politics of the manosphere, offering new insights into the relationship between affect, digital publics and politicization online.

“Women are discriminated against on the basis of sex”: anti-trans epistemologies in Australian universities

Journal of Gender Studies

Abstract: This article offers an analysis of qualitative data from a multi-phased project entitled Understanding and Addressing Everyday Sexisms in Australian Universities. The project’s key aim was to improve the ways in which gender-based discrimination is understood and addressed in Australian universities. It achieved this aim through adopting a situated, intersectional, and creative approach to data generation and analysis. The authors examine data from phase three of the project, a large-scale survey that was distributed across 12 of Australia’s 39 public universities, yielding 1257 responses. The survey was designed to encourage academic staff of all genders to participate and aimed to understand experiences of and attunement to everyday sexisms across gender and disciplinary lines. Analysis of open-ended survey responses showed that anti-trans and trans-exclusive feminist epistemologies were present in the data; therefore, in this paper the authors grapple with how these sentiments were articulated and with what this reveals about the rise of anti-trans ideologies within Australian universities.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Health and inequality in Australia

The Economic and Labour Relations Review

Abstract: Drawing on primary and secondary data, the article illustrates that whilst the health system in Australian certainly dissipates the social determinants of health and lessens health inequality, there remain significant inequalities in life expectancy, health access, utilisation and outcomes. The key argument is that class, gender, racial and spatial inequalities are mirrored in the health system. With respect to class, the weakening of bulk billing, where the full cost of the medical consultation is borne by the government, means that a proportion of low-income individuals defer visiting their GP. The problem is far more acute with respect to specialist, dental and mental health consultations where the out-of-pocket costs are greater. Again it is far more likely to result in low-income people deferring or avoiding necessary consultations. ‘Medical misogyny’ - the argument that the medical concerns of women are taken less seriously than those of men, is shown to be a major issue. The Indigenous - non-Indigenous health divide is acute; the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is eight years less than non-Indigenous Australians. Spatial inequality is also significant; the health outcomes of people in rural and remote areas are shown to be poorer than those of people in the metropolitan areas.

(Nuzzo note: For the specific reason why I tossed this paper in the Rubbish Bin, please see my brief post on X here. The reason relates to an article that I published at The Nuzzo Letter earlier this year.)

Race

Breaking the siege: whiteness, difference and racial transformation

Whiteness and Education

Abstract: In this paper, the author argues that investigating what Thandeka (1999) described as a siege mentality of whiteness produced through the policing of internal and external nonwhite zones is a crucial aspect of understanding and disrupting white supremacy. The author turns to critical whiteness studies in relationship with Boldt’s (2021) theorisation of vitality and learning to consider how siege mentalities of whiteness deny difference and protect white supremacy. This article offers the radical affirmation of difference as an anti-racist stance in education that can promote antiracist learning by cultivating movement between internal and external nonwhite zones. The author uses honest storytelling to tell and interpret three stories and, ultimately, conceptualise how vitality that can emerge from travelling between racial zones shares a relationship with racial transformation. Ultimately, the author argues that cultivating capacity to affirm difference is a vital element of pedagogy intended to interrupt white supremacy.

Antiracist Practices Across the Stages of a Research Project: A Narrative Review

Health Equity

Abstract: Objectives: There is a need for formal guidance around antiracist research practices to dismantle structural racism, which has been embedded into the design and conduct of health sciences research. Our objective is to review and summarize recommendations from published literature published on antiracist research practices applicable to all health sciences research studies. Method: In 2022, we systematically reviewed PubMed, SCOPUS, Excerpta Medica Database, British Nursing Index, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Sociological Abstracts using search terms about antiracist research. We found 5362 papers, screened 3962 titles, assessed 171 abstracts for eligibility, and reviewed 103 using a standardized extraction form. We reviewed 11 papers twice to confirm accuracy. We narratively synthesized recommendations relevant to six stages of the research process via combined deductive and inductive qualitative analysis. Results: A total of 1407 individual recommendations were grouped into themes and subthemes within each research stage. Project development had the most themes (n = 7) and subthemes (n = 24); dissemination of findings had the fewest (2 themes and 5 subthemes). When designing a project, researchers are encouraged to develop diverse, representative, and empowered research teams; design projects important to marginalized groups; and use conceptual frameworks that build on the work of marginalized scholars. Researchers were encouraged to promote inclusive consent processes, accessible recruitment materials, and recruitment and retention strategies that maximized diversity. When analyzing data, recommendations included involving community partners to ensure appropriate conceptualization and measurement of race, justifying the selection of reference groups, and considering intersectional identities. Recommendations for data interpretation include contextualizing findings, considering structural racism, and improving community involvement to enhance the transparency of data analysis. During dissemination, recommendations highlighted increasing accessibility of research findings. Conclusions: We identified a comprehensive list of recommendations describing antiracist research practices. Our synthesis can be used to guide individual research teams, institutional review boards, and grant committees, and to develop educational curricula around antiracist research practices.

The “Dual Masking Phenomenon”: A Critical Autoethnography of an Autistic Multiracial Latina Amid the Presence of White Autistic Researchers and Self-Advocates

Autism in Adulthood

Abstract: Background: Autistic camouflage describes how autistic individuals assimilate allistic behavior for societal acceptance, while White mimicry demonstrates how non-White individuals assimilate White identities. These coping strategies, although different, are significant for non-White autistic individuals. Understanding them is crucial for mitigating racial and ethnic biases in autism research and clinical practice, emphasizing the importance of addressing ethnic and racial identity assimilation. Methods: I used a critical autoethnography aimed at advancing the decolonization of research and fostering equitable knowledge production. This approach entwined personal narratives with theoretical frameworks, transcending mere depiction. Validation of findings through peer debriefing was instrumental, while my positioning as a multiracial Latina expounded the intricate dimensions of racial identity and bias within the study’s context. Results: The findings revealed the “dual masking phenomenon” in non-White autistic individuals, encompassing both White mimicry and autistic camouflage. These complexities reveal challenges within racially influenced societal contexts, advocating for tailored support for non-White autistic individuals. Narratives unveiled prevalent tokenism, microaggressions, privilege, epistemicide, and meritocracy within predominantly White autistic environments, uncovering systemic barriers and the pressure to assimilate Whiteness to access opportunities. The study underscores the imperative to question neutrality and rectify disparities within the non-White autistic community. Discussion: The inadequacy of relying solely on autistic camouflage among non-White autistic individuals within racially influenced societal settings is highlighted. Instead, adopting traits associated with Whiteness seems to offer a more effective approach. The “dual masking phenomenon” reveals this systemic challenge—the pressure for assimilation faced by non-White autistic individuals, worsened by the prevailing systemic racism in predominantly White environments, as illustrated in the results. Recommendations include incorporating racial factors into research by racializing the experiences of White autistic individuals, educating health care professionals on racial dynamics, and fostering resilience and racial stamina, to address disparities within the non-White autistic community.

Other

A democracy tax in support of science

Science Magazine

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Football, fossil fuels, and public health in the era of climate crisis

Environmental Epidemiology

Abstract: Global professional football (soccer in the United States) is increasingly integrated with fossil fuel-derived capital through club ownership, expansive sponsorship deals, and tournament hosting. While often discussed in ethical or political terms, these developments have received limited attention from an environmental health perspective. This commentary examines the growing alignment between fossil fuel-derived wealth and global football, focusing primarily on club ownership, while situating it within a broader ecosystem of commercial and geopolitical influence. We argue that these relationships function as a commercial determinant of health by shaping social norms, legitimizing carbon-intensive industries, and delaying policy action on climate change. Drawing parallels to the historical regulation of tobacco sponsorship, we highlight how such dynamics contribute to the persistence of exposures that drive climate-related health risks. Climate change is the great public health challenge of the 21st century, just as tobacco was in the 20th century. Greater scrutiny, transparency, and leadership from the public health community with regard to fossil fuel-derived funding of sport are warranted. It is no longer acceptable for major sporting bodies and events to accept tobacco industry funding. It should also be unacceptable for them to accept fossil fuel-derived funding.

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Female Preference in Admissions – North Carolina Universities, 2001-2024

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:55:17 GMT

(NB. If you would like a similar analysis conducted for your state or university, feel free to contact me to discuss consulting fees.)

At The Nuzzo Letter, I previously published two data briefs on the female:male ratio in undergraduate admissions at universities in the United States (U.S.). The first data brief focused on four major technical universities in the U.S.: California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The second data brief focused on eight Ivy League universities and six Ivy League “adjacent” universities.

The current data brief builds on these two data briefs by focusing on all universities in one state’s higher education system: North Carolina. One reason why I chose North Carolina is because the Martin Center for Academic Renewal is based in North Carolina, and the Martin Center published a policy brief earlier this year titled: “Where are all the men? A look at male vs. female postsecondary enrollment in North Carolina.” I also chose North Carolina for personal reasons. I lived in North Carolina for two years while completing my Master’s degree at Appalachian State University between 2006 and 2008.

The North Carolina universities included in the current analysis are:

Appalachian State University (Boone, NC)
East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)
Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, NC)
Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville, NC)
North Carolina A & T University (Greensboro, NC)
North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC)
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
University of North Carolina at Asheville (Asheville, NC)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)
University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Greensboro, NC)
University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Pembroke, NC)
University of North Carolina at Wilmington (Wilmington, NC)
University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem, NC)
Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)

I acquired the relevant data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). I extracted data on the number of male and female applicants and admittees each year from 2001 (earliest year data are available) to 2024.

For each university, I present two graphs. The first graph shows the percent of males and females admitted (bars and left y-axis) and the resulting female:male admissions ratio (line and right y-axis). The horizontal dashed line on these graphs represents a female:male admissions ratio of 1.0 (i.e., no sex preference). The second graph shows the number of males and females who applied to the university each year and who were admitted to the university each year.

After presenting the graphs for each university, I then present graphs that compare (1) the female:male admissions ratio across all universities in the North Carolina system in 2024; (2) the female:male admissions ratio across all universities in the North Carolina system averaged between 2001 and 2024; (3) the number of applicants to universities in the North Carolina system in 2024; and (4) the admissions rates to universities in the North Carolina system in 2024.

Due to an issue in the IPEDS, data from 2013 are missing for most universities. The IPEDS offers a pulldown option for the year 2013, but inspection of the relevant documents reveals that the year 2012 (not 2013) is checked within those documents. This is also the case for many other years prior to 2013, where the year that is checked on the forms is one year earlier than the year on the pulldown list. From 2014 forward, the years on the pulldown list and the years checked in the forms are consistent with each other. I do not know the reasons for these inconsistencies in the reporting by the IPEDS.

Scroll to the end of this post to see my Bonus Commentary.

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Each year between 2001 and 2024, Appalachian State University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to Appalachian State University were 73.3% and 66.6%, respectively. Admissions rates have increased markedly for both sexes since 2018.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at Appalachian State University was 1.10. In 2024, the ratio was 1.03.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to Appalachian State University increased between 2001 and 2024, with a marked increase starting around 2018.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to Appalachian State University.
In 2024, 14,274 females and 10,337 males applied to Appalachian State University (58.0% female applicants).
Between 2001 and 2024, the number of males and females who were admitted to Appalachian State University increased, with a notable increase beginning around 2018.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to Appalachian State University.
In 2024, 13,033 females and 9,152 males were admitted to Appalachian State University (58.7% female admittees).

East Carolina University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

In all but one year between 2001 and 2024, East Carolina University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 for most years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to East Carolina University were 78.7% and 76.2%, respectively. Admissions rates have increased markedly in the past four years compared to previous years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at East Carolina University was 1.03. In 2024, the ratio was 1.02.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to East Carolina University increased between 2001 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to East Carolina University.
In 2024, 16,392 females and 9,736 males applied to East Carolina University (62.7% female applicants).
Between 2001 and 2024, the number of males and females who were admitted to East Carolina University increased, with notable increases occurring over the past 10 years.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to East Carolina University.
In 2024, 14,729 females and 8,596 males were admitted to East Carolina University (63.1% female admittees).

Elizabeth City State University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, Elizabeth City State University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants each year. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to Elizabeth City State University were 71.3% and 64.9%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at Elizabeth City State University was 1.10. In 2024, the ratio was 1.07.

Applicants and Admittees

The numbers of males and females who applied to Elizabeth City State University increased between 2001 and 2012, declined for a couple of years, and then increased in most years thereafter.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to Elizabeth City State University.
In 2024, 3,368 females and 2,118 males applied to Elizabeth City State University (61.3% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to Elizabeth City State University increased between 2001 and 2012, declined for a couple of years, and then increased in most years thereafter.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to Elizabeth City State University.
In 2024, 2,220 females and 1,304 males were admitted to Elizabeth City State University (63.0% female admittees).

Fayetteville State University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, Fayetteville State University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants each year. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to Fayetteville State University were 74.6% and 68.5%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at Fayetteville State University was 1.09. In 2024, the ratio was 1.09.

Applicants and Admittees

The numbers of males and females who applied to Fayetteville State University increased between 2001 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to Fayetteville State University.
In 2024, 4,373 females and 2,139 males applied to Fayetteville State University (67.2% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to Fayetteville State University remained mostly between 2001 and 2015 and then increased noticeably in the years thereafter, particularly in 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, 3,695 females and 1,654 males were admitted to Fayetteville State University (69.1% female admittees).

North Carolina A & T University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Each year between 2001 and 2024, North Carolina A & T University admitted nearly identical percentages of female and male applicants. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio has been approximately 1.0 for most years since 2001.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to North Carolina A & T University were 6.6% and 6.7%, respectively. Admissions rates have increased markedly in the past four years compared to previous years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at North Carolina A & T University was 1.03. In 2024, the ratio was 1.01.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to North Carolina A & T University remained roughly constant between 2001 and 2015 and then increased markedly in subsequent years, particularly between 2021 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to North Carolina A & T University.
In 2024, 25,254 females and 11,234 males applied to North Carolina A & T University (69.2% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to North Carolina A & T University remained roughly constant between 2001 and 2018 and then increased noticeably in the years thereafter, particularly among females between 2021 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to North Carolina A & T University.
In 2024, 12,645 females and 5,563 males were admitted to North Carolina A & T University (69.4% female admittees).

North Carolina Central University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, North Carolina Central University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants each year. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to North Carolina Central University were 74.4% and 68.7%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at North Carolina Central University was 1.09. In 2024, the ratio was1.05.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to North Carolina Central University generally increased over time with sharp increases seen in 2010, 2018, 2023, and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to North Carolina Central University.
In 2024, 12,903 females and 5,460 males applied to North Carolina Central University (70.3% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to North Carolina Central University was roughly constant between 2001 and 2008, increased in 2009, remained constant again until 2022, and then increased markedly in 2023 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to North Carolina Central University.
In 2024, 11,395 females and 4,576 males were admitted to North Carolina Central University (71.3% female applicants).

North Carolina State University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, North Carolina State University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants each year. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to North Carolina State University were 50.3% and 56.0%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at North Carolina State University was 1.12. In 2024, the ratio was 1.22.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to North Carolina State University increased gradually over time with a notable exponential increase in 2016 and then accelerated increases between 2022 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2018, more males than females applied to North Carolina State University. Each year between 2019 and 2024, more females than males to North Carolina State University
In 2024, 22,777 females and 21,260 males applied to North Carolina State University (51.7% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to North Carolina State University was roughly similar and constant between 2001 and 2015. However, the number admittees then increased noticeably in 2016 and increased further in most years thereafter.
For most years between 2001 and 2015, slightly more males than females were admitted to North Carolina State University. Between 2016 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to North Carolina State University, and the gap between the number of females and males admitted increased between 2017 and 2024.
In 2024, 10,401 females and 7,980 males were admitted to North Carolina State University (56.6% female applicants).

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Asheville admitted a larger percentage of male than female applicants each year. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was less than 1.0 each year.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Asheville were 79.6% and 72.4%, respectively. Admissions rates increased markedly in 2023 and 2024.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina at Asheville was 1.11. In 2024, the ratio was 1.02.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Asheville increased markedly in 2021 and then again in 2023 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
In 2024, 4,664 females and 2,713 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Asheville (63.2% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Asheville increased most noticeably starting around 2015, with exponential increases occurring in 2023 and 2024
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
In 2024, 4,295 females and 2,486 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Asheville (63.3% female applicants).

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill admitted a larger percentage of male than female applicants in some years and a larger percentage of females than males in other years. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was less than 1.0 in some years and greater than 1.0 in other years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were 29.0% and 28.9%, respectively. Admissions rates decreased for both males and females tended to decrease each year after 2015.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was 1.01. In 2024, the ratio was 1.01.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill increased over time, particularly between 2016 and 2018 and then more sharply between 2021 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In 2024, 5,953 females and 4,256 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (58.3% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill increased by about 2,000 for each sex between 2001 to 2024 (2,584 to 4,256 for males; 3,755 to 5,953 for females).
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In 2024, 4,295 females and 2,486 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (63.3% female applicants).

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte tended to admit a larger percentage of male than female applicants each year, though, in more recent years, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio has been elevated above 1.0 in recent years, but it was historically slightly below 1.0 in most years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte were 72.0% and 72.6%, respectively. Admissions rates increased noticeably in 2020 compared the six years prior.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio was 0.99. In 2024, the ratio was 1.03.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte increased steadily between 2001 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
In 2024, 13,465 females and 10,408 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (56.4% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte increased gradually between 2001 and 2018 and then increased exponentially in 2019 and then continued to increase in the years thereafter, particularly for females.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
In 2024, 10,875 females and 8,130 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (57.2% female applicants).

University of North Carolina Greensboro

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants in most years. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was more than 1.0 for most years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro were 76.6% and 74.0%, respectively. Admissions rates decreased in 2010 for a few years and then increased markedly starting in 2016.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was 1.03. In 2024, the ratio was 1.05.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro increased between 2001 and 2011, plateaued between 2011 and 2015, decreased between 2015 and 2018, and then increased between 2019 and 2024.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
In 2024, 8,684 females and 4,254 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (67.1% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro increased between 2001 and 2005, remained constant until 2018, and then increased noticeably each year thereafter.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
In 2024, 7,804 females and 3,648 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (68.1% female applicants).

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants most years. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was more than 1.0 for most years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke were 82.5% and 80.7%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke was 1.02. In 2024, the ratio was 1.00.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke increased over time, with a significant one-year reduction in 2022, followed by a substantial increase.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
In 2024, 4,086 females and 3,490 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (53.9% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke increased over time, with a marked increase occurring in 2019, followed by a significant reduction in 2022 and then substantial increase in 2023.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
In 2024, 3,805 females and 3,242 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (54.0% female applicants).

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants in some years and a larger percentage of male than female applicants in other years. Consequently, in some years, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year. In other years, the ratio was below 1.0.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington were 63.5% and 61.0%, respectively.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington was 1.04. In 2024, the ratio was 1.10.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington increased over time, with a notable exponential increase occurring starting in 2021.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
In 2024, 13,602 females and 6,787 males applied to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (66.7% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington was fairly constant between 2001 and 2011 and then gradually increased until 2020, after which, the number of females admitted increased exponentially.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
In 2024, 9,000 females and 4,100 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (68.7% female applicants).

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts admitted a larger percentage of male than female applicants each year between 2001 and 2012 and for select years thereafter. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was less than 1.0 for most years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts were 36.5% and 43.4%, respectively. Admissions rates were lowest in the most recent years.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts was 0.86. In 2024, the ratio was 0.96.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts was roughly constant between 2001 and 2012 and then increased noticeably in later years, particularly among female applicants.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more males than females applied to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
In 2024, 928 females and 507 males applied to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (64.7% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts was roughly constant between 2001 and 2012 but then increased noticeably in 2018.
Roughly equal numbers of males and females were admitted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts between 2001 and 2012. A marked increase in the number of females admitted started in 2018 and remained each year thereafter.
In 2024, 928 females and 507 males were admitted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (64.7% female applicants).

Western Carolina University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Between 2001 and 2024, Western Carolina University admitted a larger percentage of female than male applicants between 2001 and 2008 and then again between 2021 and 2024. Consequently, the female:male admissions ratio was greater than 1.0 each year for those years. For all other years, the female:male admissions ratio was less than 1.0.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual percentages of female and male applicants admitted to Western Carolina University were 60.3% and 59.5%, respectively. Admissions rates decreased markedly starting in 2008, remained relatively consistent until 2018, increased substantially in 2019, decreased back to previous levels in 2020, and then increased markedly again starting in 2021.
Between 2001 and 2024, the average annual female:male admissions ratio at Western Carolina University was 1.00. In 2024, the ratio was 1.07.

Applicants and Admittees

The number of males and females who applied to Western Carolina University was fairly constant between 2001 and 2007 then increased markedly between 2008 and 2018, decreased between 2019 and 2021, and then increased in the years thereafter.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males applied to Western Carolina University.
In 2024, 11,892 females and 7,815 males applied to Western Carolina University (61.9% female applicants).
The number of males and females who were admitted to Western Carolina University was fairly constant between 2001 and 2008, increased in 2009, remained constant for a few more years, then increased gradually until 2020 after which the number increased significantly.
Each year between 2001 and 2024, more females than males were admitted to Western Carolina University.
In 2024, 9,990 females and 6,146 males were admitted to Western Carolina University (61.9% female applicants).

Female:Male Admissions Ratio - All Universities in North Carolina State System, 2024

The data in the graph below are organized from top to bottom by greatest female:male admissions ratio in 2024.
Of the 15 universities, 12 had a female:male admissions ratio greater than 1.0 (i.e., female preference), one had a female:male admissions ratio less than 1.0 (i.e., male preference), and two had a female:male admissions ratio equal to one (i.e., no sex preference).
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the greatest female:male admissions ratio in 2024 was North Carolina State University (1.22).
The universities in the North Carolina state system that have had the lowest female:male admissions ratio in 2024 was the University of North Carolina School of Arts (0.96).

Female:Male Admissions Ratio - All Universities in North Carolina State System, 2021-2024

The data in the graph below are the female:male admissions ratios averaged across each year between 2001 and 2024, organized from top to bottom by greatest female:male admissions ratio.
Of the 15 universities, 12 had a female:male admissions ratio greater than 1.0 (i.e., female preference), two had a female:male admissions ratio less than 1.0 (i.e., male preference), and one had a female:male admissions ratio equal to one (i.e., no sex preference).
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the greatest female:male admissions ratio averaged across all years between 2001 and 2024 was North Carolina State University (1.12).
The universities in the North Carolina state system that have had the lowest female:male admissions ratio averaged across all years between 2001 and 2024 was the University of North Carolina School of Arts (0.86).

Applicants in 2024

The graph below shows the number of applicants (male plus female) to universities in the North Carolina state system in 2024, organized from top to bottom by highest to lowest number of applicants.
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the highest number of applicants in 2024 was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (66,525 applicants).
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the lowest number of applicants in 2024 was the University of North Carolina School of Arts (1,435 applicants).

Admissions Rates in 2024

The graph below shows the admissions rates for applicants (male plus female) to universities in the North Carolina state system in 2024, organized from top to bottom by lowest to highest admissions rate.
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the lowest admission rate in 2024 was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (15.3% admission rate)
The university in the North Carolina state system that had the highest admission rate in 2024 was the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (93.0% admission rate)

Bonus Commentary

The current data brief is the third in a series of analyses at The Nuzzo Letter on the female:male admissions ratio in undergraduate admissions at universities in the U.S. The first data brief, which was motivated by William (Bill) Frezza’s results presented in a January 2026 webinar, revealed that four major technical universities in the U.S. – MIT, Caltech, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon University – have female:male admissions ratios ranging between 1.5 and 2.5. Given that significantly more males than females apply for admissions at those four universities, the high female:male admissions ratios suggest that those universities might be implementing sex quotas or weightings in their admissions processes—a potential violation of federal law (e.g., Title IX).

The second analysis revealed that female:male admissions ratios at Ivy League and Ivy League-adjacent universities are lower than at the major technological universities. In fact, some of the Ivy League and Ivy League-adjacent universities exhibited ratios less than 1.0, indicating male preference in admissions.

The current analysis builds off these two previous analysis and focuses on universities in North Carolina’s state system. Most of the universities exhibited a female:male admissions ratio greater than 1.0 (i.e., female preference), with six universities exhibiting an average female:male admissions ratio of 1.10 or greater over the period between 2001 and 2024.

The Martin Center proposed multiple factors that likely contribute to fewer males than females enrolling in universities in North Carolina. These factors include: (a) sex differences in career decisions; (b) fewer males than females graduating from high school; (c) fewer males than female applying for university; (d) an education system geared more toward female than male learning styles; (e) the overly politicized and feminized culture of the modern university; and (f) men’s doubts about the economic value and return on investment of a university degree.

The current data brief clarifies that fewer males than females applying for admissions is not the sole factor behind lower male than female university enrollment. The current data brief shows that, in addition to fewer males than females applying to universities, a lower percentage of males than females who apply are admitted (i.e., the female:male preference in university admissions). The source of the female:male preference in university admissions in North Carolina is unknown. The females might have stronger applications than their male counterparts. Alternatively, university staffers might be exhibiting a sex bias in who they admit to university.

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Sex-Selective Abortions as an Intellectual Quagmire for Western Gynocentrists

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:35:23 GMT

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

(NB. The subject of this article is the biased thinking of Western intersectional gynocentrists, as demonstrated by the topic of sex-selective abortions. This article is not about my views on abortion.)

In 2025, researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) published a study titled “Indirect evidence of sex-selective abortion practices to the imbalanced sex ratio at birth in Australian migrant populations.” In the study, the researchers examined all registered births in New South Wales and Western Australia between 1994 and 2025, totalling over 2.1 million births. The researchers tested if the male-to-female birth ratio differed between mothers who were born in Australia versus mothers who were born in other countries but gave birth in Australia.

Typically, the male-to-female birth ratio is around 1.05 (i.e., 105 boys born for every 100 girls born). That ratio is roughly what the researchers found when they examined all births in Australia (1.058). However, when the researchers sorted the data by mother’s country of birth, the results changed. Mothers who were born in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom exhibited male-to-female birth ratios around the average: 1.05 to 1.07. However, mothers who were born in India, China, and Vietnam had higher male-to-female birth ratios, and this difference was amplified if the immigrant mothers had previously given birth to daughters. For example, Indian-born and Chinese-born mothers, who had already given birth to two daughters, exhibited male-to-female birth ratios around 1.32, whereas Australian-born mothers, who had also previously birthed two daughters, maintained the usual male-to-female birth ratio of around 1.05 to 1.07.

From the results, the researchers concluded that sex-selective abortions of female fetuses are likely occurring among immigrants from India and China in Australia. Edvardsson and colleagues found similar results in papers published 2018 and 2021, and researchers in the United States and Canada have reported comparable findings.

The response of Western media and academia to the results has been revealing.

Broadly, their concern has been about “gender equality.” The researcher who led the ECU study said: “[w]hile maintaining rights of bodily autonomy, sex-selective abortion should be discouraged, as it undermines broader commitments to gender equality and non-discrimination.” Other Australian researchers added that sex-selective abortions are “reproductive coercion” and are evidence that “systematic discrimination against females starts in the womb.”

Another feature of the Western response has been to ensure that women are not held responsible. Instead, cultural norms are blamed for sex-selective abortions. For example, one media account, citing the United Nations, stated that sex-selective abortions occur because of “deeply entrenched social, economic, cultural and political factors that see women discriminated against in all facets of their lives.”

That explanation might have some truth to it, but it fails to remind readers that half of society is women, and women help create and maintain cultural norms. In fact, mothers-in-law sometimes play a role in sex-selective abortions, as evidenced by this interview response from a woman in India, who had previously undergone two sex-selective abortions:

“This time my mother-in-law wanted a boy. So she decided we should check it (the sex of the foetus). My husband did not say anything. What can I say? I do whatever elderly people in the family say.”

Intellectual Quagmire

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

The response from Western intersectional gynocentrists to sex-selective abortions is worth highlighting because it provides another example of their non-objective thinking. On one hand, as gynocentrists, they want women to have the freedom to have abortions. On the other hand, they are concerned about the well-being of female fetuses.

Presumably, Western intersectional gynocentrists never imagined that those two interests would collide. Nevertheless, the collision has occurred, because certain immigrant populations do not share all the same values as Western intersectional gynocentrists. This might surprise some Western intersectional gynocentrists given that they often posture themselves as the voice of “marginalized” groups and allies in the call for education and healthcare to be “decolonized.”

Thus, immigrant communities have placed Western intersectional gynocentrists in an intellectual quagmire, causing them to be torn between their simultaneous allegiances to multiculturalism and gynocentrism. For the Western intersectional gynocentrist, their internal debate is something like: “Should I force my Western values onto non-Western peoples to save female fetuses in the name of “gender equality”?1 Or should I prioritize multiculturalism and the “decolonization” of healthcare, no matter the consequence?”

Timid Response

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

The response from Western intersectional gynocentrists to sex-selective abortions of female fetuses has been that of a strongly worded letter. To respond tougher than that would make them appear too colonialist, too anti-multicultural, and too intolerant.

This is unlike many other sociopolitical issues, where Western intersectional gynocentrists are comfortable bossing others around and putting on emotional displays about their grievances. Yet, their response to sex-selective abortions has been relatively timid, saying only that the practice should be “discouraged” or “re-negotiated to promote gender equity in a culturally appropriate way.”

One group of Canadian researchers, who largely attributed sex-selective abortions to “social and cultural forces,” threw their hands up and kicked the issue down the road, stating that there is “no simple answer to the issue of prenatal sex selection” and “interventions should further consider the different voices within the affected ethnic groups, particularly those that promote women’s rights and empower women to achieve their potential.”

The timidness of the responses becomes even more apparent when one considers “female genital mutilation.” Female genital mutilation, which is practiced in some countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, is considered a violation of human rights by the United Nations, and it is illegal in Australia and other Western countries.

So, why with “female genital mutilation” do Western intersectional gynocentrists have no problem “colonizing” healthcare and imposing their Western values onto non-Western countries in the name of “gender equality” and “women’s rights”; yet, with sex-selective abortions, they are unwilling to go full bore with their moral disapproval?

The reason is that Western intersectional gynocentrists know that if they push their concerns about sex-selective abortions of female fetuses too far, the result might be greater restrictions on abortions more broadly. This would be devastating to Western intersectional gynocentrists, because freedom to abortion is a key political issue for them. It helps them to shore up a large female voting bloc every election.

“Female genital mutilation” is different, politically. Unlike abortion, “female genital mutilation” is not highly valued or widely practiced in the West, and there is no political constituency to lose by advocating for further restrictions on something that is not widely practiced and that is already widely condemned, if not already illegal.

Contradictions in Potential Legislation

Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

Importantly, even if one day, Western intersectional gynocentrists do fully condemn sex-selective abortions and propose legislation that would make sex-selective abortions illegal, the legislation would expose another kink in their thinking. Specifically, if one believes that a woman ought to be free to have an abortion, then why would the woman not also be given the freedom to choose what fetus she aborts or keeps, based on the fetus’ sex or other characteristics?

Another potential inconsistency in future legislation would be if the new laws only protect female fetuses. Though such a legal bias might seem far-fetched, such biases already exist in policies and thinking around topics like “gender-based violence,” “genital mutilation,” and protections for sports categories.

Aborted Males

Photo by Christopher Luther on Unsplash

Lost in the current conversation about sex-selected abortions are male fetuses.

Consider this: if the natural male-to-female birth ratio is 1.05, this suggests that non-sex-selective abortions are incidentally or unknowingly predominantly impacting one sex more than the other. This seems to be supported by the limited data that I found on the sex of aborted fetuses or embryonic tissue. One study from Japan in the 1970s examined 929 abortions of chromosomally normal embryos. The abortions occurred within 12 weeks after the first day of last menstruation. According to the researchers, the abortions were completed for socioeconomic reasons, not for purposes of sex-selection. Of the 929 embryos aborted, 481 were male and 448 were female, resulting in a male-to-female abortion ratio of 1.07.

Another study from Russia in 2000 examined 78 abortions that were also carried out within the first 12 weeks. The researchers found that 41 of the abortions were male and 37 were female, resulting in a male-to-female abortion ratio of 1.11.

This then illustrates another bias in the thinking of Western intersectional gynocentrists. They have only become concerned about the impact of abortions on “gender equality” when they learned that female fetuses were being disproportionately aborted. This then harkens back to the topic of “genital mutilation,” where Western intersectional gynocentrists only started to condemn such practices when they realised that those practices were impacting the lives of girls and women. Many Western intersectional gynocentrists still do not care that millions of boys have their genitals “mutilated” every year in a cultural practice known as “male circumcision.”

Presented with the possibility that non-sex-selective abortions might incidentally be impacting male fetuses disproportionately, one can imagine the response from Western intersectional gynocentrists. They would start by reminding everyone that women should have the right to an abortion. They would then say that male births already outnumber female births (i.e., the 1.05 male-to-female birth ratio) and that sex-selective abortions have targeted female fetuses for many years. Therefore, in their opinion, women would be fully justified in using their personal autonomy to abort (unknowingly and perhaps knowingly) male fetuses to curtail the “excess” in the male population and make up for a history of lost daughters.

All this would be stated with a straight face, without hesitation, and in the name of “gender equality,” of course.

SUPPORT THE NUZZO LETTER

Although Western intersectional gynocentrists believe that they are acting benevolently in advocating for “gender equality” in non-Western communities, women in China and India are some of the most likely to agree with the statement: “When it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in your country?”

Weekly Roundup

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:25:45 GMT

LEADING CONTENT

Dr. Elizabeth Weiss - Is Anthropology the Most Woke Discipline?

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

The Three Costs of DEI

Reality’s Last Stand

DEI has consumed resources, displaced productive work, and created years of costly clean-up.

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Feminism Cannot be Reformed

The Fiamengo File

Rapists or wrongly convicted

Bettina Arndt

Are Australia’s rape reforms sending innocent men to jail?

Biases Against Men in Couples Therapy

Open Inquiry in Mental Health

Vassar College agrees to pay $5M to female professors alleging gender pay gap

The College Fix

New York college accused of discriminating against men in women-only tech initiative

The College Fix

Tenure faculty decisions disadvantage white males, psychologists find

The College Fix

Education

Play DEI Games, Win DEI Prizes

Do No Harm

Education secretary to universities: Publish reform plans by end of 2026

The College Fix

Social work accreditor reaffirms commitment to ‘anti-racism’

The College Fix

Jason Arday Case

Cambridge professor who allegedly plagiarized his Ph.D also accused of falsely claiming he worked at 3 other schools: report

New York Post

DEI Fraud and Cover-Up at Cambridge

Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter

University refuses to investigate DEI star’s plagiarism.

Who Hired the Ridiculous Jason Arday at Cambridge? I Have the Names.

Ras-Stack

I was reported to police over the Arday case. I was just doing my job

Times Higher Education

Exercise Science

Effect of Age and Sex on Lower Extremity Power Production Capacity Throughout the Lifespan Based on 30217 Finnish Participant Data

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

Abstract: This study examined lower-extremity power using countermovement jump (CMJ) height and estimated peak power across the lifespan with five Finnish datasets. The pooled dataset included 24 804 males and 5413 females aged 6–75 years. CMJ height (cm) was measured on a contact mat from flight time(s), and peak power (W) was estimated using equations for adults and children and expressed also relative to body mass (W/kg). Five-year age groups were formed for mean comparison. CMJ height and peak power increased throughout childhood and adolescence. From ages 11 to 15, males exhibited greater CMJ height and peak power than females. Based on mean values, CMJ height peaked at ages 16–20 and peak power at 21–25 in males, while both peaked at 21–25 in females. Males maintained their level until 26–30 years, whereas females showed a decline after the peak. Segmented regression models indicated earlier peaks for CMJ height (18 years in males, 17 in females) and slightly later peaks for peak power (21 years in males, 19 in females). Before the peaking age, annual relative increases calculated over 11–15 years were 5.6% versus 3.1% for CMJ height and 4.7%–7.6% vs. 4.0%–7.3% for peak power (males vs. females). After the peaking age, annual declines calculated over 52–58 years were 0.9% for CMJ height and 0.3%–0.7% for peak power in both sexes. The results provide insights into life-course patterns and the transitional period of late adolescence and early adulthood, when jumping performance peaks and evidence is limited.

RUBBISH BIN

Pauline Hanson was once dubbed ‘queen of the men’s rights movement’. Her 30‑year career shows why

The Conversation

Hybrid futures and white nostalgia: Kamala Harris in the age of Trump

Continuum

Abstract: This article examines Kamala Harris’ 2020–2024 presidential trajectory as a site where multiracial, diasporic identity confronts white supremacist nostalgia in contemporary US politics. Its central thesis argues that Harris’ transoceanic hybridity, rooted in Black Atlantic and South Asian Indian Ocean histories, both destabilizes hegemonic narratives of national belonging and reveals the structural limits placed on hybrid, gendered bodies within presidential politics. Drawing on Critical Mixed Race Studies and Diaspora Theory, the article investigates how Harris’ multi-ethnoracial identity was mobilized, scrutinized, and contested in media, campaign discourse, and political attacks, particularly in contrast to Donald Trump’s masculinist, frontier-based imaginaries of power. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative critical discourse analysis of key campaign texts, including the September 2024 presidential debate, Trump’s victory speech, and Harris’ concession speech, alongside close readings of Harris’ memoir. The analysis demonstrates how hybridity operates as a politically ambivalent force that can challenge exclusionary racial logics while remaining vulnerable to containment within dominant structures of power.

Niceness as Whiteness in School Police Officers’ Perceptions of Student Arrest

Education Policy

Abstract: School Resource Officers (SROs), or sworn police officers in schools with arrest powers, are increasingly common in schools. Despite concerns surrounding SROs broadly and their use of arrest, in particular, little is known about how SROs understand their role in arrest. Drawing on a case study of SROs’ perceptions of arrest across two school districts and using a niceness as Whiteness framework, we found that SROs generally expressed trying to avoid arrest. Yet, when they recounted making arrests, they used mechanisms of niceness as Whiteness to justify arresting young people. We examine implications for school safety, care, and future research, policy, and practice.

Mythology of Whiteness: Constructing Black Girls as a Bully

Urban Review

Abstract: This analytical essay uses data from a qualitative study by O’Brien (2017) that explored the social construction of bullying. O’Brien interviewed 16 high school students enrolled in alternative and college-preparatory high schools. Although the study did not focus specifically on Black girls, their narratives surfaced a distinctly different story—one that exposed how whiteness, intersectional power, and cultural ways of knowing construct Black girls as quintessential bullies in schools. This re-analysis explores how Black girls are cast within the mythology of whiteness as archfoes—not merely as disruptive, but as symbolic antagonists whose existence threatens the normative order of whiteness itself. Labeled as bullies, they become scapegoats within a racialized discourse that shields white male violence from scrutiny. While white male shooters are framed as anomalies or victims of circumstance, Black girls are criminalized for protecting themselves and others from the violence inflicted upon them by both educators and students. Findings reveal that the intersection of race, gender identity, and adultification positions Black girls not only as subjects of bullying but also as targets of systemic retribution and disenfranchisement.

The Psychosocial Costs of Heterosexism to Straights: A Focus Group Study

Journal of Counseling Psychology

Abstract: Heterosexism is a social force that affects all people, because heterosexism infuses social institutions and sustains heteronormativity, which dictates social roles for all people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The field of critical heterosexualities has begun to explore how straight people experience costs from heterosexism and heteronormativity. However, few psychological studies have aimed to examine how straight/heterosexual people are negatively affected by heterosexism. In the present study, we explored lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) and straight ally emerging adults’ conceptualization of the psychosocial costs of heterosexism for straight people. We conducted four matched focus groups with LGBTQ+ (n = 13) and straight (n = 10) participants. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three major domains of these psychosocial costs of heterosexism: distorted relationships, heteronormative restraints to self-exploration, and sexual ignorance. Results highlight how heterosexism has harmed straight people’s relationships, hindered their identity exploration and expression, and limited straight people’s ability to seek and obtain sexual knowledge. Findings yield insight for counseling psychologists’ clinical work with straight people, including identity exploration and relationships with LGBTQ+ people. These findings point to potential avenues for advocacy with straight allies, particularly in terms of inter- and intragroup dialogue.

Unmasking manels: a gender disparity exposé in major gynecologic surgery congresses in France and Europe

Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction

Abstract: Introduction: The persistent underrepresentation of women in academic forums is concerning. Their equitable representation in gynecology conferences is not only emblematic of progress but pivotal for advancement of the field. We studied the prevalence of “manels” (all-male panels) within gynecologic surgery congresses spanning France and Europe. Methods: We examined the scientific programs from five leading gynecologic surgery conferences held in France and Europe during 2020-2021. Comprehensive data, including faculty details, was collected. Primary outcomes were: (1) mean male faculty percentage across all sessions, and (2) overarching manel presence. Results were stratified by specific congresses and subspecialties, with further comparative analyses between manels vs. multigender sessions and male vs. female faculty attributes. Results: Of 144 sessions, 45 (31.3%) were identified as manels. Male faculty averaged 78.7% across all sessions. Consistent male predominance was observed across all congresses and subspecialties. Interestingly, sessions with a gender mix were not only lengthier but also featured a greater number of chairs/moderators and speakers compared to manels (p < 0.001). Among the 882 faculty members, male faculty exhibited more practice years, a higher publication count, superior H-index (p < 0.001), and predominant professor presence compared to their female counterparts. Conversely, female faculty demonstrated a propensity towards non-gynecology specializations (p < 0.001). After adjusting for years of experience, female faculty remained less likely to hold university positions and had lower publication counts and H-index than male faculty (all p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our investigation highlights manel presence in gynecologic surgery congresses across France and Europe. Women underrepresentation in academic congregations underscores the need for gynecological societies to promote gender equality. As the medical domain becomes more gender-diverse, it is paramount for professional platforms to promote this shift towards inclusivity.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

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Women-Only Hiring at Australian Universities

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:59:57 GMT

Since 2015, universities in Australia have openly engaged in women-only hiring of faculty. News outlets have covered some cases, but, to date, no one has summarised the total number of cases or identified all the universities that have engaged in this hiring practice.

Challenges exist in quantifying the history of women-only hiring at Australian universities. Namely, the media has not covered all cases, and job advertisements have short lifespans on the internet. So, for the current analysis, I relied on multiple investigative approaches. First, I searched my own personal files, because, starting around 2019, I started to save examples of advertisements of women-only faculty positions in Australia. Second, I searched Google and Chat GPT for relevant news stories. Third, I searched universities’ applications submitted to the Athena Scientific Women’s Academic Network (Athena SWAN). Fourth, I used the Wayback Machine to search the archived versions of university job sites. Finally, I sometimes searched universities’ annual reports.

Number of advertisements versus number of hires

Sometimes, the number of women hired through women-only advertisements was explicitly reported by universities or the media. However, in other cases, the ony information that was available were the job advertisements. Basing the number of women-only hires from the number of women-only job advertisements is a limitation in the current analysis, because a single job advertisement does not necessarily mean that one person was hired from that advertisement. In some cases, multiple persons might be hired from a single advertisement. In other cases, no one might be hired from a single advertisement. Therefore, in the current data brief, when the number of women hired from a women-only advertisement was not reported by the university or media, I assumed that each women-only advertisement resulted in the hire of one woman. When a university stated in the job advertisement that they were aiming to hire a certain number of women-only from the one advertisement, then I assumed that the university hired that certain number of women.

Job type

The current analysis was restricted to women-only advertisements for the following positions: Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, or Scientist (more broadly defined). I did not quantify universities’ use of related practices like women-only scholarships, women-only grants, etc.

Conservative estimates

The results presented in the current data brief are likely conservative estimates of the number of women faculty who have been hired via women-only job advertisements at universities in Australia. Given the tools readily available to me, my search was fairly extensive. However, I did not, for example, use Freedom of Information requests to obtain each university’s history of women-only job advertisements. Moreover, the search strategies that I used relied on universities being transparent about their women-only hiring practices. Australian universities likely engage in more discrete women-only hiring—either through positions that are never advertised or by advertising positions to both sexes, knowing that they will not hire a man for the position.

Organisation of the current data brief

First, I present the overall results for the total number of women faculty who were hired via women-only job advertisements across all universities in Australia between 2015 and July 2026. Then, in order of state or territory, I detail each university’s use of women-only hiring.

Each state or territory has an anti-discrimination or equal opportunity act. Each act contains exemptions or “special measures.” These exemptions are what universities and other organisations cite in justifying their use of women-only hiring. In the current data brief, I present the text of these exemptions and then summarise each university’s use of women-only hiring practices by providing screenshots of their women-only job advertisements and by quoting from university press releases, annual reports, and Athena SWAN applications.

Athena SWAN

Athena SWAN – a third-party “gender equality” accreditor – is arguably the key driver behind women-only hiring at Australian Universities. Athena SWAN has transformed Australian university policy and culture. Not enough people are talking about the impact that Athena SWAN has had on Australian universities. Please see the Bonus Commentary at the end of this data brief for more information about Athena SWAN. Decoupling the link between Athena SWAN and Australian universities is perhaps the most important action that can be taken to reduce anti-male prejudice at Australian universities.

1. RESULTS SUMMARY

Between 2015 and July 2026, at least 12 universities in Australia engaged in hiring of women faculty via women-only job advertisements. A minimum of 103 women faculty were hired via women-only job advertisements over that time. The universities that engaged in this hiring practice most frequently included the Australian National University (26 women-only hires), the University of Melbourne (22 women-only hires), and the University of Sydney (17 women-only hires). No universities in Queensland, Tasmania, or the Northern Territory were found to have engaged in women-only hiring of faculty.

2. AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT)

2.1. Law

Australian Capital Territory Discrimination Act 1991

27. Measures intended to achieve equality

(1) Part 3 does not make it unlawful to do an act if a purpose of the act is—(a) to ensure that members of a relevant class of people have equal opportunities with other people; or (b) to give members of a relevant class of people access to facilities, services or opportunities to meet the special needs they have as members of the relevant class.
(2) However, subsection (1) does not make it lawful to do an act for a purpose mentioned in that subsection if the act discriminates against a member of the relevant class in a way that is not reasonable for the achievement of that purpose.
Example for s (1) (a)
An employer runs a management skills development course for female employees only. Part 3 does not make this unlawful if a purpose is to ensure that women have equal opportunities (in this case, for career development) with men. Women are ‘members of a relevant class of people’ (relevant class of people is defined is defined in the dict) because they are a class of people whose members are identified by reference to a protected attribute, in this case, sex in s 7 (1) (u).
Example for s (1) (b)
A health clinic provides speech therapy for autistic children only. Part 3 does not make this unlawful if a purpose is to give autistic children access to a service that meets their special needs as autistic children. Autistic children are ‘members of a relevant class of people’ because they are a class of people whose members are identified by reference to 2 attributes mentioned in s 7, in this case, disability in s 7 (1) (e) and age in s 7 (1) (b) (the Legislation Act, s 145 (b) provides that words in the singular include the plural ie ‘attribute’ in the def of relevant class of people can mean ‘attributes’).

2.2. Australian National University

Of all universities in Australia, the Australian National University was the country’s leader in women-only faculty hiring. The Australian National University advertised at least 26 women-only faculty positions between 2015 and 2025. Ten of these positions were announced in a press release published by the University on August 29, 2022. The positions were in the fields of Astronomy and Space Science. The advertisement for this cluster hire is shown in part below.

However, even before that cluster hire, the University had engaged in women-only hiring. Evidence of this comes from the University’s 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application and the University’s 2019 press release, titled, “Boosting women in mathematics at ANU.” In the press release, the University mentioned one position in the Mathematical Science Institute (MSI) that was advertised as being only open women. The advertisement for that position is shown in part below.

In its 2019 Athena SWAN application, the University provided additional information about its use of women-only hiring. The University stated that it had been “making female-only hires in areas that have particularly large imbalances to speed the balancing process up” and that in “extremely gendered subject areas,” they had “introduced women-only targeted recruitment drives in (Chemistry (2017), MSI (2018), and Astronomy (2019).”

Thus, the University had also apparently conducted women-only recruitment for positions in Chemistry in 2017 and Astronomy in 2019. Using the Wayback Machine, I was able to find the 2017 Chemistry job advertisement, but not the 2019 Astronomy job advertisement. The Chemistry job advertisement is shown in part below. It was a cluster hire for up to five positions. The advertisement specified that at least 50% of the new appointments (i.e., three or more positions) would be “women and non-binary candidates.” Thus, in my tally, I estimated three women-only hires associated with this advertisement.

Interestingly, concerns from staff about women-only hiring were mentioned by the University in its 2019 Athena SWAN application and in a press release. For example, in its Athena SWAN application, the University mentioned that its “aggressive program” of women-only hiring was causing “some backlash from current staff members” but that the University was “managing” it.

Finally, in searching the Wayback Machine, I identified several other women-only job advertisements posted by the Australian National University between 2022 and 2025. Most of the jobs were in the fields of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Optical Physics. The ranks of the jobs ranged from Postdoctoral Research Fellow to Associate Professor. In my opinion, the most notable of these additional advertisements was the one for Associate Professor or Professor in the field of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. The reason why I highlight this advertisement is because it shows the University extending its use of women-only hiring to a field in which women are broadly well represented (i.e., medical science). Below, I show part of that job advertisement. I also show the University’s most recent women-only job advertisement (May-April 2025), which was for a Postdoctoral/Research Fellow in Optical Physics.

3. NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW)

3.1. Law

Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 - Section 126

126A Exemption for special needs programs and activities

(1) Nothing in Parts 3–4C renders unlawful anything done by a person in good faith for the purposes of or in the course of any program or activity for which certification is in force under this section as a special needs program or activity.
(2) The Minister may certify a program or activity to be a special needs program or activity if satisfied that its purpose or primary purpose is the promotion of access, for members of a group of persons affected by any form of unlawful discrimination to which this Act applies in an area of discrimination to which this Act applies, to facilities, services or opportunities to meet their special needs or the promotion of equal or improved access for them to facilities, services and opportunities.

3.2. University of Sydney

Of all universities in Australia, the University of Sydney was the country’s third most frequent user of women-only faculty hiring. The University of Sydney advertised at least 17 women-only faculty positions between 2015 and 2025.

In 2025, the University of Sydney embarked on a Women in Engineering recruitment campaign. This led to the University hiring 16 women in the School of Engineering. This women-only hiring campaign was reported in a press release by the University, and it was also covered by the South Sydney Herald and Times of Higher Education. The press release revealed that the University planned to continue women-only recruitment campaign in 2026, but results from this effort were unavailable at the time that my analysis was conducted. Nevertheless, one women-only position was advertised by the University of Sydney in March 2026. The position was the Professor Harry Messel Research Fellow in Physics, which I shared on X on March 4, 2026 and in the Weekly Roundup on March 8, 2026.

3.3. University of the Sunshine Coast

The University of the Sunshine Coast posted at least one women-only job advertisement between 2015 and 2026. In 2025, the University advertised for an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The advertisement was covered by Sky News and The Nightly, and I have displayed it in part below. Note the University’s rationale: “to support gender balance within the School of Science, Technology and Engineering, closing the gender pay gap across UniSC, and ensuring Australia has an engineering workforce that more equitably represents our society.”

4. SOUTH AUSTRALIA (SA)

4.1. Law

Equal Opportunity Act 1984 - Section 47

Measures intended to achieve equality

This Part does not render unlawful an act done for the purpose of carrying out a scheme or undertaking intended to ensure that persons of a particular sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status, have equal opportunities with, respectively, all other persons, in circumstances to which this Part applies.

4.2. Flinders University

In 2024, Flinders University posted a women-only advertisement for the position of Lecturer in Engineering (shown in part below).

Also, Flinders University’s 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze application provides evidence of the depth of influence of Athena SWAN on university policy. Flinders University stated that it would be creating a new university positioned called the Athena SWAN Project Officer. Presumably, the purpose of creating the position was to ensure that the University would receive future “awards” from Athena SWAN.

“An Athena SWAN Project Officer position will be developed and recruited, with responsibilities including executive support of the SAT and liaison with College Deans (People and Resources) and Director (People and Culture) in the implementation of the Action Plan.”

4.3. University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide advertised eight women-only positions in the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences in 2018. News articles published by the ABC and Daily Mail confirm this (screenshots of the job advertisements are shown in the Daily Mail article).

Nevertheless, the number of hires made from the advertisement is unclear. In its 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application, the University stated: “Last year we commenced women-only recruitment campaigns, which so far have resulted in five women academics being appointed in ECMS and one in Sciences. Much more can and must be done.”

Thus, in 2019, five of the eight positions had been filled by women. For the current data brief, I have assumed that all eight positions were filled.

4.4. University of South Australia

In 2017, the University of South Australia published a job advertisement (shown in part below) that stated “a number of Research Fellowships” in the field of Engineering would be made available only women. The University’s 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application revealed that three women had been hired via this advertisement. The University stated: “We received 70 applications and made three (rather than two) appointments due to the outstanding quality of the candidates. This program is a case study in Universities Australia’s Best Practice Gender Equity Guide and our experience informs UniSA’s commitment to using women-only appointments where we can secure EEO Act exemption. In future, we will better communicate to the public the reasons for women-only recruitment.”

Thus, the University of South Australia hired at least three women faculty between 2015 and 2026 via women-only job advertisements.

5. VICTORIA (VIC)

5.1. Law

Equal Opportunity Act 2010 - Section 12

12 Special measures

(1) A person may take a special measure for the purpose of promoting or realising substantive equality for members of a group with a particular attribute.
Examples
1. A company operates in an industry in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are under-represented. The company develops a training program to increase employment opportunities in the company for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
2. A swimming pool that is located in an area with a significant Muslim population holds women-only swimming sessions to enable Muslim women who cannot swim in mixed company to use the pool.
3. A person establishes a counselling service to provide counselling for gay men and lesbians who are victims of family violence, and whose needs are not met by general family violence counselling services.
(2) A person does not discriminate against another person by taking a special measure.
(3) A special measure must—(a) be undertaken in good faith for achieving the purpose set out in subsection (1); and (b) be reasonably likely to achieve the purpose set out in subsection (1); and (c) be a proportionate means of achieving the purpose set out in subsection (1); and (d) be justified because the members of the group have a particular need for advancement or assistance.
(4) A measure is taken for the purpose set out in subsection (1) if it is taken—(a) solely for that purpose; or (b) for that purpose as well as other purposes.
(5) A person who undertakes a special measure may impose reasonable restrictions on eligibility for the measure.
Example
It may be reasonable to restrict eligibility for a special measure to people with the attribute who are of a particular age.
(6) A person who undertakes a special measure has the burden of proving that the measure is a special measure.
(7) On achieving the purpose set out in subsection

5.2. Monash University

Monash University hired at least six women faculty via women-only job advertisements between 2015 and 2026. According to an article published in the Daily Mail in 2018, Monash University advertised three women-only roles in 2015 and two more in 2018. In 2026, Monash University advertised a women-only Lecturer to Senior Lecturer position in Geoscience. The advertisement is shown in part below.

5.3. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

RMIT has engaged in women-only hiring, namely or exclusively through its Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowshipsprogram.

In RMIT’s 2018 Athena SWAN Bronze application, the University stated: “The 2018 RMIT campaign, advertising STEMM [Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowships] female-only opportunities was highly successful, and will continue where appropriate (Action 2.1a).” However, the University did not state how many women were offered or accepted these women-only Research Fellowships.

In its Athena SWAN annual reports in 2020, 2021, and 2022, RMIT mentioned the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship as a “special measure” was used each year for increasing the number of women faculty in certain subject areas.

In its 2020 Athena SWAN Annual Report, RMIT stated that it applied the “special measure” in recruiting women for “externally advertised academic roles in the STEM College for disciplines and levels where female representation is currently less than 40%.” However, the University did not state how many women were hired in 2020 using the measure.

In its 2021 Athena SWAN Annual Report, RMIT stated the following about the Chancellor’s Research Fellowships: “Special Measures are supported where female-only appointments can be made, and Research and Senior Research Fellowships applications accepted only from female applicants, for recruitment to Schools where there is less than 40% female representation.” However, the University did not state how many of the Research Fellowships were designated for only women. Of the 410 Research Fellowship applications received in 2021, the University said: “67% of Fellowship offers made to females across the entire scheme” and “88% of the offers to female candidates were in the Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow categories.”

In its 2022 Athena SWAN Annual Report, RMIT said that it received 815 applications for its Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowships and made “female-only appointments” in the School of Engineering and School of Computing Technologies. A total of 14 Fellowship offers were made across the scheme, with 10 of those offers made to women. It is unclear how many of the 10 offers that were made to women were due to “female-only appointments.” The report states that six of the 10 women were offered Level B and Level C appointments, and that “special measures” were applied to Level B and C appointments. Thus, all six of those offers to women might have been due to “female-only appointments.”

In 2026, RMIT again advertised the women-only Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowships. The University stated on its website that the fellowships would be offered in the School of Engineering and the School of Design (part of the advertisement is presented below). The University did not specify how many women-only fellowships would be offered.

Thus, via its Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowships program, RMIT presumably engaged in women-only hiring each year between 2018 and 2026. In RMIT’s 2022 SAGE Cygnet Award Application the University stated that it would continue to use “targeted employment strategies through the Victorian Equal Employment Opportunity Act (2010) for under-represented groups.”

Nevertheless, given the available information, I was unable to approximate how many women were hired at RMIT via the women-only Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowships. Thus, I included RMIT on the graph, but only with the description “multiple – number unknown.”

5.4. Swinburne University

Swinburne University hired at least seven women faculty via women-only job advertisements between 2015 and 2026. In 2017, the University announced that it had hired four women through its Vice Chancelor’s Women in STEM Research Fellowships program—a program that it had launched a year earlier, and which the University also discussed in its 2016 annual report. In 2019, the University announced that it hired a fifth Research Fellow through this program. The University’s 2018 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application confirmed its plan to use women-only job advertisements (see Section 1.1. in the table below).

Swinburne University also engaged in women-only hiring outside of the Women in STEM Research Fellowships program. In 2018, the University advertised a women-only position in Architecture at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. In 2023, the University advertised a women-only position in Civil and Construction Engineering at the rank of Senior Lecturer.

5.5. University of Melbourne

Of all universities in Australia, the University of Melbourne was the country’s second most frequent user of women-only faculty hiring. The University of Melbourne advertised at least 22 women-only faculty positions between 2015 and 2026.

In its 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application, the University of Melbourne credited itself as being, in 2016, the “first university in Australia to advertise women-only continuing academic positions, to address low female representation in key STEMM schools.” However, self-credited “first” seems to be incorrect, because, as mentioned above, Monash University was reported to have advertised women-only positions as early as 2015.

Nevertheless, in its Athena SWAN application, the University of Melbourne stated that it had advertised 19 women-only faculty positions. At the time that their application was submitted, they had hired 15 women, with six searches still in progress. If those six searches each resulted in one new hire, the total for women-only hires would be 21. This total is two more than the 19 positions advertised, because, in some instances, the university hired multiple women from a given advertisement.

Below is a table that the University of Melbourne published in its 2019 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application. It shows the University’s number of women-only advertisements and hires in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering between 2016 and 2019.

In 2026, the University of Melbourne advertised for a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Physics (part of the advertisement is shown below). This advertisement was covered by Sky News, The Noticer, and other media outlets. It was ridiculed, in part, because it is open to both “cisgender” and “transgender” women.

Finally, it should be noted that the University of Melbourne’s approach to women-only hiring has been discussed at length elsewhere. In 2023, three academics at the University published a paper in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management titled, “Aﬃrmative recruitment of women in STEM: a case study.” The University’s use of “affirmative action” hiring was also covered by Nature in 2024.

6. WESTERN AUSTRALIA (WA)

6.1. Law

Equal Opportunity Act 1984 - Section 31

Measures intended to achieve equality

Nothing in Division 2 or 3 renders it unlawful to do an act a purpose of which is —
(a) to ensure that persons of a particular sex or marital status, persons who are pregnant or persons who are breast feeding or bottle feeding have equal opportunities with other persons in circumstances in relation to which provision is made by this Act; or
(b) to afford persons of a particular sex or marital status, persons who are pregnant or persons who are breast feeding or bottle feeding access to facilities, services or opportunities to meet their special needs in relation to employment, education, training or welfare.

6.2. Curtin University

Curtin University hired at least five women faculty via women-only job advertisements between 2015 and 2026.

On March 3, 2020, the University posted an Expression of Interest (shown in part below) to “fill roles across all academic levels in the Faculty of Science and Engineering,” including in the Schools of Civil and Mechanical Engineering; School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences; School of Molecular and Life Sciences; and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

This Expression of Interest was covered by the Western Australian and WA Today. The University’s 2020 annual reportrevealed that five women had been hired from the Expression of Interest: “Proactive search strategies in 2020 focused on acquiring diverse talent across the University, particularly in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. In April, an Expression of Interest calling for female-only applicants resulted in the appointment of five women in this faculty.”

6.3. Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University (ECU) hired at least four women faculty via women-only job advertisements between 2015 and 2026.

According to ECU in its 2021 application to Athena SWAN, which was subtitled “Decreasing gender disparities in the School of Engineering,” the University advertised an Expression of Interest for two Lecturer or Senior Lecturer positions in 2020. One of the positions was in the field of Civil Engineering, and the other position was in the field of Electrical Power Engineering. When these positions were originally posted in 2020, I took a screenshot of the advertisement (shown in part below).

Regarding this Expression of Interest, ECU stated the following in its Athena SWAN application:

“In 2020, [the School of Engineering] conducted its first ‘women only’ expression of interest (EOI) recruitment process. This was done to specifically encourage women to apply for opportunities within the School with the additional intent of less pressure placed on applying. This EOI remained open to ensure prospective women were kept informed about ongoing opportunities.”

ECU also advertised two women-only faculty positions in 2023 for Lecturers in Aviation and Civil Engineering. These two advertisements were discussed in ECU’s 2023 SAGE Athena SWAN Silver Award application. In the application, ECU explained that they first advertised the positions as open to all individuals. However, because ECU apparently wanted to hire women from the outset, and significantly more men than women submitted applications for the positions, ECU apparently then changed the advertisement to state that the positions were open only to women. The table below, which was published in ECU’s 2023 SAGE Athena SWAN Silver Award application, shows the results of the University’s experiment.

ECU hired women for both positions. No media outlets appear to have picked up on any of ECU’s women-only hiring practices over the past few years.

Bonus Commentary

Over the past 10 years, Australian universities have used exemptions in state-level anti-discrimination or equal opportunity acts to engage in women-only hiring. At least 13 universities engaged in this hiring practice between 2015 and 2026. The Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Sydney were the universities that engaged in this practice most frequently over that time. In total, I identified 103 women-only hires. However, this is a conservative estimate.

Exemptions in anti-discrimination or equal opportunity acts are contradictory. They conflict with the spirit and intent of the base legislation to not discriminate against people based on characteristic like sex and race. Over time, these exemptions become increasingly abused, because thresholds for exemption rationale are gradually lessened.

Currently, universities are abusing these exemptions. Universities have argued that the exemptions are necessary because fewer women than men make up faculty in certain departments. In a previous data brief at The Nuzzo Letter, I showed the rationales given by universities in New South Wales when they have applied for and received government approval to engage in women-only hiring. Yet, the universities’ rationales are misguided. A sex difference in faculty representation is not evidence of unequal opportunity or sex discrimination. Thus, women-only hiring at Australian universities goes against the spirit of sex discrimination, and it represents a political powerplay by intersectional feminists who seek to bypass and thus subvert objective law to gain institutional power at the expense of the fair treatment of men.

Importantly, in the current data brief, I have limited the analysis to explicit acts of women-only hiring. Thus, the extent to which men have been unfairly treated in their job applications at Australian universities over the past 10 years is not fully represented in the current data brief. In Athena SWAN applications, universities often reveal other strategies that they have used to increase the chances of hiring women. For example, the University of Newcastle was not a university who I found used women-only job advertisement, though it has received a silver “award” from Athena SWAN. However, the University’s 2018 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application and 2024 Athena SWAN Silver Award application revealed that the University engaged in targeted recruitment of women and also preferential hiring of women. The University’s 2018 Athena SWAN Bronze Award application included the following statement about shortlisting female candidates:

“Survey data revealed mixed support for pro-active recruitment of women through targeting due to the backlash they might receive from men and some women. To mitigate opportunities for potential discriminatory comments and to ensure women apply, UON will ensure targeted roles are supported by a strong communication strategy (Action 1.9). An alternative to overt targeting is to set a minimum percentage of women to be considered at shortlisting.”

In the University’s 2024 Athena SWAN Silver Award application, it stated the following about considering female candidates first:

“…the Talent Acquisition Team will look at systems and/or process improvements to ensure applications from women and men are separated to ensure women are considered first, in line with the principles of targeted selection (ASSAP 1.1c).”

Athena SWAN

The catalyst behind women-only hiring practices at Australian universities has been Athena SWAN—a third-party “gender equality” accreditor. More specifically, Athena SWAN is the accreditation scheme, and Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) is the Australian body that administers the scheme in Australia.

The timeline of Athena SWAN is available here.

The Athena SWAN Charter started in the United Kingdom in 2005. Its stated purpose is to advance the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) in higher education and research.

Right away, that is a red flag.

Why are public universities being accredited by a third-party group who has a special interest in advancing the careers of only one sex and only one set of academic fields? More fundamentally, why are Australian universities engaging with an accreditation scheme that is involved in advancing anyone’s careers? Advancing academics’ careers is not what university accreditors are meant to be doing, and this is further evidence that Athena SWAN and SAGE are political vessels used by intersectional feminists to try to institutionalize female power. I am not the first to observe this. In 2022, one scientist referred to Athena SWAN as a “mafia system.”

In 2016, a first cohort of institutions started their Athena SWAN accreditation. In 2018, those institutions submitted their applications for the Bronze Award. Fifteen of the institutions were “awarded” the “prize.” In subsequent years, the number of institutions seeking “awards” from Athena SWAN increased and so did the amount of funding that was received from sources like the Australian government. In 2024, Edith Cowan University and the University of Newcastle became the first institutions to receive the Athena SWAN Silver Award. In 2025, Monash University became the third Australian university to win that “prestigious” accolade.

Athena SWAN has systematically altered university policies in Australia. Because Athena SWAN is informed by intersectional feminism, it does not limit itself to sex/gender or to advancing women’s careers in science. The ten principles of the current Athena SWAN charter are as follows:

1. Ensure that gender equity, diversity and inclusion work is appropriately resourced, distributed, recognised, and rewarded.
2. Undertake transparent and rigorous self-assessment processes, analysing institutional structures, systems, and cultures to identify the barriers to attraction, retention and progression for staff and students, and thus to gender equity, diversity and inclusion.
3. Design initiatives based on institutional data, and national and global evidence of best practice.
4. Monitor, evaluate, and publicly report on progress made, challenges experienced, and impact achieved, to inform continuous improvement.
5. Actively incorporate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives to address the specific inequities and injustices experienced by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff and students.
6. Consciously consider all genders, recognising that gender is not binary, and that trans and gender diverse people face specific inequities because of their gender identities.
7. Take an intersectional approach to advancing gender equity, diversity and inclusion, recognising that people of any particular identity are not a homogeneous group.
8. Engage with those most impacted by inequitable practice to proactively redesign and reshape structures, systems and culture.
9. Increase the safety and wellbeing of staff and students by proactively and transparently preventing and responding to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, gender-based violence and discrimination.
10. Embed change in institutional governance and accountability structures; actively and visibly champion and promote gender equity, diversity and inclusion in our Institutions, the Athena Swan community, and across the sector; and hold ourselves and other senior leaders accountable for driving sustainable transformational change.

Athena SWAN has led to a smorgasbord of initiatives that centre women’s careers and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at universities. Evidence of these initiatives can be found throughout Athena SWAN applications. These initiatives include things like mandatory unconscious bias training, inclusive language guides, women-only workshops and support groups, and featuring photographs of female academics on university STEMM websites.

The total influence of Athena SWAN on Australian universities can be summarised in one phrase: the feminisation of the universities. The fundamental characteristic of the feminised university is the increased female:male staff ratio on campus. The feminised university has many distinct features, and I have listed many of them elsewhere. One of these features is academic cancellations for wrongspeak. I have previously documented how Edith Cowan University’s adoption of Athena SWAN was causally linked to my academic cancellation.

Moving Forward

SAGE and Athena SWAN have no business dictating university policy. The key to ending the current anti-male prejudice at universities in Australia is to decouple the links between the universities and SAGE and Athena SWAN. I am uncertain of the potential legal paths to accomplish this, and I am not confident that Australians in the academic, legal, media, and political sectors have the courage or “fire in the belly” to tackle this issue.

My recommendation to Australian citizens, who deplore this behaviour from the universities, is to flip the script on them.

Currently, universities in Australia believe that “awards” from Athena SWAN are “prestigious.” Consequently, universities wear “awards” from Athena SWAN as badges of honour and accomplishment.

On the contrary, “awards” from Athena SWAN represent the degree to which universities have implemented prejudicial, anti-male policies that have been informed by intersectional feminism and critical theory.

Athena SWAN “awards” are not badges of honour and success. They are badges of shame.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 23:01:11 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

Whine and Poses: Feminists “Confront Antifeminist Ideologies”

The Fiamengo File

Even with their money and muscle on full display, feminists cry victim in a recent government report.

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

GenderSpeak: Weaponizing Gender Against Sex

Brownstone Institute

(Note: This article, which is also available on Substack at Malone News, references data published at The Nuzzo Letter.)

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Men’s Health and the Rise of Female Supremacism

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)

‘Have you considered helping boys?’ The other gender gap

LA Times (Lisa Britton)

6 Ways To Help The Man You Love Without Mothering Him

Evie Magazine

Women do more water chores due to ‘neocolonial gender blind spot,’ UCLA study says

The College Fix

UMinn scholars launching transgender doll project for 4-year-olds

The College Fix

Health Sciences

Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and Uterine Fibroids in Women Ages 20–49: United States, 2022–2023

NCHS Health E-Stat

Health Center Visit Rates, by Age and Sex — United States, 2024

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Results: In 2024, visit rates to health centers were similar among girls (318.0 per 1,000 population) and boys (327.7) aged 0–17 years. However, visit rates were significantly higher among women aged 18–34 years (484.4) and aged 35–54 years (516.6) compared with men in the same age groups (176.5 and 271.5, respectively). The observed difference by sex was not statistically significant among adults aged ≥55 years.

Education

Just 12% of Americans Say Four-Year Colleges Are Affordable

Gallup

Americans say four-year colleges cost too much, yet most parents still want their children to get a degree.

Family Structure, a Key Factor Hidden Plain Sight: The Case for Federal Reporting in Education

Institute for Family Studies

Professors push ‘antiracism’ therapy to train ‘white allies’ at psychology conference

The College Fix

UBuffalo dental school forces freshmen through DEI training on ‘structural marginalization’

The College Fix

Debunking Bad Research

Do No Harm

(Nuzzo note: Do No Harm has announced the creation of the Center for Accountability in Medicine. The Center’s website will contain critiques of bad research. Here is an excerpt from the website: “The charge at the Center for Accountability in Medicine is to promote excellence, transparency, and integrity in healthcare by exposing flawed science and ideological capture in medical research. We will methodologically dissect new studies in high impact journals that touch upon DEI or gender ideology, to provide a rigorous, independent review that is sorely needed.”)

RUBBISH BIN

Confronting Antifeminist Ideologies in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women

House of Commons, Canadian Parliament

The problem of complicity and complicit masculinities (in critical studies on men and masculinities)

NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Advancing social justice in healthcare publishing: a call to action

BMJ Leader

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Justice-Oriented Evaluation of Antiracist Medical Education: A Critical Scoping Review of Antiracism Educational Intervention Methodologies in Medical Education

Teaching and Learning in Medicine

Abstract: Through a Critical Whiteness lens, we examined the extent to which the measures developed, or selected, to evaluate the effectiveness of the antiracist curricula also reflected a commitment to (or understanding of the importance of) disrupting white supremacist norms with respect to what and how measures should be used. We were curious to understand if development teams critically audited the content of their measures, scoring rubrics, and/or feedback loops for embedded norms associated with whiteness, ensuring that even the measures (beyond the interventions themselves) served justice rather than reinforcing whiteness as the invisible standard. Findings revealed that while measurement is happening, it is (a) often limited in psychometric rigor (i.e., validity and reliability evidence); (b) infrequently includes any actual behavioral changes (12% of studies); (c) rarely includes the input of patients in the development process; and (d) is absent of any critical theoretical orientation. In fact, the dominant patterns in measure development and use across the antiracist medical education interventions we identified revealed a persistent centering of whiteness—visible in the prioritization of white normative standards, the marginalization of minorized voices in design and validation, the absence of explicit justice-oriented theoretical frameworks, and outcome measurement focused on institutional and professional comfort. To ensure our measurement processes have the same justice-orientation as our interventions, we propose three principles, or guidelines, for measure design/development (critical theory integration, centering rights-holders with marginalized identities, and justice-aligned validity evidence).

Hybrid Masculinity Reconsidered, or Towards a Masculinity Theorizing Without Guarantees

Men and Masculinities

Abstract: This paper critically engages with hybrid masculinity, a concept that has gained considerable traction within masculinity studies. While it has primarily been theorized as a strategy through which privileged men maintain power while appearing progressive, this paper proposes a more open-ended approach. By revisiting postcolonial and youth cultural theories, it reconceptualizes hybrid masculinity beyond a mechanism for the reproduction of privilege, expanding it into a theory of social change. “Hybrid masculinity” is understood here as the mixing of gendered elements, and “hybrid masculinity blocs” as the articulation of cultural and economic interests to maintain or resist the hegemonic gender order. Through a case study of Swedish parental leave politics, the paper explores their counter-hegemonic potential and advocates for a feminist masculinity politics without predetermined outcomes.

The Erotic Wound: Sexual Racism and Queer Resistance in Digital Spaces

Canadian Review of Sociology

Abstract: This article proposes the erotic wound as a sociological concept to examine how queer people of colour (QPOC) experience sexual racism in digital intimacy, and—equally—to demonstrate how they actively contest, rework, and transform its effects through engagement in digital counterpublics. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of 37 online narratives from personal blog posts, essays, news reports, Reddit threads, TikTok and YouTube videos, we identify four interlocking dynamics: racial filtering and exclusion, racial fetishization, hypervisibility and erasure, and digital acts of resistance in subaltern counterpublics. Together, these dynamics reveal that the erotic wound is both an affective injury—producing anxiety, exhaustion, and diminished self-worth—and a social harm sustained by durable inequality, intersectional power relations, and performative scripts of desire in the neoliberal architectures of digital platforms. We draw on feminist andqueer scholarship, and Shiloh Whitney’s theory of byproductive affective labour to explain how the wound intervenes in the body through the very relational encounter it organizes, and on Michel Serres’s theory of noise and mediation (via Crocker) to show how platforms actively generate, rather than merely transmit, racialized patterns of exclusion and fetishization. Yet the erotic wound is not only diagnostic of harm; it is generative of social worlds. Through digital counterpublics, QPOC convert private harms into public critique, produce alternative imaginaries of desire and belonging, and propose new architectures of intimacy free from racial hierarchy. Foregrounding counterpublics as a primary site of collective world-making is not a secondary contribution of this article but its central one, alongside the theorization of harm. By conceptualizing the erotic wound as simultaneously diagnostic and generative, this study advances sociological understandings of how desire becomes both a site where sexual racism is reproduced and a terrain where it is contested and reimagined.

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NHMRC’s New Targeted Funding for Women’s Health Research

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:48:19 GMT

Photo by Rifki Kurniawan on Unsplash

Each year, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) allocates about six times more money to sex-specific research on women’s health than men’s health (see graph below). As life expectancy is about four years shorter for Australian males than females, one might think that more symmetry in funding might be the plan moving forward. However, that is not the case. The NHMRC and its 70% female staff have recently doubled down.

Graph published at The Nuzzo Letter on July 28, 2026. See the associated data brief for more details.

New NHMRC Women’s Health Funding

On June 10, 2026, the NHMRC published a call for research on women’s health, titled “Targeted Call for Research: Reframing Women’s Health 2026.”

According to the call, a total of $5 million in competitive funding will be allocated to researchers to facilitate studies that address the following objectives:

Improves the quality of sex- and gender-sensitive research design and reporting.
Addresses priority health issues that disproportionately or differentially affect women.
Builds researcher capability and shifts research culture.
Mobilises collaboration and strengthen research ecosystems.
Enhances translation into policy, education, and practice.

The NHMRC stated that this new targeted call “compliments NHMRC’s other funding schemes by funding priority research in defined areas or need and when urgent research needs emerge” and that the funds will “be provided from the NHMRC Medical Research Endowment Account.”

Thus, the $5 million will apparently be on top of the average ~$90 million that women’s health research receives from the NHMRC each year. Presumably, this will then exacerbate the existing asymmetry that already exists in funding of men’s and women’s health research in Australia. However, the NHMRC does appear concerned about that, because it still believes that women are “underrepresented” in medical research. In its grant guidelines, the NHMRC stated:

“Clinical research has systematically used male bodies as the default, leading to underrepresentation of women in clinical trials and inadequate sex-disaggregated data, gender analysis, and inclusion of sex-specific mechanisms in study design.”

The NHMRC footnoted their statement with reference to three academic articles, none of which showed that women are “underrepresented” in clinical trials. The three articles mention a handful of studies that examined “underrepresentation” in certain types of research, but the articles did not provide evidence of widespread female exclusion. Rather, the articles pertained more to the final part of the NHMRC’s statement about accounting for sex in study designs. Moreover, the NHMRC did not even list the correction citations for three articles that it was trying to reference. Below, I list the three articles as they appeared in the NHMRC’s footnote, and I include my critical comments in parentheses. I highlight these errors, because problematic referencing and other types of sloppy work are common in the space of women’s health advocacy.

“Hallam, L., et al. (2023). Sex and gender bias in health and medical research and implications for women’s health.” (Nuzzo note: Here, the NHMRC appears to be trying to reference an article by Hallam et al. in 2023, which has a different title than the one provided in the incomplete (and inaccurate) citation by the NHMRC: Sex and gender reporting in Australian health and medical research publications).
“Heidari, S., Babor, T. F., De Castro, P., Tort, S., & Curno, M. (2016). Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER): Rationale for the guidelines and recommended use. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 1, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-016-0007-6.” (Nuzzo note: Here, the NHMRC’s reference is correct.)
“Antequera, A., Stallings, E., Henry, R. S., López-Alcalde, J., Runnels, V., Tudiver, S., Tugwell, P., & Welch, V. (2022). Sex and gender appraisal in systematic reviews: Extent of analysis and reporting. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 142, 119–132.” (Nuzzo note: Here, the NHMRC appears to be trying to reference an article by Antequera et al., which has a different title than the one provided by the NHMRC: Sex and Gender Appraisal Tool-Systematic Reviews-2 and Participation-To-Prevalence Ratio assessed to whom the evidence applies in sepsis reviews.)

As is often the case, the NHMRC’s claim of women’s “underrepresentation” in research trials is exaggerated, with key references ignored. One of those key references is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States (U.S.), which has tracked participant demographics in NIH-funded research for the past 30 years. Females have consistently made up over 50% of participants in NIH-funded research trials over that time, totalling millions more female than male participants. Also, women were regular participants in medical research prior to the 1990s, and in 1994, the NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) admitted that “[l]ittle, if any, evidence is available that demonstrates that women have been systematically excluded from biomedical research.”

What’s more, one likely reason why women have consistently made up 55-60% of participants in NIH-funded research is that the NIH allocates twice as much money toward sex-specific research on women than men. Because the NHMRC in Australia also allocates significantly more funds for women’s than men’s health research, one would then also expect that women would make up a greater proportion of participants in NHMRC-funded research than men. However, unlike the NIH, the NHMRC does not record the sex of individuals who participate in NHMRC-funded research (NB. This was revealed to me via email communications with staff at the NHMRC.). Thus, the NHMRC claims that women are “underrepresented” as participants in research, but the agency does not examine if this claim is true within the research that it funds. Finally, the NHMRC’s lack of monitoring of participant sex is odd considering that calls for more sex-segregated data in research have existed for several years, and the three articles that the NHMRC footnoted are on that topic.

Lies from Canberra to Victoria and Beyond

Lies in the space of sex and health research are seemingly never ending, and I have recently documented relevant cases of data manipulation by organisations such as the United Nations, the University of New South Wales, and The Australia Institute.

The gaslighting is also seemingly never ending. For example, as more funds are allocated to women’s than men’s health, the public is told by academics, bureaucrats, and the mainstream media just the opposite: that women’s health is severely “underfunded” and “understudied.”

Here, I provide another example to illustrate this problematic trend.

In November 2025, the Department of Health in Victoria published a report on women’s health titled, “Bridging the Gender Pain Gap: The Inquiry into Women’s Pain Report 2025.” The report summarised results from a survey of approximately 13,000 girls and women in Victoria about their experiences with pain conditions. The survey was conducted as part of a $153.9 million dollar package from the Victorian government to examine women’s health—another example of how women’s health is not underfunded.

The results from the survey were covered by the mainstream media, and the headline from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) read: “Women’s pain inquiry finds Victorians’ suffering worsened by male-centred healthcare system.”

In publishing this work, both the Victorian government and the mainstream media lied to the public about the history of women’s health. The ABC’s article stated that the report found that “the healthcare system was built around “Caucasian male biology”, making it diﬃcult for women and girls to access care and support for pain” and that “historically low investment in women’s health research left many without effective pain relief or treatment.”

The coverage of the results was also unnecessarily layered in emotionally-laden language, such as when Victoria’s Health Minister said that the “results can make for difficult reading”—as if readers were going to be flipping through the pages of a book on war atrocities or child sex abuse.

Neither the ABC nor the Victorian government mentioned that the NHMRC allocates significantly more funds to women’s than men’s health research; that Australia’s federal budgets regularly allocate more funds for women’s than men’s health; or that various states, including Victoria, have taxpayer-funded offices for women but not men.

Victoria is one of the states in Australia that has an office for women but not men. For more information on that topic, see my data brief titled, “Australia State Offices for Men and Women.”

The report was typical of the way that women’s health advocates approach their work. On one hand, they claim that health research requires more sex-segregated data. However, when they conduct their own studies, they simply measure from only one sex rather than measure from both sexes and then segregate the data.

This approach then causes a circular problem. When results from only women are measured, the results are then often used as evidence that women’s health needs specific attention in the future (e.g., X number of women in Victoria have migraines, therefore, “increased investment in women’s pain services” is needed).

Some of the increased investment that stems from such results will then be directed toward further research, like the NHMRC’s targeted call. Studies funded by such targeted calls will themselves also include only female participants, causing another set of one-sided results to be published. Those one-side results will then be used to advocate for more funding for women’s health, and the cycle continues.

Importantly, the survey in Victoria was not conducted by Victoria’s state-level women’s office. It was conducted by Victoria’s Department of Health, which is supposed to concern itself with the well-being of all Victorians, and many men in Victoria will also be living with migraines, fibromyalgia, and musculoskeletal pain. Their voices were not heard in the survey.

In such cases, not surveying men is more than an ethical issue; it is also a scientific issue. The Department’s report was written in way that suggests that the healthcare system is biased against women’s pain (i.e., that the healthcare system exhibits a sex-specific bias). However, the Department is not permitted to make such a conclusion based on the design of their survey. To make such a conclusion, the Department would have needed to sample both men and women and then observed differences between men and women.

Thus, by not sampling men, the Department failed to demonstrate scientifically that sex is indeed a key explanatory factor in certain results. Moreover, based on the Department’s single-sex sampling, which, again, goes against the recommendations made in the articles that were footnoted by the NHMRC, the Department is not entitled to use the phrase “gender pain gap.” Their survey provided no evidence of such a gap, because their survey did not include men.

Conclusion

One can care about women’s physical and psychological well-being without biasing the conversation and without blaming all of women’s health problems on men or “systemic” or “structural” factors. Unfortunately, we see repeatedly that many women’s health advocates are incapable of doing this. They refuse to play by objective rules. They lie. They misreference studies. They supress data. They spin data. They openly express little concern over men’s health, and they do not even follow guidelines that they have previously advocated for. They have been behaving this way for at least 35 years, and their behaviour has been a blockade to rational discourse about the realities of men’s well-being.

Finally, and incidentally, as I was drafting this article, the Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, resigned. In a video posted by Allan on X, she revealed that her government’s focus on women’s health was influenced by her own experience with endometriosis. She added: “If I want to be remembered for one thing, it’s this: I led a government that listened to girls about their health.”

That is an odd crowning achievement for a state Premier to select, considering that it excludes half the population that the Premier was supposed to represent.

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NHMRC Funding of Men's and Women's Health Research

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:01:58 GMT

On April 2, 2026, I published a data brief on funding of research categorised as men’s health, women’s health, and maternal health by the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC)—Australia’s main public funder of health and medical research.

One question that I received about these data was whether the funds allocated for “maternal health” constituted part of the funds allocated for “women’s health.” For example, in 2025, the NHMRC reported $58.3 million for “maternal health” and $101.5 million for “women’s health.” Thus, did the NHMRC invest a total of $159.8 million in women’s health research in 2025 or $101.5 million?

Previously, I stated that I thought that the categories “maternal health” and “women’s health” represented two separate funding allotments. I thought this because the NHMRC’s data table shows “maternal health” and “women’s health” as separate categories, without explicitly mentioning whether these two categories overlap. However, the NHMRC’s explanation of how it categorises projects suggests that overlap is possible:

“The majority of NHMRC funding is investigator-initiated and is not directed by NHMRC to any specific disease, health or research topic. The subject matter of each application is determined by the applicants…For reporting purposes, NHMRC classifies applications against disease, health and research topics based on information provided at the time of application including an application’s title, keywords, media summaries and other research classifications where appropriate. This process results in the classification of applications to more than one topic. NHMRC does not apportion funding when more than one topic is indicated and the full value of the grant is attributed.”

Indeed, I was wrong. In May 2026, I contacted the NHMRC to receive clarification on this issue. The NHMRC informed me that funds listed for “maternal health” are included in the total for “women’s health.” Thus, in 2025, the total funds for women’s health research were $101.5 million ($58.3 million for maternal health plus $43.2 million for women’s health research not related to maternal health). Consequently, the graph that I published in April (shown immediately below) is somewhat misleading; it mistakenly implies that the funding for “maternal health” was separate from the funding for “women’s health.”

Other than minor changes to the text (e.g., axis titles), this is the same graph that I published in April.

Also, since publishing the data brief in April, I learned of other funds for men’s and women’s health research that are administered via the NHRMC but are unaccounted for in the agency’s data tables. These funds come from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), which was established in 2015 under the Medical Research Future Fund Act. The funds for the MRFF come from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, but the NHMRC assesses the grant applications and administers the funds on behalf of the Department. As of January 29, 2026, the MRFF had funded 1,826 research grants, totalling $4.48 billion. The grants have covered many medical areas, including men’s and women’s health.

Aims

Thus, the current data brief has two aims. The first aim is to update and more accurately depict the NHMRC’s data on funding of men’s and women’s health research. In updating this information, I also now show NHMRC’s sex-specific funding as a proportion of total NHMRC funding. The second aim of the current data brief is to present the MRFF funding for men’s and women’s health research. Together, the MRFF and NHMRC data provide a more complete picture of funding of men’s and women’s health research by the Australian government.

Note: In the current data brief, I use the phrases “sex-specific research” and “sex-specific funding.” The NHMRC does not necessarily use those phrases. Those phrases are my invention.

Proportion of NHMRC Funding Allocated to Sex-Specific Research

Most NHMRC funds are allocated to projects that are not categorised as being sex-specific. Between 2013 and 2025, the average annual proportion of NHMRC research funding that was allocated to projects that were not categorised as men’s health or women’s health research was 87.5%. By contrast, the average annual proportion of NHMRC research funding that was allocated to sex-specific projects was 12.5% (usually 10-15% per year).
Between 2013 and 2025, the average annual proportion of NHMRC research funding that was allocated to women’s health research was 10.5%.
Between 2013 and 2025, the average annual proportion of NHMRC research funding that was allocated to men’s health research was 2.0%.

In 2025, the NHMRC allocated $16.7 million to men’s health research and $101.5 million to women’s health research, including $58.3 million for maternal health research, amounting to a six-times greater allocation for women’s than men’s health research.
The funding allocated to women’s health research in 2025 was the highest annual amount over the 13-year period between 2013 and 2025. The funding allocated to men’s health research in 2025 was higher than in the previous four years but lower than funding amounts between 2013 and 2019.
Between 2013 and 2025, the NHMRC allocated $221.3 million for men’s health research and $1.171 billion for women’s health research ($672.6 million for maternal health research and $499.1 million for other women’s health research).
Between 2013 and 2025, the average annual allocations for men’s health research were $17 million compared to $90.1 million for women’s health research ($51.7 million for maternal health research and $38.4 million for other women’s health research).
When funds allocated to maternal health research and funds allocated to all other women’s health research are combined, women’s health research received over five time more funding from the NHMRC than men’s health research between 2013 and 2025.
When funds allocated to maternal health research are subtracted from funds allocated to all other women’s health research, women’s health research received 2.3 times more funding from the NHMRC than men’s health research between 2013 and 2025.

The graph below presents the data from the graph above in relative terms—as a percentage of the total funds allocated to sex-specific research.
Most of the NHMRC’s sex-specific funding is allocated to women’s health.
In 2025, 14% of the NHMRC’s sex-specific funding was allocated to men’s health, while 86% was allocated to women’s health (49% for maternal health research; 37% for other women’s health research).
Between 2013 and 2025, the average annual proportion of the NHMRC’s sex-specific funding that was allocated to men’s health research was 15.9% (range: 13.3% to 19.1%). By contrast, the average annual proportion of the NHMRC’s sex-specific funding that was allocated to women’s health research was 84.1% (48.3% for maternal health; 35.8% for other women’s health research).

Between 2016 and 2024, 158 grants for women’s health and 21 grants for men’s health were supported by the MRFF. Thus, grants for women’s health research accounted for 88.3% of the sex-specific grants that were supported by the MRFF between 2016 and 2024.
Between 2016 and 2024, $311 million was allocated to women’s health research via the MRFF compared to $59 million allocated to men’s health research via the MRFF. Thus, grants for women’s health research accounted for 84.1% of the sex-specific funds that were granted via the MRFF between 2016 and 2024.

Sources

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. MRFF Funding Statistics Dashboard.

National Health and Medical Research Council. Research Funding Statistics and Data. (NB. The data from 2013-2015 were published online by the NHMRC in previous years, but they do not currently appear on the NHMRC’s website.)

Bonus Commentary

The current data brief has demonstrated that the Australian government allocates significantly more money for research on women’s health than men’s health. This finding is consistent with the United States (U.S.), where the National Institutes of Health (NIH) routinely allocates over twice as much money for women’s health research than men’s health research. Together, the results from Australia and the U.S. combat the common claim that women’s health research is “underfunded” (see my recent presentation at Men Are Good for more information regarding the claim that women’s health has been “underfunded”).

I have been unable to find a statement from the NHMRC that explains why significantly more funds are allocated to women’s health research than men’s health research. Give that male life expectancy in Australia is four years shorter than female life expectancy, such an explanation is warranted. Possible explanations might include one or more of the following:

Perhaps the way that the NHMRC categorises grant applications as “men’s health” or “women’s health” does not accurately reflect the projects that they fund, such that the NHMRC might be categorising some men’s health projects as topics other than men’s health.
Perhaps researchers submit more grant applications for women’s health than men’s health, and the NHMRC is merely responding to the scientists’ lead. (NB. This would still require an explanation for why the scientists are submitting more grant applications for women’s health than men’s health. Also, even if scientists are setting an asymmetrical research agenda, the NHMRC can examine its funding history, acknowledge the sex difference in life expectancy, and then step in and announce targeted “calls” for men’s health research.)
Perhaps researchers submit roughly equal numbers of grant applications for women’s health and men’s health, but, for unspecified reasons, the NHMRC funds more of the women’s health projects. If this is the case, gamma bias, or gynocentrism at an institutional level, might explain this trend. Also, given that ~70% of staff at the NHMRC, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and other government agencies in Australia are women, female in-group bias might also play a role in funding decisions.
Perhaps women’s health research is more complicated or expensive to conduct than men’s health research and thus perhaps women’s health resarch requires a greater number of projects and a greater amount of funding than men’s health research.

Importantly, the sex difference in health funding is not limited to the NHMRC. Federal budgets in Australia often include more funding for women than men.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 20:49:02 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

Pathologizing Men

Skeptic

(Note: A data brief published at The Nuzzo Letter is referenced in this leading article.)

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

Feminists Amass Billions as They Spread Falsehoods About Medical Research

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

How Could an ‘Office of Men’s Health’ Actually Affect You?

Men’s Health

A bill to set up an Office of Men’s Health within the HHS was just introduced in the Senate. We asked the senator introducing it to explain it to us.

Virginia’s new Boys and Men Commission gets to work

Virginia Coalition for Boys and Men

The nation’s first permanent state commission devoted to boys and men held its inaugural meeting—and the data made clear why it is needed.

Title IX Is Holding Back US Men’s Soccer

Compact Magazine

Pauline Hanson: Domestic Violence is a Two-Way Street

Domestic Violence Awareness Australia

Pauline Hanson said domestic violence is a two-way street. PASK research on bidirectional intimate partner violence shows she has a point—here is the evidence.

Fathers and Divorce: The Grief No One Sees

Men Are Good

Why One Divorce Can Feel Like Twelve Different Losses.

The Feminization of the Icelandic State

The European Conservative

Oregon Is Pumping Children Full of Hormones

Wall Street Journal

The state pushes teens toward ‘transgender-related diagnoses’ and dangerous treatments.

Yale scholar says patriarchy creates ‘rigid,’ ‘mythological’ categories of ‘Man, Woman’

The College Fix

Barriers to Help-Seeking Among Male Victims of Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence: Insights From Black, Latino, and White Men

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

Abstract: This study examined barriers to help-seeking among male victims of intimate partner violence perpetrated by female partners, comparing differences across non-Latino Black, Latino, and non-Latino White men in the United States. Using a sample of 1,194 men recruited through the online panel Centiment, this study assessed the prevalence of specific barriers to help-seeking and examined differences across racial/ethnic groups. Data were collected through a structured survey with an additional open-ended item to capture barriers not reflected in the checklist. Results indicated that men across all racial/ethnic groups reported similar core barriers to help-seeking, including viewing intimate partner violence as a private matter, fear of retaliation, shame, and concerns about not being believed; however, the pattern of barrier endorsement varied by group. Latino men were significantly more likely than both Black and White men to report difficulty knowing how to disclose their experiences and were more likely than White men to report language- and immigration-related barriers. In contrast, Black men were less likely than Latino and White men to report concerns about bias or disbelief, a pattern that warrants cautious interpretation given broader historical and structural contexts. White men, meanwhile, were more likely than Latino men to report difficulty recognizing or labeling their experiences as abuse. Together, these findings highlight the need for culturally responsive, gender-inclusive interventions that address stigma, structural barriers, and institutional biases shaping men’s help-seeking and service engagement following intimate partner violence victimization.

Health Sciences

Leading Mechanisms of Unintentional Injury Death Among Youth Ages 10–19 Years: United States, 2024

NCHS Data Brief

Key findings: The unintentional injury death rate among youth ages 10–19 years in 2024 was 11.6 deaths per 100,000 population. The motor vehicle traffic death rate for youth ages 15–19 years (12.0) was 6 times the rate for youth ages 10–14 (2.0). The unintentional injury death rate among male youth (16.3) was higher than among female youth (6.7), with similar differences observed in motor vehicle traffic, poisoning, and drowning death rates. American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic youth had the highest rates of unintentional injury, motor vehicle traffic, and poisoning death compared with other race and Hispanic-origin groups. Death rates among youth were highest in the South for all unintentional injuries (13.8), motor vehicle traffic (8.5), and poisoning (2.6).

Education

Science: A New Golden Age

The White House

Confidence in U.S. Institutions Remains Near All-Time Low

Gallup

Faith in higher ed slips: 38% of adults report high confidence

Higher Ed Dive

California medical schools ditch required social justice courses ‘filled with propaganda’

The College Fix

OTHER

The government part pays the journalists at Nine, Seven, Crikey and 181 other newsrooms

One News Australia

184 newsrooms now draw taxpayer wage subsidies with strings attached to 2028, and none has to tell its readers a thing.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

RUBBISH BIN

Tokyo urges men to wear shorts to work, but some women say it’s ‘leg hair harassment’

BBC News

“We love you, but we just can’t afford you”: A very Canadian approach to breaking up with Women’s and Gender Studies

European Journal of Women Studies

Abstract: Bringing together scholars from Canada and the United States, the Gender Studies Now panel asked us to think about a range of pressing issues affecting the gender academy. What made the questions especially compelling was that they opened onto a comparative conversation about forms of threat that do not always look the same. In some places, Gender Studies is being targeted through open hostility and direct political attack. In others, the pressure arrives less dramatically, through enrolment targets, austerity language, restructuring, and suspended admissions. At Nipissing, that less dramatic approach has nonetheless had a dramatic outcome: the closure of the Gender Equality and Social Justice degree and the enfolding of only some of its curriculum into Sociology. While this paper reflects on the strategies that brought GESJ to this point, it more crucially considers what is lost - by faculty, students, institutions, and societies - when WGS curricula and research are de-specified and WGS departments are effectively disappeared from spaces of higher education.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Retronormative desire: nostalgia, antifeminism and the far-right appeal to working-class mothers in Austria

Journal of Gender Studies

Abstract: This article analyses the nexus between the transformation of the gender order and the far right, examining accounts of working-class mothers employed in Austrian factories. Drawing on 27 qualitative interviews, I argue that the appeal of far-right mobilizations to women in precarious class positions is shaped by three intersecting themes: nostalgia, antifeminism, and welfare chauvinism. The interviewees articulate a longing for the male breadwinner model and a critique of feminism as elitist, excessive, or irrelevant to ‘ordinary’ mothers. These narratives often intertwine with welfare chauvinism, as interviewees reinterpret insecurity through exclusionary claims about social resources. These narratives can be read as expressions of a retronormative desire for the restoration of gendered norms and securities that are imagined to have been eroded by neoliberal restructuring and feminist gains. Building on insights from feminist scholarship and theories of authoritarian populism, the article situates these accounts within broader debates about anti-feminist politics as a bridging ideology. I argue that retronormativity functions as both a lived response to the contradictions of precarious reproductive and productive labour and as a discursive hinge through which far-right actors mobilize women. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing counter-strategies to the contemporary far-right.

Denial of gender discrimination is associated with better subjective well-being among women: A system justification account

European Journal of Social Psychology

Abstract: Despite the fact that women face socially and politically sanctioned disadvantages every day, a large percentage of women and men report that gender discrimination is no longer a problem. Across three studies, which together include over 20,000 participants from 23 countries, we test the hypothesis that denial (vs. acknowledgement) of gender discrimination is associated with higher subjective well-being among women (Studies 1–3), and this is because denying gender discrimination promotes the view that the system is fair (Study 1). We further show that this happens above and beyond personal experiences with sexism (Study 1) and that the association is stronger in countries where sexism is relatively high (vs. low; Study 3). We argue that denial of discrimination is an individual-level coping mechanism and that, like other self-group distancing strategies, it may perpetuate gender inequality.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

The “Teacher Witch Trials”: Teachers understandings and experiences through the attacks on critical race theory in education

Equity in Education

Abstract: This study examines the experiences and understandings of elementary and secondary teachers in the United States amid heightened political and social scrutiny surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education. Using the Salem Witch Trials as an analytic heuristic, the study explores how contemporary accusations of “indoctrination” and “divisiveness” function to produce moral panic, professional surveillance, and risk for educators committed to addressing race and racism. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 35 practicing teachers conducted between 2022 and 2024, we identify three key themes: (1) the absence of formal CRT education in teacher preparation programs, resulting in fragmented and uneven understandings of CRT; (2) the ways teachers’ positionalities shape their pedagogical approaches and perceived responsibilities to address race and racism; and (3) the impact of “divisive concepts” legislation on teachers’ sense of safety, surveillance, and resistance. Despite these systemic pressures, many educators employed creative strategies to navigate policy constraints while sustaining critical classroom discussions. Taken together, the findings illustrate how the current backlash against CRT operates as a moral panic with significant implications for educational equity, academic freedom, and teacher agency in U.S. elementary and secondary schools.

Behind the bushes: queer sexual encounters in the liminal cruising spaces of Geneva

Gender, Place & Culture

Abstract: This article examines cruising parks and toilets in Geneva, Switzerland, conceptualizing these sites as double liminal spaces whose sexual potentials are often accessed through moments of spatial and sexual disorientation. Drawing on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork, the article shows that public cruising continues to shape how sexual encounters are experienced and negotiated within urban environments. Bringing scholarship on queer space and cruising into dialogue with literature on liminality, I argue that cruising sites function as layered liminal formations. They blur the public–private divide by enabling sexual practices conventionally associated with private space to occur in public, and they unsettle the heterosexual–homosexual binary by facilitating same-sex encounters that do not require stable identity claims. Building on this spatial analysis, the article advances a further argument: access to these liminal formations often depends on processes of disorientation. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work on disorientation (2006), I show how drifting, lingering, and moments of spatial deviation allow familiar public spaces to become sexually legible, producing spontaneous encounters that emerge through affective and material relations rather than intentional pursuit. At the same time, the article examines how racialized imaginaries, respectability politics, and moral regulation shape who can comfortably inhabit liminality and disorientation, and who is rendered out of place, complicating celebratory accounts of queer space.

The Decolonization of Museums

Current Opinion in Psychology

Abstract: Museum decolonization has become a central concern in contemporary museology, raising questions that extend beyond curatorial reform to the construction of collective memory, the psychological elaboration of the colonial past, and the configuration of postcolonial identities. This review synthesizes recent literature on the decolonial turn in museums from a psychological perspective, addressing institutional critique, participatory practices, historical trauma, epistemic justice, and the affective dimensions of collective memory. It also identifies key risks-tokenism, aestheticization of difference, and “decolonization without decolonization”-and outlines a research agenda focused on the psychological effects of decolonial museum narratives, the relational nature of participation, symbolic reparation, and the comparative analysis of decolonization processes across sociopolitical contexts.

Indigenized Science

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Abstract: This commentary advances a reframing of science as a dialectical process that moves from local lifeworld to provisional universals and back to locally situated renewal. We term this movement Indigenized Science. Building on two decades of cultural praxis work, we propose that universalization has broadened inclusion yet often stalls before reembedding knowledge into the geographic, linguistic, and sociopolitical contexts where athletes live and practitioners work with coaches, teammates, staff, and administrative leadership. Herein, we (a) synthesize how cultural sport psychology has progressed from early calls for awareness to contextualized inquiry, (b) identify limits of prevailing Anglophone methodological canons when transported across geographic settings, and (c) propose a culturally relevant and safe actionable framework for indigenizing research and practice. We offer an actionable framework specifying six intervention points: literature (multilingual and cross-regional canons), philosophies of science (context-congruent epistemologies), development of cooperation (international cooperation), situating of authors/participants/contexts (explicit “place” and positionality), modes of inquiry (community-compatible designs and elicitation), and analytic strategies (coanalysis and coauthorship to preserve local meaning). We exemplify how these choices cohere to enhance ecological validity, ethical reciprocity, and knowledge translation across diverse systems. This contribution reveals a methodological and ethical orientation, but it is not a replacement for scientific generalization. Rather, it is a disciplined return to contexts renewing and reinforcing science. We conclude with implications for scientist-practitioner training, positioning indigenization as a rigor-enhancing route to globally relevant, locally resonant sport psychology.

The global configurations of Whiteness

Identities

Abstract: This article makes a case for the need to analyse the production, reproduction and reconfiguration of Whiteness not just in the Global North but also the Global South, due to connected histories, geographies and sociologies. Additionally, we articulate the need to do so from an intersectional approach and consider methodological aspects of, and epistemological impediments to, studying Whiteness. Contemporary developments show that Whiteness is transforming and emboldening its power and influence through mobilizing in novel ways, through appeals to new geographies and peoples and by diversifying its constituents. Understanding the changing and newer configurations of global Whiteness is essential, as these dynamics also sustain and intensify the resistance Whiteness mounts when its supremacy is questioned.

Data justice and data solidarity

Patterns

Abstract: Datafication shapes and gradually transforms societies. Given this impact, issues of justice around data-driven practices have received more and more attention in recent years as shown, for example, by various reports and guidelines on artificial intelligence and data ethics. In this article, we elaborate on and defend two claims. First, these discourses on justice tend to center primarily around conceptions of fairness. We argue that justice in connection with datafication relates to, but ultimately encompasses more than, solely fairness. Second, although it is an important project to clarify what justice in connection with datafication encompasses, we argue that attention toward attitudes and practices of data solidarity have so far been largely overlooked. They are, however, indispensable as a catalytic element to advance toward data justice in practice.

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Sex of Participants in NIH-Funded Research

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:02:30 GMT

The current data brief details the sex of participants in research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1995 and 2025.

In three ways, this data brief updates a previous data brief published at The Nuzzo Letter. First, data from 2023 to 2025 have been added. Second, the number of enrollments (extramural plus intramural) is now shown along with proportional representations. Third, data from each NIH Institute are presented.

The NIH publishes these data as “enrollments” rather than number of “participants,” because a participant could be enrolled in more than one NIH-funded trial. Thus, I present the data as “enrollments” rather than “participants.” However, dual enrollments in NIH-funded trials are probably not frequent enough to alter the data significantly. So, I sometimes use the words “enrollments” and “participants” interchangeably, depending on the context.

For most graphs, enrollment numbers or counts align with the left y-axis, with distinct lines presented for male enrollments, female enrollments, and enrollments in which participant sex was unknown to the NIH. Also, for most graphs, the percent of enrollments who were female (i.e., “female representation”) is shown via vertical bars that align with the right y-axis.

For the Institute-specific analysis, data were only available for the years 2013 to 2024.

Do not forget to scroll to the bottom of this page to seem my Bonus Commentary, and if you appreciate this content, and want to see more content like it, consider supporting The Nuzzo Letter with a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you!

All NIH Institutes Combined (Version 1)

Between 1995 and 2025, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIH-funded research each year, except in 2017, when female enrollments accounted for 47.2% of enrollments.
In most years, there were roughly 2-3 million more female than male enrollments in NIH-funded research, with an average of 2.5 million more female than male enrollments each year over the approximate 30-year period.
Between 1995 and 2025, the average annual distribution of NIH-funded research enrollments was 58% female, 40% male, and 2% unknown sex (see also Version 2 below).

All NIH Institutes Combined (Version 2)

Like the graph above, the graph below shows the proportion of enrollments whose sex was female, but it also shows the proportions of enrollments whose sex was male or unknown. It also shows the average of the proportional representations for females (58%), males (48%), and unknown sex (2%) across all years (see the bar on the far right of the graph).
For 2023, the source provided only the proportion of enrollments who were female, and I was unable to find relevant data for 2024.

Representation of Female Participants by NIH Institute (2016 & 2024)

Of the 21 NIH Institutes reporting research inclusion data in 2016, 15 reported over 50% female representation in enrollments and six reported over 60% female representation in enrollments.
Of the 21 NIH Institutes reporting research inclusion data in 2024, 18 reported over 50% female representation in enrollments and four reported over 60% female representation in enrollments.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NCI-funded research each year, except in 2017, when female enrollments accounted for 44.5% of enrollments.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NCI-funded research enrollments was 59.3% female, 38.5% male, and 2.2% unknown sex.

National Eye Institute (NEI)

Between 2016 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NEI-funded research every year.
Between 2016 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NEI-funded research enrollments was 54.7% female, 44.1% male, and 1.1% unknown sex.

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Between 2016 and 2021, female and male enrollments in NHGRI-funded research were roughly equal, whereas, between 2022 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments.
Between 2016 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NHGRI-funded research enrollments was 51.0% female, 44.4% male, and 37.8% unknown sex.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NHLBI-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NHLBI-funded research enrollments was 55.2% female, 42.6% male, and 2.2% unknown sex.

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments in NIA-funded research exceeded male enrollments in most years, but male enrollments exceeded female enrollments in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIA-funded research enrollments was 52.3% female, 46.8% male, and 0.8% unknown sex.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Between 2013 and 2024, male enrollments in NIAAA-funded research exceeded female enrollments prior to 2021 but not in 2021 or after.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIAAA-funded research enrollments was 38.1% female, 53.6% male, and 8.3% unknown sex.
In 2016 and 2017, the proportion of enrollments in NIAAA-funded research whose sex was unknown was unusually high. This was because the NIAAA funded two large survey studies in 2016 and 2017 that did not record participant sex.
In 2018, male enrollments were substantially higher than female enrollments because the NIAAA funded a large observational study of military veterans (160,415 males and 4,241 females).

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Between 2013 and 2024, female and male enrollments in NIAID-funded research were roughly equal.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIAID-funded research enrollments was 49.9% female, 46.5% male, and 3.6% unknown sex.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIAMS-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIAMS-funded research enrollments was 60.5% female, 37.8% male, and 1.7% unknown sex.

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Participant sex was unknown for a large amount NIBIB-funded research conducted between 2017 and 2021.
With that limitation in mind, between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIBIB-funded research enrollments was 41.5% female, 32.7% male, and 25.8% unknown sex.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments in NICHD-funded research trials exceeded male enrollments every year except in 2014. In 2014, many enrollments were classified as “unknown” sex. This occurred because the NICHD funded a large survey study in India, where “the approved study design precluded accurate identification by gender.”
With that anomaly in mind, between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NICHD-funded research enrollments was 61.9% female, 32.2% male, and 5.9% unknown sex.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Between 2016 and 2024, male enrollments exceeded female enrollments in NIDA-funded each year, except in 2022, when female enrollments accounted for 51.5% of enrollments.
Between 2016 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIDA-funded research enrollments was 46.8% female, 51.5% male, and 1.8% unknown sex.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments in NIDCD-funded research exceeded male enrollments in some years, whereas the opposite was true in other years.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIDCD-funded research enrollments was 49.8% female, 46.8% male, and 3.4% unknown sex.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIDCR-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIDCR-funded research enrollments was 55.0% female, 42.4% male, and 2.6% unknown sex.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIDDK-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIDDK-funded research enrollments was 51.3% female, 43.9% male, and 4.8% unknown sex.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIEHS-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIEHS-funded research enrollments was 67.8% female, 31.0% male, and 1.2% unknown sex.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIGMS-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIGMS-funded research enrollments was 57.9% female, 39.3% male, and 2.8% unknown sex.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments in NIMH-funded research exceeded male enrollments in some years, whereas male enrollments exceeded female enrollments in other years.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIMH-funded research enrollments was 51.5% female, 41.1% male, and 7.4% unknown sex.

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Between 2016 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NIMHD-funded research in all but one year.
The high proportion of participants in 2024 whose sex was “unknown” was said by NIMHD to be due to “internet-based studies or studies using electronic health records.”
Between 2016 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NIMHD-funded research enrollments was 53.8% female, 42.5% male, and 3.6% unknown sex.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Between 2013 and 2024, female and male enrollments in NINDS-funded research were roughly similar. Female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in some years, whereas male enrollments exceeded female enrollments in other years.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NINDS-funded research enrollments was 51.3% female, 46.0% male, and 2.7% unknown sex.

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Between 2013 and 2024, female enrollments exceeded male enrollments in NINR-funded research every year.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NINR-funded research enrollments was 64.0% female, 34.3% male, and 1.7% unknown sex.

National Library of Medicine (NLM)

Male enrollments exceeded female enrollments in NLM-funded research between 2013 and 2018, whereas female enrollments exceeded male enrollments between 2019 and 2024.
The larger proportion of participants whose sex was recorded as “unknown” in 2024 appears to have been the result of a large trial in which such data were not reported.
Between 2013 and 2024, the average annual distribution of NLM-funded research enrollments was 48.7% female, 43.7% male, and 7.6% unknown sex.

Sources

Data from 2013 to 2024 for individual NIH Institutes were obtained from the NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Report Tools (RePORT) under the topic “Inclusion.”

Data from 1995 to 2002 for the NIH were obtained from: National Institutes of Health. (2008). Monitoring Adherence to the NIH Policy on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as subjects in Clinical Research: Comprehensive Report: Tracking of Human Subjects Research as Reported in Fiscal Year 2006 and Fiscal Year 2007.

Data from 2003 to 2011 for the NIH were obtained from: Office of Research on Women’s Health. (2013). Report of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health, Fiscal Years 2011–2012: Office of Research on Women’s Health and NIH Support for Research on Women’s Health. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health.

Data from 2012 to 2022 for the NIH were obtained from: Office of Research on Women’s Health. (2023). Report of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health, Fiscal Years 2021–2022: Office of Research on Women’s Health and NIH Support for Research on Women’s Health. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health.

Data from 2023 for the NIH were obtained from: 60th Meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (ACRWH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) Bethesda, MD. April 9, 2024. Also, the percent of female participants in 2023 was confirmed in a press release published by the NIH Office of Extramural Research on May 21, 2024, titled “Reminders, Updates, and Some Data for Participant Inclusion.”

Data from 2025 for the NIH were obtained from: National Institutes of Health. (2026, May 27). FY25 Enrollment Data from NIH-supported Clinical Research Now Available. NIH Grants & Funding - NIH Extramural Nexus (News).

Bonus Commentary

Over the years, many academics, writers, commentators, and lobbyists have claimed that females are “underrepresented” in medical science and that women’s health has been ignored by medical researchers. For example, one recent editorial, which was written by the Chief Science Officer of the Society for Women’s Health Research and published in the academic journal Biology of Sex Differences, claimed that women have “been systematically excluded from participating in clinical trials.”

As the NIH’s data show, such claims are untrue. The NIH’s data show that women were over 50% of enrollments in NIH-funded research each year between 1995 and 2025, except in 2017. Over those three decades, females accounted for 58% of enrollments in NIH-funded research.

Even as early as 1994, staffers at the NIIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health were admitting that “[l]ittle, if any, evidence is available that demonstrates that women have been systematically excluded from biomedical research.” That same year, the Institute of Medicine reached a similar conclusion. Then, in 2001, Ed Bartlett, now of the International Coalition for Men and Boys, published a paper in the journal Epidemiology titled, “Did Medical Research Routinely Exclude Women? An Examination of the Evidence.” Bartlett searched various medical research databases, tallying the studies in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s that included males and/or females as participants. From the results, Bartlett concluded: “1) Historically, women were routinely included in medical research, and 2) Women have participated in medical research in numbers at least proportionate to the overall female population.” (NB. See my recent video discussion with Bartlett, Tom Golden, Jack Kammer, and Ed Stephens about Bartlett’s 2001 paper and the history behind that claims that women’s health has been “understudied” and “underfunded.”)

The NIH is the world’s leading public funder of biomedical research, and the NIH and ORWH routinely monitor and report demographic information about individuals who participate in NIH-funded trials. In fact, this monitoring and reporting was one of the mains reasons why the ORHW was created in 1990. Thus, it is bizarre that the women’s health lobby, and their associates in academia and the media, refuse to familiarize themselves with these publicly available data, as it was their ilk who originally insisted that these data be collected, monitored, and reported. In my opinion, the NIH’s data should be the starting point in conversations about male and female representations in health and medical research.

In the current data brief, I also presented Institute-specific data on participant sex between 2013 and 2024. The Institutes that consistently enrolled more female than male participants were the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (67.8% female), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) (64.0% female), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 61.9% female), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (59.3% female), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (53.8% female), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (51.3% female). The greater female than male representation in NCI-funded research is peculiar, given that more males than females in the U.S. die by cancer each year. Also, the greater representation of females (49.8%) than males (46.8%) in research funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is peculiar, considering that hearing impairments and communication disorders are generally more common among U.S. males than U.S. females.

Finally, a claim about women’s health that often coincides with the assertion that women are “understudied,” “under-researched,” and “underrepresented” is that women’s health research is “underfunded.” This claim is also untrue. Each year, the NIH invests nearly twice as much money into sex-specific research on women’s health than it does on sex-specific research on men’s health. In fact, the NIH’s greater investment into sex-specific research on women’s than men’s health probably helps to explain why more females than males were enrolled in NIH-funded research over the past 30 years. Notably, this greater investment in women’s than men’s health research has occurred against a backdrop of significantly shorter life expectancy among U.S. males than females.

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Women-Only Exemptions Under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:02:22 GMT

Like other states in Australia, New South Wales (NSW) maintains an Anti-Discrimination Act (or Equal Opportunity Act). The core purpose of such legislation is to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against based on identity characteristics like sex or race. However, such Acts often include exemptions that contradict the base legislation. In the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act, exemptions are covered under Section 126A Exemption for Special Needs Programs and Activities (excerpt below):

“The Minister may certify a program or activity to be a special needs program or activity if satisfied that its purpose or primary purpose is the promotion of access, for members of a group of persons affected by any form of unlawful discrimination to which this Act applies in an area of discrimination to which this Act applies, to facilities, services or opportunities to meet their special needs or the promotion of equal or improved access for them to facilities, services and opportunities.”

The NSW government’s anti-discrimination website actively promotes the use of these exemptions, stating: “Seeking an exemption or certification under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), particularly in employment, should be part of a broader strategy to achieve inclusion and diversity.”

To receive an exemption, an organisation must apply via the government’s online portal. In applications, organisations must explain what they want the exemption for, what sections of the Act they want exemption from, how long they want the exemption for, etc. Exemptions are granted for up to 10 years and can also be renewed.

Typically, organisations apply for exemptions so that they can discriminate by race or sex in hiring. Sections of the Act that organisations typically seek exemption from are:

· Section 8 (race discrimination in employment)
· Section 10 (race discrimination against contract workers)
· Section 19 (race discrimination in the provision of goods and services)
· Section 25 (sex discrimination in employment)
· Section 27 (sex discrimination against contract workers)
· Section 33 (sex discrimination in the provision of goods and services)
· Section 51 (advertising in breach of the Act)

After the NSW government approves an organisation’s application, the name of the organisation, and the exemption that they have been granted, are published online. In the current data brief, I analysed this publicly available information to determine which organisations are currently approved by the NSW government to engage in women-only hiring (or related practices).

On July 18, 2026, I searched the website’s text for the words “women” and “female.” I then extracted the relevant text and compiled it here. I placed each organization into one of five categories: Sports, Universities and Research, Government or Public Service, Private Sector, or Non-For-Profit Sector.

Many organisations that seek exemptions to provide special opportunities for women also do the same for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons. For brevity, I present only the text related to women, with an ellipsis used to represent deleted text. Readers are encouraged to visit the source website and explore the many organizations that have received exemptions for various reasons.

One organization, The Man Centre Pty Ltd, is currently granted an exemption by the NSW government to “designate and recruit positions for men only as employers or contractors.” Also, the Department of Education received exemptions for targeting female or male students, depending on the situation. The Man Centre Pty Ltd and Department of Education are the only organisations currently listed on the government’s website that have been approved for exemptions that target males. By comparison, 77 organisations have been approved for exemptions that target females (98% of all sex-based exemptions).

Cricket Australia

“To advertise, designate, and recruit up to 4 positions in its Match Referee Talent Pathway program for women only.”

Football Australia Limited

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 30 paid internship positions for women aged 18 to 28 only in the areas of Media, Photography, and Communications & Public Relations, including 2 positions for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women only.”

Foxtel Group

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 6 positions per year for women only in its sports media and technology graduate program.”

Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology

“To designate, advertise and recruit for the position of Deputy Director for women only.”

Hunter Medical Research Institute

“To provide a medical research fellowship program for women only.”

Macquarie University

“To offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships and fellowships to women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.”

Macquarie University (Macquarie Business School)

“To offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships, prizes, mentorships, internship and traineeship opportunities for individuals who identify as women in the fields of: accounting, actuarial studies, economics, business management and marketing, and finance.”

University of Newcastle

“To: 1. designate, advertise and recruit positions for…women only at the Senior Academic level in pursuit of a 40% participation rate; women only at all levels in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields where significant underrepresentation of women exists, and 2. offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships and fellowships for women only in: STEM fields, and academic roles, to encourage more women, including those with carer responsibilities, to join, remain and progress in academia.”

University of New England

“…To run women’s leadership, career development and mentoring programs and initiatives for women only, including its Academic Promotion Mentoring Program for Women; designate, advertise and recruit professional staff positions at level HEO9 and HE010, senior academic staff positions at levels C, D and E, and senior executive positions for women only in pursuit of a 50% workplace participation rate of women in those positions.”

University of New South Wales

“…To offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships (PhD/HDR, Coursework) and fellowships for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), economics, finance and business (EFAB), the built environment, as well as other programs where the percentage of commencing women enrolments is below 40%...To advertise, designate and recruit senior academic positions for women only in faculties where the percentage of women in senior academic positions is below 40%.”

University of Sydney

“To offer, advertise and facilitate Programs for women only across disciplines where there is a gender imbalance for a period of 10 years. To conduct targeted recruitment programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons and for women. To offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships for women only in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and finance…”

University of Technology Sydney

“To offer, advertise and facilitate scholarships for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. To apply a positive adjustment factor of 10 points to the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) to female applicants only for admission to all current and future standalone or combined engineering, information technology (IT) and construction project management courses where the overall percentage of commencing female enrolments in those courses is below 40%. To advertise, designate and recruit targeted roles for Aboriginal and Torres Islander persons only as part of the strategic target of reaching 3% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff by 2023 and targeted senior roles for women only with an emphasis on STEMM disciplines, as part of a target of 40% women academic staff.”

University of Wollongong

“…To advertise, designate and recruit positions and promote programs and activities for women only in pursuit of its Gender Equity Action Plan targets of: 50% women in the senior executive workforce, 40% women in the professoriate, 50% women in academia, and [i]ncreasing representation of women in academic and professional roles in areas where women are significantly under-represented. This includes: designating up to 50% of scholarships for women, and offering career development activities and programs for women only.”

Armidale Regional Council

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 5 positions for women, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander women only.”

Blacktown City Council

“To advertise, designate and recruit 3 apprentice heavy vehicle mechanic positions for women only.”

BreastScreen NSW

“To recruit and employ female radiographers and nurse counsellors.”

Department of Communities and Justice

“An exemption granted to provide targeted programs and recruitment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a specific disability, carers with a specific carer’s responsibility, people from racial, ethnic, ethno-religious minority group backgrounds, and refugees and asylum seekers who are eligible to work in Australia.”

Department of Education

“To offer, advertise and facilitate up to 50% of places for male students only and up to 50% of places for female students only in each co-educational selective high school and each opportunity class as a part of implementing a gender parity model in pursuit of gender equity measures.”

Department of Regional NSW

“To…advertise, designate and recruit for pipeline roles and up to 45 % leadership roles for women only.”

Essential Energy

“To designate, advertise and recruit approximately 30% of all Early Talent Pathway positions for female applicants only in pursuance of a 30% women workforce participation rate.”

Hunter Water Corporation

“To advertise, designate and recruit roles for women only in pursuance of a 50% workforce participation rate.”

Lake Macquarie City Council

“To advertise, designate and recruit…up to 6 entry level, apprenticeship and traineeship positions for women only.”

NBN Co Limited

“An exemption is given to…designate, advertise and recruit women only for the role of Customer Field Technician Trainee in pursuance of its target to reach 70% women recruits in CFT Trainee roles and 40% women in leadership positions, and in support of its intention to increase the representation of women in Field-based roles to closer to 50%.”

NSW Police Force

“To: designate, advertise and recruit positions for women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people only, in senior leadership positions; run leadership, career development and mentoring programs and initiatives for women, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people only.”

Port Authority of New South Wales

“To advertise, designate and recruit positions for women only, including 4 Port Officer Traineeship positions per year for women only, in pursuance of a 50% workforce participation rate.”

Port Macquarie-Hasting Council

“To designate, advertise and recruit…up to 10 positions for women only including for STEM operational trade roles.”

Sydney Water Corporation

“To advertise, designate and recruit for up to 10 positions per year for women only.”

Transport for NSW

To implement diversity and inclusion programs for designated target groups including: 1. Women; 2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; 3. People with a specific disability; 4. People under the age of 25; 5. Refugees and migrants on a relevant visa.”

Water NSW

“To advertise, designate and recruit positions for: women only in pursuit of a 50% workforce participation rate, including for STEM and operational roles…”

Wollongong City Council

“To advertise, designate and recruit for…one traineeship (horticulture) for a female student, aligned to the summer work pilot program.

ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership)

“To advertise, designate and recruit for women only for executive manager level, managing director level, group director level and director level roles in pursuance of a 40% workforce participation rate for managerial and senior leadership roles and to implement leadership development, mentoring and networking programs for women only.”

Apprenticeship Careers Australia

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to: 15 positions per year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women only; 25 positions per year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons only; 100 positions per year for women only.”

Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 10 positions per year in its Field Services division for women only.”

A T Kearney Australia Limited

“To provide two management consulting scholarship per year for women only.”

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) and its wholly owned subsidiaries

“To run women’s leadership programs and initiatives for women only. To designate, recruit and promote women only for roles in its Institutional Division. To provide additional superannuation contributions to its female employees in NSW.”

Australian Partnership of Ernst & Young

“To: 1. Advertise, promote, and facilitate programs, activities and events to support the attraction, development, engagement, and career growth of women at EY in pursuit of its targets of: 50% of Graduates hired to be women; 40% of Partners to be women; 50% of Senior Manager 4 level new hires and progressions (combined) to be women…”

Bain International t/a Bain & Company

“To provide up to two management consulting scholarships per year for women only.”

BlueScope Steel Limited

“To advertise, designate and recruit positions, including scholarships, apprentices, traineeships, cadetships, paid work placements, professional roles, operation roles and qualified trade roles for…women only in pursuit of a workforce participation rate of 40%.”

Capgemini Australia Pty Limited

“To: advertise, designate and recruit positions for women only in pursuit of a 40% workforce participation rate, including up to 40% of roles at management level; offer positions only to women, and women over 40 years of age, in its Restart Program…”

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 50 positions each year in its Driver Academy in NSW for women only.”

Cooperative Rabobank U.A. and Rabobank Australia Ltd

“To run leadership, career development and mentoring programs and initiatives for women only, for its IGNITE program.”

CyberCX Pty Ltd

“To: conduct targeted advertising of women only to support their entry into the All-Women Academy Program in support of advancement and promotion of women in cyber security; offer graduate positions of Associate Consultants in Strategy and Consulting, Governance Risk and Compliance and Managed Security Services for women only in pursuance of a 50% workforce participation rate.”

Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit 6 traineeships roles for women only, per year, for its Women on Track Program.”

EY Port Jackson Partners

“For the purposes of its EY PJP Women’s Scholarship & Program.”

Finder Crew Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 15 technology graduate positions per year for women only.”

Grant Samuel Services Pty Limited

“To advertise, recruit and provide up to two corporate finance internships per year for women only.”

HVTC Pty Ltd

“To designate and recruit: 70 non-traditional trade traineeship and apprenticeship positions for women only…”

John Holland

“To run women’s leadership, career development and mentoring programs and initiatives for women only. To advertise, designate, recruit and employ women only to meet 40% target for all roles and 25% target for non-traditional roles. To advertise, designate and provide scholarships for women only.”

Maple-Brown Abbott Ltd

“To advertise and offer internship program for women only.”

McKinsey & Company

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to: 20 management consultant internships or scholarships for women only…For the purpose of providing additional financial support for women for 2 years after they return to work from parental leave.”

Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit for up to 10 women only for technical and engineering roles and apprentice and graduate trade-based engineering roles.”

NSW Energy Coal (the BHP Group)

“To advertise, recruit and prioritise roles for women only and to offer programs, activities and events to attract, develop, engage and support career growth for women in pursuit of its targets of 30.8% female representation overall and 34.9% female leadership representation within its operations at the Mt. Arthur coal mine.”

Oliver Wyman Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and offer up to 3 scholarships per year for women only.”

Protech Personnel Pty Ltd and Dreampath Recruitment Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 100 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons only and 50 positions for women only in each business.”

Pulse Climbing

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 2 route settler positions per year for women only.”

Quickway Constructions Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit positions for: Women only in pursuit of a 7% workforce participation rate for non-traditional roles…”

Rabobank

“To advertise and offer up to five positions in its cadetship program for female university students in their first or second year of full-time university study.”

Seek Ltd

“To advertise and offer one scholarship per year in the Strategy team for women only.”

Suncorp Group Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit for up to five information technology internships per year for women only.”

Talent Gap Pty Ltd

“To provide reruitment [sic] and career development services to female candidates only. This exemption will be in force for 10 years.”

Team Global Express Pty Ltd

“To designate, advertise, and recruit up to: 60 trainee positions per year for females only, in pursuit of achieving a 30% female workforce participation rate…”

Tomago Aluminium Company Pty Ltd

“To: designate, advertise and recruit women only for production, operator, technical, trade and leadership roles in pursuance of a 50% workforce participation rate; designate, advertise and provide training, development, mentoring and career support initiatives for women only”

Turnaround Management Association Australia Ltd

“To advertise, offer and facilitate the following for women only, who are members of Turnaround Management Association Australia Limited (TMA): Educational, career, leadership and networking programs and initiatives; 2 training programs per year; 2 scholarships to attend the TMA Australian National Conference (national scholarships) per year; 1 scholarship to attend a TMA Global Conference in the United States (international scholarship) per year.”

UGL Pty Ltd, UGL Regional Linx Pty Ltd, UGL Rail Services Pty Ltd, UGL Operations & Maintenance Pty Ltd

“To run women’s leadership, career development and mentoring programs and initiatives for women only. To designate, advertise and recruit…for women only, including traineeship, graduate, scholarship and apprenticeship positions, in pursuit of a 30% women workforce participation rate.”

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd

“To advertise, designate and recruit up to 20 driver positions in NSW for women only.”

Westpac Banking Corporation

“To designate, advertise, and/or provide training, development, and support programs exclusively for employees who identify as women and/or culturally diverse.”

Address Housing Limited

“To recruit women only into any role that deals directly and regularly with the organisation’s tenants.”

The Australia Institute Ltd

“To advertise and recruit up to 4 women aged 18-27 per year for a graduate style fellowship program.”

Habitat for Humanity

“To advertise, designate and recruit women only for its Social Enterprise and to use women only tradespersons to provide services to accommodation service providers for women.”

Manning Support Services Inc.

“To designate, advertise and recruit up to 50% of Men’s Behaviour Change Program Facilitator positions for women only.”

Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre

“To designate and recruit two positions for women only as solicitors specialising in family law and/or care and protection.”

People With Disability Australia

“To advertise, designate and recruit: 30 women for a leadership program which includes 15 women mentors and 15 women mentees…”

Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia Incorporated

“To designate and recruit for women only any position that deals directly and regularly with the organisation’s clients, including not limited to: Executive Officer; Director of Counselling Services; Clinical Supervisors; Trauma Specialist Counsellors.”

Women’s Alcohol and Drug Advisory Centre Incorporated T/A Jarrah House

“To advertise, designate, and recruit up to 6 positions for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women only.”

Women’s Housing Company

“To designate and recruit up to twenty five female staff member positions and appoint up to nine female directors.”

Women in Prison Advocacy Network Inc

“To designate and recruit a female Chief Executive Officer, other female employees as required to deliver WIPAN’s social support services and programs, and female volunteers to provide advocacy and mentoring services to women only.”

World Wide Fund For Nature Australia

“To designate, advertise and recruit: up to four positions per year for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people only, and one position per year for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women only.”

Bonus Commentary

Exemptions to anti-discrimination law are oxymoronic. They conflict with the spirit and purpose of creating the anti-discrimination laws in the first place.

In the current data brief, I summarised the extent to which these exemptions are currently used in NSW to discriminate against men, particularly in occupational recruitment and hiring. The results show that his discrimination exists in the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, in government and public service, and in education.

Most exemptions that the NSW government approves are not for scenarios in which there is legitimate unequal opportunity. Instead, organisations use the exemptions purposely for increasing female representation in areas where males either have a greater interest in the area or where males have a greater capacity for performing the type of work. The extent to which this widespread discrimination against men has impacted their well-being has not been adequately discussed, and this discrimination has almost certainly played a role in increasing the female:male ratios in the NSW public sector, at universities, and elsewhere (i.e., “The Great Feminization.”)

One danger of sex-based hiring is that the threshold for what constitutes its justification is likely to lower over time, resulting in increased numbers of organisations partaking in such practices under flawed reasoning. In theory, organisations can, and sometimes do, apply for male-only hiring exemptions. However, given the arguments that the NSW government currently accepts when approving female-only hiring, widespread male-only hiring is unlikely to occur anytime soon—because, if the NSW government approved more male-only hiring, then that would presumably contradict many of the current approvals for female-only hiring.

If all the above is not problematic enough, I will end by drawing readers’ attention to the exemption granted to Manning Support Services Inc. The NSW government approved the organisation to “designate, advertise and recruit up to 50% of Men’s Behaviour Change Program Facilitator positions for women only.” In other words, the organisation wants to purposely hire women to tell men how to behave. Can you imagine the public outcry if the sexes were reversed and an organisation purposely hired men to tell women how to behave?

The double standards in sex and gender politics are truly something to behold.

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Weekly Roundup

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 23:00:32 GMT

LEADING ARTICLE

FY25 Enrollment Data from NIH-Supported Clinical Research Now Available

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Excerpt: “As part of NIH’s continued efforts to increase the transparency of the NIH research portfolio, data on the sex, race, ethnicity, and age of participants in fiscal year (FY) 2025 NIH-supported clinical research are now available…Women continue to be strongly represented in NIH-supported clinical research. In FY25, 57.8% of participants were female, 35.3% were male, and 7.0% were unknown or not reported…”

(My brief comment on this press release is available on X here.)

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

George Floyd in medical journals: Analysis documents rise of ‘woke terminology’ in research

The College Fix

Australia Witnesses Impressive Gender Equality Advances for Men

Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance (DAVIA)

The Women’s Health Narrative Meets the Data

Men Are Good

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Is it inevitable that men die younger than women? Looking at evidence and policy solutions

American Institute for Boys and Men

$20 Billion: Latest Scare-Tactic of the Women’s Health Lobby

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)

A growing share of U.S. husbands and wives are roughly the same age

Pew Research Center

A life dedicated to understanding sex differences in cognition: Interview with Prof David Geary

Centre for Male Psychology

New numbers reveal the child sex-change mania is worse than we knew

New York Post

Biological Sex Is Binary and Rooted in Anisogamy

Ecology Letters

Abstract: The definition of biological sex has become a renewed focus of societal debate, fuelled by the conflation of biological principles with discussions of human gender diversity. Here, we argue that conceptual clarity critically depends on separating these domains. Drawing on evolutionary theory and empirical evidence, we maintain that biological sex is best defined as a binary classification of male and female reproductive strategies rooted in anisogamy, characterised by the production of two discrete gamete types of different sizes. We stress that gamete size constitutes the ultimate criterion for biological sex and that this definition applies consistently across sexual systems, from separate-sexed species to hermaphrodites, irrespective of variation in karyotype, hormonal profile, somatic phenotype, or behaviour. Further, we emphasise that evolutionary insights offer a coherent explanation for recurring, though not universal, associations between biological sex and patterns of sex-specific selection, sexual dimorphism and parental care. We conclude that the definition of biological sex as a binary classification based on gamete size is a powerful scientific framework compatible with the diversity of sexual phenotypes found in anisogamous organisms and distinct from the concept of human gender.

Romantic Love and Sexual Frequency

Current Sexual Health Reports

Abstract: The purpose of this review is to summarize the evidence about the association between romantic love and sexual frequency. We outline what has historically been thought about romantic love and sexual frequency as well as the latest theoretical and empirical contributions to this area of research. There have been three published articles that consider sexual frequency in a sample of participants experiencing romantic love. All are drawn from the same international sample: the Romantic Love Survey 2022. A number of publicly available studies not yet published also exist using this sample. It appears that young adults in love report having sex 3.5 times per week on average, but there was substantial variation in sexual frequency in this sample. This is meaningfully higher than sexual frequency found in the married American population.

Health Sciences

Meeting the WHO guideline on muscle-strengthening activities does not have to be time-consuming: a discussion of time-saving strategies

Frontiers in Public Health

Abstract: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends performing muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity, involving all major muscle groups, and on at least 2 days per week. However, estimates suggest only about 10–30% of the general population meet the guideline on muscle-strengthening activities, limiting overall (aerobic and muscle-strengthening) physical activity guideline adherence. Lack of time is a commonly cited barrier to being physically active and to performing muscle-strengthening activities specifically. To address this barrier, this Perspective describes evidence-based strategies, including exercise snacks, minimal-dose approaches, and time-saving programming (e.g., using supersets), that improve the time-efficiency of resistance training and may improve adherence to guidelines on muscle-strengthening activities. Upon introducing these strategies and the corresponding evidence, we describe how they could be applied in practice in various exemplary real-world scenarios differing in both time and equipment availability.

Education

America’s medical schools tiptoe away from DEI — for now

New York Post

Bella D'Abrera - Mindless: How the Education System is Destroying Our Civilisation

Nat Con Australia

Episode description: My guest today is Dr Bella D’Abrera a well-known Australian academic who was for many years Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs. Amongst other things she is on the Advisory Committee for the Australian National Archives and a regular contributor to The Spectator Australia, the Herald Sun, the Daily Telegraph and The Australian, and appears regularly on Sky News. Today we discuss: How she describes the ideology which is being taught to our children and whether it is correct to describe it as Marxist; How exactly did this ideology come to seize the commanding heights of our education system; How to push back against the argument that modern education is simply being kind and tolerant? What solutions are there for parents looking to protect their kids?

RUBBISH BIN

Stronger standards for university governance and tackling racism

Australia’s Minister for Education

(My brief comment on this press release is available on X here.)

Male supremacism in college contexts: A critical needs assessment listening to women and nonbinary students across the United States

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

Abstract: Male supremacism and related fascist influences threaten women and nonbinary college students’ well-being and safety. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 women and nonbinary college students ages 18–23 who acted as key informants on male supremacism within their college contexts. All participants attended different colleges, with four participants each from the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. More than 50% of participants held marginalized racial/ethnic identities, and more than 50% held marginalized sexual orientation identities. We used antifascist praxis and ecological systems theory to consider how students experienced male supremacist influences in college contexts and what aspects of their college contexts were relevant to preventing and responding to male supremacist threats. We identified three needs. College leaders need to (a) respond to male supremacist influences within men’s athletic teams, fraternities, student engagement in U.S. politics, and sexual violence prevention events or discussions; (b) resist how male supremacist influences may be perpetuated through regional contexts (e.g., the U.S. South) and institutional histories (e.g., religious or military origins) and find antioppressive commitments through which to oppose male supremacism; and (c) actively oppose male supremacist influences on campuses through supporting students who resist male supremacism and engaging communities in response to fascist threats. Based on these findings, we call for college leaders to identify male supremacist influences within specific aspects of their college contexts, reshape college cultural identities to resist male supremacism, and oppose male supremacist threats to women and nonbinary students.

(My brief comment on this article is available on X here.)

Far-right fossil fuel ignorance: the nostalgia of national-industrial modernity

Environmental Politics

Abstract: Far-right climate change obstruction has been widely noticed in the scholarly literature, and both material and ideational factors have been recognised as playing a part in climate policy backlash. By revisiting and adjusting Ulrich Beck’s description of first modernity, and theories of anti-reflexivity used in early work on climate change obstruction, I argue that far-right climate obstruction can be understood as an attempt to create widespread fossil fuel ignorance through a restorative nostalgic vision of a patriarchal, homogenous, and industrially successful national society. A society upheld by firm dualities and where unlimited industrial progress is taken for granted, but which demand ignorance of climate change and the global inequality and oppressional structures sustaining it. Hence, far-right refusal of reflexivity is not just pitted against environmentalism, but against feminist and antiracist movements as well.

Reviewing educational conceptualisations of transnational settler ignorance

Educational Review

Abstract: This paper investigates how majority societies’ common ignorance about Indigenous peoples and ongoing settler-colonial reality (“settler ignorance”) has been negotiated in the educational sciences literature. Understanding settler ignorance not as a simple “lack of knowledge” but a powerful issue undermining Indigenous rights and decolonial aspirations, this review sets out to gain new understanding of its dimensions in educational settings. The reviewed literature covers 51 peer-reviewed qualitative records from six settler-colonial contexts – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand. The emerging conceptualisations of the phenomenon of settler ignorance and ways of addressing it were explored through thematic synthesis. The findings suggest that settler ignorance has many faces: it is conceptualised as emotionally and ideologically contested knowledge-making, as wilful avoidance and resistance, and as a structural mechanism that transcends the question of individual cognition. Similarly, the proposed approaches to dismantling ignorance are diverse, emphasising the potential of educational content, building relationality, and critical reflection. Discussing the findings’ implications, the article suggests how harnessing both context-based and transnational understandings about settler ignorance and its many dimensions could benefit reconciliatory processes between settler and Indigenous populations and signpost one approach to decolonising education.

We have never not been fascist: Infrastructures of state violence as technofascist laboratories

Dialogues on Digital Society

Abstract: This commentary critiques narratives of Silicon Valley exceptionalism in current efforts to diagnose technofascism. The rapid global spread of fascism has not been initiated by the current American Right, nor does the technological character of this iteration of fascism present a rupture: fascist conditions have continuously existed for peoples colonized, enslaved, indentured, exterminated, or otherwise oppressed by Western imperialism since the beginning of modernity/colonialism. Likewise, surveillance and calculative technologies-from paper to digital-have always been central in inflicting violence on these peoples because they solve issues of scale in necropolitical population control: from biometrics to track fugitive slaves, over census technologies to control and eradicate colonized peoples, to surveillance infrastructures of apartheid, to now algorithmic war machines. Now more than ever, it is urgent that we recognize that the structural conditions of this iteration of fascism have been created by modernity/coloniality and racial capitalism, and that the potential of technofascism lies in the bureaucratic-legal and calculative nature of the modern state.

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Sex of Homicide Victims and Offenders in Australia, 1989-90 to 2024-25

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 23:00:46 GMT

The current data brief presents the sex of victims and offenders of homicide in Australia between the 1989-90 and 2024-25 financial years.

Since 1989-90, the number of homicides in Australia has trended downward, with 330 total homicide victims in 1989-90 and 277 total homicide victims in 2024-25.
Since 1989-90, both the number of male and female homicide victims has trended downward.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 6,780 males and 3,681 females died by homicide in Australia (64.8% males), with more males than females dying by homicide each year over that 36-year period.
The number of male homicide victims ranged from a low of 138 in 2017-18 to a high of 240 in 2001-02. The average number of male homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 188.
The number of female homicide victims ranged from a low of 59 in 2021-22 to a high of 148 in 1990-91. The average number of female homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 102.
In 2024-24, 70.4% of homicide victims in Australia were males.

Homicide Offenders

Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 9,711 males and 1,511 females were offenders of homicide in Australia.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, males were 86.5% of homicide offenders in Australia (low of 82.9% in 2016-17; high of 90.8% in 1990-91).
In 2024-25, 85.6% of homicide offenders in Australia were males.

Intimate Partner Homicide Victims

Since 1989-90, the number of intimate partner homicides in Australia has trended downward, with 82 total intimate partner homicide victims in 1989-90 and 46 intimate partner homicide victims in 2024-25.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 549 males and 1,750 females were victims of intimate partner homicide in Australia (23.9% males; 76.1% females), with more females than males dying by intimate partner homicide each year over that 36-year period.
The number of intimate partner male homicide victims ranged from a low of four in 2022-23 to a high of 25 in 1993-94. The average number of male intimate partner homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 15.
The number of intimate partner female homicide victims ranged from a low of 26 in 2021-22 to a high of 75 in 2001-02. The average number of female intimate partner homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 49.
In 2024-24, 69.6% of intimate partner homicide victims in Australia were females.

Intimate Partner Homicides as a Proportion of All Homicides

Historically, approximately one of every five homicides in Australia has been an intimate partner homicide.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 2,299 of the 10,461 homicide victims in Australia were killed by an intimate partner (21.9%).
The proportion all homicides that were intimate partner homicides ranged from a low of 15.3% in 2021-22 to a high of 30.4% in 2007-08.
The proportion all homicides in Australia that are intimate partner homicides has decreased in recent years.

Source

Bricknell S & Miles H 2026. Homicide in Australia 2024–25. Statistical Report no. 58. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Bonus Commentary

Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology reveal that numbers of homicides in Australia have been trending downward for many years. This downward trend is due to fewer males killing other males and fewer males killing female intimate partners. The data also confirm that make up most of the victims (~65%) and offenders (~85%) of homicide in Australia.

The Australian government invests billions of dollars into “gender-based violence.” It also allocates an amount of attention to the topic of female intimate partner homicide victimization that is disproportionate to the data. For example, the Australian Institute of Criminology’s homicide data homepage is a dashboard dedicated solely to female victims of intimate partner homicide (see screenshot below). However, for two reasons, this single-sex presentation of homicide victimization data is inappropriate. Firstly, most homicides in Australia are not between intimate partners. Intimate partner homicides account for 20-25% of all homicides in Australia. Secondly, females are not the only victims of intimate partner homicide. Males make up one of every five victims of intimate partner homicide in Australia. Thus, by presenting data only on female victims of intimate partner homicide on its homicide homepage, the Australian Institute of Criminology is distorting the reality of homicide victimisation in Australia.

The Nuzzo Letter

UN Women Did Its Misandry Thing Again!

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Tattoo Prevalence in Men and Women

Key Points

Sources

Bonus Commentary

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Weekly Roundup

LEADING ARTICLE

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Epidemiology

Education

ARCHIVES

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Race

Education

Other

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Gynocentrism and Animal Rights Collide

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Weekly Roundup

LEADING ARTICLE

WEEKLY VOICE

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Education

Exercise Science

ARCHIVES

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Race

Education

Other

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Paid Subscriptions Are on the Way

Reviews

The Future of The Nuzzo Letter

What Will Paid Subscriptions Look Like?

What You Get with a Free Subscription

What You Get with a Paid Subscription

Nuzzo Letter Patrons

Pledges

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Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1950-2024

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Sources

Bonus Commentary

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LEADING ARTICLE

WEEKLY VOICE

THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

Sex/Gender

Health Science

Education

Other

RUBBISH BIN

Gender Studies

Race

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Female Preference in Admissions – North Carolina Universities, 2001-2024

Appalachian State University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Applicants and Admittees

East Carolina University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio

Applicants and Admittees

Elizabeth City State University

Female:Male Admissions Ratio