J. Michael Bailey#Charges of Research Misconduct

Bailey was born in Lubbock, Texas.{{cite web|url= http://www.city-data.com/city/Lubbock-Texas.html|title= Lubbock, Texas|publisher=City-Data.com|access-date= May 31, 2014}} He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1979 and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989, where he studied under behavioral genetics researcher Lee Willerman.{{cite web|url=http://www.psych.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/bailey/personal.html |title=Professional profile |publisher=Northwestern University |date=February 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104062400/http://www.psych.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/bailey/personal.html |archive-date=January 4, 2009 }}

Bailey became a professor at Northwestern University in 1989. In the 1990s, Bailey published several papers that suggested a heritable component for sexual orientation. In 2003 he published The Man Who Would Be Queen.

In October 2004, Bailey stepped down as chairman of the Psychology Department, but continued to serve as a Northwestern professor.{{cite web|author=Davis, Andrew|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=6810|title=Northwestern Sex Researcher Investigated, Results Unknown|publisher=WindyCity Times|date=December 8, 2004|access-date=September 11, 2007|archive-date=March 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306132824/http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=6810|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Bailey invited controversial evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa to Northwestern University as a visiting scholar.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/controversial-professor-credited-for-bringing-controversial-scholar-to-northwestern/ |title=Controversial Professor Credited For Bringing Controversial Scholar To Northwestern |website=CBS News |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=24 October 2022}}{{cite web |first1=Colleen |last1=Flaherty |title=Northwestern students want a controversial scholar off their campus |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/19/northwestern-students-want-controversial-scholar-their-campus |website=Inside Higher Ed |access-date=25 October 2022 |date=19 December 2018}} Many at the university protested, and more than 4,000 signed a petition in opposition to Kanazawa doing research there due to Kanazawa's claims regarding sexuality, race, religion, and feminism.

In December 2003, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported that J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard were associated with far-right blogger Steve Sailer's Human Biodiversity Institute.{{Cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2003/northwestern-university-psychology-professor-j-michael-bailey-looks-queer-science |title=Northwestern University Psychology Professor J. Michael Bailey Looks into Queer Science |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |last1=Beirich |first1=Heidi |last2=Moser |first2=Bob |date=31 December 2003 |access-date=26 October 2022}} In October 2018, the SPLC reported that Bailey and Blanchard had written an article for 4thWaveNow, which the SPLC characterizes as an anti-trans website in support of the controversial concept of "rapid-onset gender dysphoria".{{Cite web |url=https://4thwavenow.com/2017/12/07/gender-dysphoria-is-not-one-thing/ |title=Gender Dysphoria is Not One Thing |website=4thWaveNow |last1=Bailey |first1=J. Michael |last2=Blanchard |first2=Ray |date=7 December 2017 |access-date=5 November 2022}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/10/03/roundup-anti-lgbt-activities-1032018 |title=Roundup of anti-LGBT activities 10/3/2018 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |author=Hatewatch Staff |date=3 October 2018 |access-date=26 October 2022}}

Bailey's dissertation research tested Günter Dörner's hypothesis that prenatal stress may cause homosexuality in male offspring, for which he failed to find evidence.{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=J. Michael |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420 |title=The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-309-08418-5 |format=PDF}}{{rp|104-106}}{{Cite book |last=LeVay |first=Simon |url=https://archive.org/details/gaystraightreaso0000leva_e5c2/mode/1up?view=theater |title=Gay, straight, and the reason why : the science of sexual orientation |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-029737-4 |edition=second |url-access=registration}}{{rp|82}} In later research he also examined the phenomenon known as gaydar with Gerulf Rieger.{{cite journal |vauthors=Rieger G, Linsenmeier JA, Gygax L, Bailey JM |date=2008 |title=Sexual orientation and childhood gender nonconformity: evidence from home videos |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5657573 |journal=Dev Psychol |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=46–58 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.46 |pmid=18194004 |s2cid=41662483}}{{Cite book |last=LeVay |first=Simon |url=http://archive.org/details/gaystraightreaso0000leva_e5c2 |title=Gay, straight, and the reason why : the science of sexual orientation |date=2017 |publisher=New York : Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-029737-4}}

Bailey carried out early twin studies on homosexuality, finding higher rates of concordance for sexual orientation in identical twins than fraternal twins, suggesting genes or shared prenatal environment have influence on sexual orientation.{{rp|88}}

Bailey has argued that male sexual orientation appears unaffected by socialization. Bailey has written about cases of typical boys, including David Reimer, who were surgically reassigned and raised as girls from infancy, yet grew up to be attracted to females.{{rp|44-54}}{{Citation |last=Apostolou |first=Menelaos |title=The Genetic Basis of Same-Sex Attraction |date=2020 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53925-2_2 |work=The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction |pages=33 |editor-last=Apostolou |editor-first=Menelaos |access-date= |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-53925-2_2 |isbn=978-3-030-53925-2 |s2cid=226487974 |url-access=subscription}} In a 2016 review, Bailey reported on seven total cases of boys who were reared as girls, and all were strongly attracted to females.{{rp|72-74}} Bailey et al. describe this as a "near perfect quasi experiment" testing nature versus nurture on male sexual orientation.{{rp|72-74}}

Much of Bailey's research has examined sexual arousal patterns and their relation to sexual orientation in men and women. This research has focused on both genital and self-reported sexual arousal measures. For example, Bailey's lab showed that men's genital sexual arousal patterns closely tracked their sexual orientations, but women's did not.{{cite web |title=Study finds sex differences in relationship between arousal and orientation |url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr03/differences.html |access-date=2010-08-21 |publisher=American Psychological Association}}

In 2005, an arousal study by Bailey's lab found in a sample of bisexual identified males, "Men who reported bisexual feelings did not show any evidence of a distinctively bisexual pattern of genital arousal".{{cite journal |vauthors=Rieger G, Chivers ML, Bailey JM |year=2005 |title=Sexual arousal patterns of bisexual men |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7658643 |format=PDF |journal=Psychological Science |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=579–84 |citeseerx=10.1.1.502.8782 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01578.x |pmid=16102058 |s2cid=14108499}}{{Rp|page=582}} The study was met with critique by the National LGBTQ Task Force and FAIR for its methodology and sampling.{{Cite web |date=July 2005 |title=The Problems with 'Gay, Straight, or Lying?' |url=http://www.thetaskforce.org/files/NYTBisexualityFactSheet.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030175910/http://thetaskforce.org/files/NYTBisexualityFactSheet.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008 |access-date=9 March 2023 |website=National LGBTQ Task Force}}{{Cite web |date=8 July 2005 |title=New York Times Suggests Bisexuals Are 'Lying': Paper fails to disclose study author's controversial history |url=https://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/new-york-times-suggests-bisexuals-are-quotlyingquot/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419004109/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2573 |archive-date=19 April 2006 |access-date=9 March 2023 |website=Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting}} Bailey told The New York Times, "I'm not denying that bisexual behavior exists, but I am saying that in men there's no hint that true bisexual arousal exists, and that for men arousal is orientation".{{cite news |author=Carey, Benedict |date=July 5, 2005 |title=Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisited |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/health/05sex.html}} Bailey was later approached by John Sylla from the American Institute of Bisexuality, who provided funding for a 2011 study,{{Cite news |last=Denizet-Lewis |first=Benoit |date=2014-03-20 |title=The Scientific Quest to Prove Bisexuality Exists |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/the-scientific-quest-to-prove-bisexuality-exists.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |issn=0362-4331}} which filtered participants more stringently, requiring at least two sexual partners of each sex and at least one romantic relationship lasting three months or longer; this study found both genital and subjective arousal.{{cite journal |vauthors=Rosenthal AM, Sylva D, Safron A, Bailey JM |date=July 2011 |title=Sexual arousal patterns of bisexual men revisited |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51496686 |format=PDF |journal=Biol Psychol |volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=112–5 |doi=10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.06.015 |pmid=21763395 |s2cid=41342541}}{{cite news |last=Tuller |first=David |date=2011-08-22 |title=No Surprise for Bisexual Men: Report Indicates They Exist |newspaper=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/health/23bisexual.html? |access-date=2011-08-23}} In 2020, a research team including Bailey combined a much larger data set of around 500 men, and concluded that male sexuality exists along a continuum from heterosexuality, to bisexuality, to homosexuality, after finding genital arousal measurements generally matched self-identification with bisexuality.{{Cite journal |last1=Jabbour |first1=Jeremy |last2=Holmes |first2=Luke |last3=Sylva |first3=David |last4=Hsu |first4=Kevin J. |last5=Semon |first5=Theodore L. |last6=Rosenthal |first6=A. M. |last7=Safron |first7=Adam |last8=Slettevold |first8=Erlend |last9=Watts-Overall |first9=Tuesday M. |last10=Savin-Williams |first10=Ritch C. |last11=Sylla |first11=John |last12=Rieger |first12=Gerulf |last13=Bailey |first13=J. Michael |date=2020 |title=Robust evidence for bisexual orientation among men |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=117 |issue=31 |pages=18369–18377 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2003631117 |pmc=7414168 |pmid=32690672 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11718369J |doi-access=free}}

In 2023, Springer retracted a paper co-authored by Bailey {{cite journal | doi=10.1007/s10508-023-02576-9 | title=RETRACTED ARTICLE: Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria: Parent Reports on 1655 Possible Cases | date=2023 | last1=Diaz | first1=Suzanna | last2=Bailey | first2=J. Michael | journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior | volume=52 | issue=3 | pages=1031–1043 | doi-access=free | pmid=36991212 | pmc=10102036 }}{{Retracted|doi=10.1007/s10508-023-02635-1|pmid=37314659|https://retractionwatch.com/2023/05/24/after-backlash-publisher-to-retract-article-that-surveyed-parents-of-children-with-gender-dysphoria-says-co-author/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}} on the rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) hypothesis "due to concerns about lack of informed consent", which had been published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.{{Cite web |last=Kincaid |first=Ellie |date=2023-05-30 |title=Parent Survey of Children With Gender Dysphoria Retracted |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/992561 |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=Medscape |language=en}} The paper described ROGD as a controversial theory that "common cultural beliefs, values, and preoccupations cause some adolescents (especially female adolescents) to attribute their social problems, feelings, and mental health issues to gender dysphoria," and that "youth with ROGD falsely believe that they are transgender". The retraction followed an open letter signed by a number of researchers and LGBTQ organizations criticizing the journals publication of the paper, stating that Bailey's paper did not have institutional review board (IRB) approval, and requested the journal's editor Kenneth Zucker be replaced.{{Cite web |last=Fiore |first=Kristina |date=2023-05-24 |title=Sexual Behavior Journal Under Fire Over Gender Dysphoria Paper |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/104685 |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=MedPage Today |language=en}} Critics also argued that the paper disregarded countervailing evidence and was based upon an unrepresentative sample of participants.

In 2024, Bailey served as witness in a legal challenge to Missouri's ban on gender affirming care for minors. He was questioned on his methodology in rapid onset dysphoria research.{{Cite web |last=Hanshaw |first=Annelise |date=2024-10-02 |title=Credibility of state's expert witnesses questioned in Missouri transgender health care trial |url=https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/02/credibility-of-states-expert-witnesses-questioned-in-missouri-transgender-health-care-trial/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Missouri Independent |language=en-US}}

{{Main|The Man Who Would Be Queen}}

{{Overly detailed|section|details=|date=October 2022}}

Bailey's book The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender Bending and Transsexualism was published in 2003.Bailey, J. Michael (2003). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420_The_Man_Who_Would_Be_Queen The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism]. (PDF) Joseph Henry Press, {{ISBN|978-0-309-08418-5}} In it, Bailey reviewed evidence that male homosexuality is innate, a result of heredity and prenatal environment. He also reviewed the theory of Ray Blanchard that there are two unrelated forms of transsexualism, one that is an extreme type of homosexuality and one that is an expression of a paraphilia known as autogynephilia. Written in a popular science style, the book summarized research supporting Bailey's opinions.

The book generated considerable controversy. A paper on the controversy was written by Alice Dreger,{{cite journal |last=Dreger | first = A. D. |date=June 2008 |title=The controversy surrounding "The man who would be queen": a case history of the politics of science, identity, and sex in the Internet age |journal=Arch Sex Behav |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=366–421 |doi=10.1007/s10508-007-9301-1 |pmc=3170124 |pmid=18431641}} a bioethicist and historian, known for her support of intersex rights. Dreger included additional details in Galileo's Middle Finger, an analysis of modern clashes between scientists and activists whose beliefs are challenged by them.{{cite book | last = Dreger | first = Alice Domurat | title = Galileo's middle finger: heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science | publisher = Penguin Press | location = New York | year = 2015 | isbn = 9781594206085 }} In her documented account of the Bailey case, she concluded that a small group of self-styled activists tried to bury a politically challenging scientific theory by attacking Bailey: "These critics, rather than restrict themselves to the argument over the ideas, had charged Bailey with a whole host of serious crimes," but that "what they claimed about Bailey simply wasn't true."{{cite book | last = Dreger | first = Alice Domurat | title = Galileo's middle finger: heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science | publisher = Penguin Press | location = New York | year = 2015 | isbn = 9781594206085 }} pp. 9-10.

A transgender woman whom he described in the book filed a complaint with Northwestern University alleging that her many discussions with Bailey about his view of trans women and the book he was writing made her a non-consensual subject of IRB-regulated research by Bailey, and that during this time, she had consensual sex with him.Wilson, R. (2003, Dec. 19). [https://www.chronicle.com/article/northwestern-u-psychologist-accused-of-having-sex-with-research-subject/ Northwestern U. psychologist accused of having sex with research subject]. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 17. Northwestern found no basis for the complaint.Barlow, G. (2003, Dec. 17). NU professor faces sexual allegations. Chicago Free Press. Transgender professors Lynn Conway and Deirdre McCloskey filed a complaint against Bailey with Illinois state regulators, alleging that he practiced psychology without a license by providing brief case evaluation letters suggesting candidacy for sex reassignment surgery; however, the department did not pursue those allegations, as he did not accept remuneration for the services and therefore did not violate the law.Carey, Benedict. (2007-08-21.)

[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/health/psychology/21gender.html?pagewanted=all "Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege."] New York Times via nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-19. Conway compared his work to Nazi propaganda. Writer and activist Andrea James posted pictures of his children (taken when they were in middle and elementary school) on her website with sexually explicit captions, apparently as a critique of Bailey's descriptions of transsexual children in his book.

At least two women who said they were subjects in his book filed a complaint with Northwestern alleging that Bailey committed scientific misconduct by not informing them that they were to be the subjects of research used in the writing of his book.Wilson, R. (2003, July 25). Transsexual 'subjects' complain about professors' research methods. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 10.Associated Press (July 26, 2003 ), [http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/07/26/news/region_and_state/c8b1f7592d2a627386256d6f0008fe7c.txt Transsexuals accuse professor of research misconduct]" Northwestern did investigate this allegation. Although the findings of that investigation were not released,Wilson, R. (2004, Dec. 10). "[http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i16/16a01001.htm Northwestern U. Will Not Reveal Results of Investigation Into Sex Researcher]." The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 10. Northwestern's vice president for Research, C. Bradley Moore, said, "The allegations of scientific misconduct made against Professor J. Michael Bailey do not fall under the federal definition of scientific misconduct." and that the university "has established a protocol to help ensure that Professor Bailey's research activities involving human subjects are conducted in accordance with the expectations of the University, the regulations and guidelines established by the federal government and with generally accepted research standards." Bailey says that he did nothing wrong and that the attacks on him were motivated by the desire to suppress discussion of the book's ideas about transsexualism, especially autogynephilia.{{cite web | title = Academic McCarthyism | url=http://www.chron.org/tools/viewarticle.php?artid=1248 | access-date = 2008-07-27 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070807075502/http://www.chron.org/tools/viewarticle.php?artid=1248 |archive-date = 2007-08-07}} Alice Dreger, a bioethicist, published an account of the controversy in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. According to Dreger, the allegations of misconduct could accurately be described as "harassment",{{cite news

| last = Carey

| first = Benedict

| title = Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege

| work = New York Times

| date = 2007-08-21

| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/health/psychology/21gender.html?pagewanted=1

| access-date = 2008-06-26

|quote = "What happened to Bailey is important, because the harassment was so extraordinarily bad and because it could happen to any researcher in the field," said Alice Dreger, an ethics scholar and patients' rights advocate at Northwestern who, after conducting a lengthy investigation of Dr. Bailey's actions, has concluded that he is essentially blameless.}} and an "anti-Bailey campaign". Dreger wrote that of the four women who complained to Northwestern, two acknowledged that they were aware they would be included in Bailey's book in their letter to the university. The other two were not described in the book. Dreger also reported that while there was no definitive evidence to refute the allegation of sexual misconduct, datestamps on e-mails between Bailey and his ex-wife indicated that he was at her home looking after their two children at the time the misconduct was said to have occurred. The journal published in the same issue 23 commentaries regarding multiple aspects of the controversy, including criticism of Dreger's analysis.Archives of Sexual Behavior. 2008, volume 37, 365–510. Some critical commentaries have been made available on-line by their authors: Deirdre McCloskey's [http://deirdremccloskey.org/docs/dreger.pdf Politics in Scholarly Drag: Dreger's Assault on the Critics of Bailey], Julia Serano's [http://www.juliaserano.com/av/Serano_DregerCommentary.pdf A Matter of Perspective: A Transsexual Woman-Centric Critique of Dreger's ‘‘Scholarly History of the Bailey Controversy].

Outside of the transgender community and sexology researchers, this controversy is largely notable because of its implications for academic freedom and freedom of speech. In an interview with The New York Times, Dreger said, "If we're going to have research at all, then we're going to have people saying unpopular things, and if this is what happens to them, then we've got problems not only for science but free expression itself." Other critics believe that their actions against Bailey and his book represent legitimate comment on a topic of public interest.{{cite news |last=Carey |first=Benedict |date=2007-08-21 |title=Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/health/psychology/21gender.html |access-date=2008-06-26 |quote=But days after the book appeared, Lynn Conway, a prominent computer scientist at the University of Michigan, sent out an e-mail message comparing Dr. Bailey's views to Nazi propaganda... Ms. James downloaded images from Dr. Bailey's Web site of his children, taken when they were in middle and elementary school, and posted them on her own site, with sexually explicit captions that she provided... "Nothing we have done, I believe, and certainly nothing I have done, overstepped any boundaries of fair comment on a book and an author who stepped into the public arena with enthusiasm to deliver a false and unscientific and politically damaging opinion," Deirdre McCloskey, a professor of economics, history, English, and communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and one of Dr. Bailey's principal critics, said in an e-mail message.}}

Bailey and his work were featured prominently in a Boston Globe story by Neil Swidey entitled "What Makes People Gay?"[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/08/14/what_makes_people_gay Swidey, N. (2005, Aug. 14)] That story was included in the 2006 volume of "The Best American Science Writing."{{cite web|title=Swidey, Neil – Dictionary definition of Swidey, Neil {{!}} Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/swidey-neil|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=27 May 2018|language=en}}

Bailey and his lab were also prominent in the CBS News 60 Minutes story "Gay or Straight?,"{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-science-of-sexual-orientation/ | work=CBS News | title=The Science Of Sexual Orientation | date=March 9, 2006}} which first aired on March 12, 2006 and was the most popular news story on the CBS News website the following week.{{cite news|title=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313135944/http://www.cbsnews.com/ |archive-date=March 13, 2006 |url-status=dead }} Author David Ehrenstein, writing for The Advocate, said the show was "replete with the sort of clichés about gay men and effeminacy that haven't been seen in a network news context since the 1967 CBS broadcast The Homosexuals."Ehrenstein, David (April 6, 2006). [http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid29121.asp Kinder, gentler homophobia.] The Advocate The producer of the "Gay or Straight" segment responded with a defense of the segment and of Bailey's work.{{cite news |last=Montopoli |first=Brian |date=March 14, 2006 |title=More Reaction To The '60 Minutes' Sexuality Story |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-reaction-to-the-60-minutes-sexuality-story/}}

In 2011, Bailey's human sexuality class at Northwestern made the headlines of major news organizations after he allowed a female guest speaker and her male partner to perform a live mechanized sex toy demonstration using a "fucksaw"{{cite web|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/415434.article |title=The week in higher education | General |publisher=Times Higher Education |date=2011-03-10 |access-date=2013-04-17}}{{cite web|last=Clark |first=Tracy |url=http://www.salon.com/2011/03/03/sex_ed_6/ |title=The "live sex show" professor speaks |work=Salon.com |date=2011-03-03 |access-date=2013-04-17}}—a modified reciprocating saw{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northwestern-sex-class-idUSTRE74900120110510 |title=Northwestern University cancels controversial sex ed class |publisher=Reuters |date= 2011-05-10|access-date=2013-04-17}} converted into a sex toy by attaching a "phallic object" instead of a blade{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Jodi S. |last2=Black |first2=Lisa |title=NU president 'troubled' by sex toy demonstration on campus |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/03/03/nu-president-troubled-by-sex-toy-demonstration-on-campus/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |work=Chicago Tribune}}—to bring the woman to orgasm in front of the audience. Students were advised beforehand of the nature of the demonstration in this optional after-class event on kinky sex and female orgasm.

After the demonstration, Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro criticized Bailey for "extremely poor judgment" and launched an investigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030304346.html |title=Northwestern University to investigate sex toy demonstration |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=2011-03-03 |access-date=2013-04-17 |first=Don |last=Babwin}} Bailey at first defended the demonstration, saying that students found lectures featuring guest speakers valuable, but subsequently issued an apology, saying he regretted the upset caused and its effect on the university's reputation. He said there would be no repeats, but maintained that the demonstration had been relevant to the topic of his course, and said that the students who chose to attend were over 18, "legally capable of voting, enlisting in the military, and consuming pornography", and contended that the criticism he had received was poorly reasoned.{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/03/05/northwestern-professor-apologizes-after-sex-demonstration/ | title=Northwestern professor apologizes after sex demonstration|access-date=2011-03-11 | work=Chicago Tribune | first1=Jodi S | last1=Cohen | first2=Liam | last2=Ford | date=March 5, 2011}}

The response among academics was mixed. Joseph Epstein criticized Bailey's class as failing academic standards in a long piece for The Weekly Standard, and compared Bailey to a pimp.{{cite web|author=Joseph Epstein |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/articles/lower-education_554092.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105005057/http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/articles/lower-education_554092.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 5, 2012 |title=Lower Education |publisher=Weeklystandard.com |date=2011-03-21 |access-date=2013-04-17}} Laurie Essig, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, thought that the incident "triggered a national conversation about what we can and cannot look at".{{cite web|last=Essig |first=Laurie |url=http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/trigger-happy/32908 |title=Arousing Controversy – Brainstorm – The Chronicle of Higher Education |publisher=Chronicle.com |date=2011-03-04 |access-date=2013-04-17}} In a web-only feature for Esquire, Bailey's former research assistant Paul Schrodt defended his teaching and research methods.{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/northwestern-university-sex-5376740 |title=Northwestern University Sex – J. Michael Bailey Human Sexuality Class Controversy |publisher=Esquire |date=2011-03-10 |access-date=2013-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619235831/http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/northwestern-university-sex-5376740 |archive-date=2013-06-19 |url-status=dead }} Alice Dreger also defended Bailey's class as being of high quality in general, but agreed with Schapiro that the demonstration "was a case of poor judgment, because it wasn't worth it".{{cite web|last=Dreger |first=Alice |url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fetishes-i-dont-get/201103/hot-times-northwestern |title=Hot Times at Northwestern |publisher=Psychology Today |date=2011-03-04 |access-date=2013-04-17}}

In response to the incident, Northwestern administrators removed Bailey's human sexuality course from the following year's curriculum.{{cite news | url=http://www.suntimes.com/5274833-417/northwestern-university-drops-controversial-sex-class.html | title=Thrill is gone: Northwestern drops controversial sex class|access-date=2011-05-13 | work=Chicago Sun-Times | first=Mark | last=Konkol | author-link=Mark Konkol | date=May 10, 2011}} A year later, Northwestern reintroduced a somewhat differently themed{{clarify|date=August 2024}} sexuality class taught by Lane Fenrich.{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-19/news/ct-met-northwestern-sex-ed-professor-20120219_1_sexuality-class-gender-studies-introductory-class |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831120139/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-19/news/ct-met-northwestern-sex-ed-professor-20120219_1_sexuality-class-gender-studies-introductory-class |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 31, 2012 |title=Northwestern sexual education class new on campus – Chicago Tribune |publisher=Articles.chicagotribune.com |date=2012-02-19 |access-date=2013-04-17}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite journal |vauthors=Bailey JM, Vasey PL, Diamond LM, Breedlove SM, Vilain E, Epprecht M |author4-link=Marc Breedlove |year=2016 |title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=45–101 |doi=10.1177/1529100616637616 |pmid=27113562 |doi-access=free}}
• {{cite book |author=Bailey JM |title=The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-309-08418-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/manwhowouldbeque00bail}}
• {{cite journal |author=Bailey JM |title=A family history study of male sexual orientation using three independent samples |url=https://rdcu.be/dj5w7 |journal=Behavior Genetics |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=79–86 |year=1999 |pmid=10405456 |doi=10.1023/A:1021652204405 |name-list-style=vanc |author2=Pillard RC |author3=Dawood K |display-authors=3 |last4=Miller |first4=Michael B. |last5=Farrer |first5=Lindsay A. |last6=Trivedi |first6=Shruti |last7=Murphy |first7=Robert L. |s2cid=10953775 |url-access=limited}}{{cite journal |author=Bailey JM |title=Homosexuality and mental illness |journal=Archives of General Psychiatry |volume=56 |issue=10 |pages=883–4 |year=1999 |pmid=10530627 |doi=10.1001/archpsyc.56.10.883}}
• {{cite journal |author=Dunne MP |title=Participation bias in a sexuality survey: psychological and behavioural characteristics of responders and non-responders |journal=International Journal of Epidemiology |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=844–54 |year=1997 |pmid=9279618 |doi=10.1093/ije/26.4.844 |name-list-style=vanc |author2=Martin NG |author3=Bailey JM |display-authors=3 |last4=Heath |first4=AC |last5=Bucholz |first5=KK |last6=Madden |first6=PA |last7=Statham |first7=DJ |title-link=Participation bias |doi-access=}}
• {{cite journal |author=Bailey JM |title=Sexual orientation revolution |url=https://rdcu.be/dj5xJ |journal=Nature Genetics |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=353–4 |year=1995 |pmid=7493006 |doi=10.1038/ng1295-353 |s2cid=1086344 |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite journal |vauthors=Bailey JM, Nothnagel J, Wolfe M |title=Retrospectively measured individual differences in childhood sex-typed behavior among gay men: Correspondence between self- and maternal reports |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=613–22 |year=1995 |pmid=8572910 |doi=10.1007/BF01542183 |s2cid=10830453}}
• {{cite journal |vauthors=Bailey JM, Zucker KJ |year=1995 |title=Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review |journal=Developmental Psychology |volume=31 |pages=43–55 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.43 |s2cid=28174284}}
• {{cite journal |vauthors=Greenberg AS, Bailey JM |year=1993 |title=Do biological explanations of homosexuality have moral, legal, or policy implications? |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=245–251 |doi=10.1080/00224499309551708}}
• {{cite journal |vauthors=Bailey JM, Miller JS, Willerman L |title=Maternally rated childhood gender nonconformity in homosexuals and heterosexuals |url=https://rdcu.be/dj5yC |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=461–9 |year=1993 |pmid=8239975 |doi=10.1007/BF01542559 |s2cid=23460867 |url-access=limited}}

{{Refend}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/JMichael-Bailey/ Bailey's home page] via Northwestern University
• [https://www.gayout.com/dr.-j.-michael-bailey Interview with Dr. J. Michael Bailey]
• {{IMDb name|2539265}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, J. Michael}}

Category:1957 births

Category:American clinical psychologists

Category:American sexologists

Category:Living people

Category:Northwestern University faculty

Category:People from Lubbock, Texas

Category:Psychology writers on LGBTQ topics

Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni

Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni

Category:Behavior geneticists