UK College Lecturer Under Fire for Blog Post Calling Black Women Ugly

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As an investigation by the London School of Economics continues into a blog posting by one of its lecturers who questioned why black women are “less physically attractive” than other women, a growing number of critics are calling for his ouster.

In a blog posting Sunday that was removed from Psychology Today, Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, a lecturer in the London School of Economic’s management department, wrote that black women were rated to be less attractive than women of other races on average, although black men were not rated less attractive than men of other races.

“The only thing I can think of that might potentially explain the lower average level of physical attractiveness among black women is testosterone,” Kanazawa wrote, according to cached versions of the posting. “The race differences in the level of testosterone can therefore potentially explain why black women are less physically attractive than women of other races, while (net of intelligence) black men are more physically attractive than men of other races.”

Kanazawa could not be reached for comment Thursday by FoxNews.com, but officials at the London School of Economic confirmed an investigation into the matter is ongoing.

“The views expressed by this academic are his own and do not in any way represent those of LSE as an institution,” the school said in a statement to FoxNews.com. “The important principle of academic freedom means that authors have the right to publish their views – but it also means the freedom to disagree. We are conducting internal investigations into this matter.”

Messages seeking comment from Psychology Today were not immediately returned, but in an email to NPR, Kaja Perina, the publication’s editor-in-chief, seemingly distanced herself from the growing controversy.

“Our bloggers are credential[ed] social scientists and for this reason they are invited to post to the site on topics of their choosing,” Perina wrote. “We in turn reserve the right to remove posts for any number of reasons. Because the post was not commissioned or solicited by PT (in contrast to a magazine article), there was no editorial intent to address questions of race and physical attractiveness.”

Perina, NPR noted, did not address why the magazine’s site had not acknowledged the removal or explain why it had done so.

Meanwhile, a number of prominent psychologists, columnists and authors continue to blast Kanazawa, whom one critic described as the “Rush Limbaugh” of evolutionary psychology.

“People keep asking for my take on the recent response to Kanazawa’s latest provocation,” wrote Christopher Ryan, co-author of Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. “It boils down to: ‘What took so long?’ I mean, this is a guy who has worked hard to attract as much attention as possible by insulting pretty much everyone he could think of, from Muslims to women with weight issues to horny men … Essentially, I don’t take him seriously at all because he’s clearly motivated more by attracting attention than by any enthusiasm for science or truth. ‘Nuff said.”

Jenice Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News also wrote on the subject, recalling Kanazwa’s previous “pseudo-scientific” work in Africa.

“In 2006, he claimed that residents in sub-Saharan Africa were in poor health because of their low IQs — discounting the effects of poverty, war and famine,” Armstrong wrote. “Now Kanazawa has turned his attention on black women’s looks, of all things. That’s a touchy subject, given all that African-American women have gone through not only to embrace our own unique features but to be considered beautiful in a country where a white female aesthetic continues to be seen as the ideal.”

The Washington-based American Psychological Association, the world’s largest association of psychologists, declined to comment on the matter when contacted Thursday by FoxNews.com.

Students at the University of London, however, continue to call for Kanazawa’s dismissal, citing his previous articles entitled “Are All Women Essentially Prostitutes?” and “What’s Wrong with Muslims?”

“Kanazawa deliberately manipulates findings that justify racist ideology,” read a Facebook posting by Sherelle Davids, anti-racism officer-elect of the London School of Economic’s Students’ Union. “As a Black woman I feel his conclusions are a direct attack on Black women everywhere who are not included in social ideas of beauty.”

Another student, Amena Amer, wrote that Kanazawa’s “research” threatens the academic credibility of the university.

“We support free speech and academic freedom, but Kanazawa’s research fuels hate against ethnic and religious minorities promoted by neo-Nazi groups,” Amer wrote.

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