The Dangerous Resurgence of “Bad Genes” Language

In 2021, the American Psychological Association (APA) published a resolution: Apology to People of Color for APA’s Role in Promoting, Perpetuating, and Failing to Challenge Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Human Hierarchy in the U.S. In this document, the APA outlined the role that White male psychologists played in bolstering White supremacy and systemic racism through the eugenics movement in the early 1900s.

According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, eugenics “is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations.” This scientific racism uses the dangerous illogic of eugenics to provide credibility for long-debunked ideas that White Europeans are genetically superior to “non-[W]hite people whose social and economic status have been historically marginalized.” This unscientific sleight of hand requires discussion of ideas—about the “good genes” that White people supposedly have and the “bad genes” that others supposedly have—that are not supported by research or evidence.

Emma Wolverton, Eugenics, and “Feeblemindedness”

Science journalist Carl Zimmer traces the history of eugenics in the United States in his powerful book, She Has Her Mother’s...