Spiteful mutant hypothesis

The spiteful mutant hypothesis or Social Epistasis Amplification Model (SEAM) is a pseudoscientific hypothesis developed by Michael A. Woodley of Menie, Matthew Sarraf, and Edward Dutton. It argues that deleterious genetic mutations in carrier humans can be externalized onto non-carriers via social epistasis. It is a hypothesis designed to justify a racialist worldview as outlined in Dutton's book Race Differences in Ethnocentrism.Race Differences in Ethnocentrism by Edward Dutton (2019) Arktos. ISBN 1912975254. This is despite the fact that the concept of human races has been disproven by modern global genetic analysis, starting with Cavalli-Sforza et al.'s monumental study.The History and Geography of Human Genes by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza et al. (1994) Princeton University Press ISBN 0691087504. Dutton primarily uses the spiteful mutant hypothesis to denigrate anyone who isn't conservative and who doesn't share his own far-right political views — he has labelled feminists, liberals, and supporters of Black Lives Matter as "spiteful mutants".The Next Great Awakening by Edward Dutton (June 27, 2020 10:56 pm) Radix (archived from October 6, 2020).
The concept of (not social epistasis) is well-established and known to be widespread in organisms; it was first recognized in 1907."Women in the Early History of Genetics: William Bateson and the Newnham College Mendelians, 1900–1910" by Marsha L. Richmond (2001) Isis: The History of Science Society 92(1):55–90. doi:10.1086/385040. Genetic epistasis is when the variations of one gene influences the expression of a different gene in an organism.
The term "social epistasis" was coined in 2007 based on a study of ants.Ant species differences determined by epistasis between brood and worker genomes by Timothy A. Linksvayer (2007) PloSOne 2:e994. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000994. It is defined as inter-organismal genomic interactions, whereby the genome of an organism can influence another organism's gene expression and hence phenotypic development and condition (including behaviour) both negatively and positively. The former issues from deleterious mutations that can social-epistatically alter patterns of gene expression in pathological ways and in mutations with deleterious effects on both carriers and non-carriers; this has been called "spiteful mutations" by Woodley.
SEAM has only ever been observed in species — for example, termites, ants, and naked mole rats — that live among close genetic relatives within colonies in which the vast majority of individuals cooperate to aid relatively few reproductive group members. Human behaviour is remarkably different in the sense that cooperation and division of labour occurs in societies composed of many individuals that are not so closely genetically related. Furthermore, there is not a reproductive division of labour. Although one study has suggested humans are eusocial,Foster, K. R., & Ratnieks, F. L. W. (2005). "A new eusocial vertebrate?". Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 20, 363–364. this idea was challenged when first proposed and is widely rejected based on the fact that there is no reproductive division of labour, and "human society sustains a high level of cooperation among genealogically distant individuals."Clash of the Titans: The Social Conquest of Earth Book review by Herbert Gintis (2012) BioScience 62(11):987–991. doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.11.8. The Social Conquest of Earth by E. O. Wilson (2012) Liveright. ISBN 0871404133. Woodley and Dutton, however, erroneously argue that the human species is eusocial and deleterious mutations in humans "extend beyond their effects on individual carriers".
The spiteful mutant hypothesis relies on Emil Kirkegaard's dubious research that attempts to show that mental illness has a high prevalence amongst people who are politically left-wing.We'd argue that the opposite is true, but we don't want to make those kind of assertions without any actual evidence. Dutton and Kirkegaard have discussed their similar views on The Jolly Heretic.Emil Kirkegaard Joins Us at The Jolly Heretic (21:13 UTC on August 24th, 2020) Bitchute. Kirkegaard, however, doesn't support the spiteful mutant hypothesis, writing "Mutant stuff is Woodley-Dutton territory, not me."Not really. Mutant stuff is Woodley-DUtton territory, not me. by Emil O. W. Kirkegaard (6:40 PM - 13 Sep 2020) Twitter (archived from September 14, 2020). Jean-François Gariépy has been critical of the spiteful mutant hypothesis and has described it as ridiculous.Spiteful mutants - JF Gariépy TPS #799 by Based and beautiful (Jun 21, 2020) YouTube.
==Social Epistasis Amplification Model==
Sarraf and Woodley (2017) correctly point out research on eusocial insects has "found that the adaptively optimal development of members of different castes in insect societies depends on certain inter-caste genotypic interactions, or social epistases", but from this they wrongly extrapolate "humans, require certain patterns of interorganismal genetic interaction to achieve and maintain adaptive optima at the individual and group levels".Of Mice and Men: Empirical Support for the Population-Based SocialEpistasis Amplification Model (A Comment on Kalbassi et al., 2017) by Matthew Alexandar Sarraf and Michael Anthony Woodley (2017) eNeuro. doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0280-17.2017. Humans though are not eusocial. Totally ignoring the latter, SEAM was originally developed to explain the decline in fertility rates below replacement fertility (2.1 children per woman), particularly of Western populations over recent decades.Social Epistasis Amplifies the Fitness Costs of Deleterious Mutations, Engendering Rapid Fitness Decline Among Modernized Populations by Michael A. Woodley of Menie et al. (2017) Evolutionary Psychological Science 3:181–191. Woodley, Sarraf and Dutton term "spiteful mutations" what they consider to be behaviour-altering maladaptive traits and ideas to group-fitness or survival. Woodley defines a spiteful mutation as follows:Of Mice and Men: Empirical Support for the Population-Based Social Epistasis Amplification Model (a Comment on Kalbassi et al., 2017) by Matthew Alexandar Sarraf & Michael Anthony Woodley of Menie (2017) eNeuro 4(5). doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0280-17.2017. 
Woodley's colleague Aurelio J. Figueredo concedes "SEAM as applied to humans still lacks fully satisfactory empirical support".Michael A. Woodley of Menie, Yr. by Aurelio José Figueredo & Matthew A. Sarraf (2018) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3838-2. No shit. Sarraf and Woodley (2017) however have argued the theory of social epistasis amplification explains the outcome of rat utopia experiment.
Arslan et al. (2018) have criticised Woodley for misrepresenting their work.Relaxed selection and mutation accumulation are best studied empirically: reply to Woodley of Menie et al. by Ruben C. Arslan et al. (2018) Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285:20180092. doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0092.
===Social epistasis===
Social epistasis has been proven to exist in eusocial insects, such as species of bees, wherein the individual bee's phenotype is affected by the overall genotypic composition of the colony: "trait expression by individual honeybee workers is modulated by the genotypic composition of the colony, indicating that individual-level phenotypes are properties of the composite "sociogenome." Honeybee Social Regulatory Networks Are Shaped by Colony-Level Selection by Timothy A. Linksvayer et a. (2009) The American Naturalist 173(3):E99-E107. doi:10.1086/596527. There is no evidence for social epistasis in humans who aren't eusocial, furthermore, Woodley has claimed it is not "ethically possible to conduct experimental tests of this model [SEAM] in humans"A Conversation with Michael A. Woodley of Menie, Yr. by Grégoire Canlorbe (2019) Psych 1(1):207-219; doi:10.3390/psych1010015 meaning by definition the spiteful mutant hypothesis is a pseudoscience since it cannot be ethically tested or falsified.
==Spiteful mutation crankery==
Dutton has argued that spiteful mutations "include any thought process that leads to a group's sub-replacement fertility"The Mutant Says in His Heart,"There Is No God": the Rejection of Collective Religiosity Centred Around the Worship of Moral Gods Is Associated with High Mutational Load by Edward Dutton (2018) Evolutionary Psychological Science 4:233–244. doi:10.1007/s40806-017-0133-5. and lists atheism, liberalism, antinatalism, feminism, nihilism, LGBT (especially homosexuality), asexuality and multiculturalism as maladaptive ways of thinking i.e. ideas, beliefs and (sexual) orientations antithetical to reproductive success:
If one is wondering where Dutton publishes this crankery, look no further than white supremacist Richard Spencer's Author: Edward Dutton National Policy Institute (archived from July 30, 2020).
===Spiteful mutations as atheism===
Dutton has been criticised on the basis that many of the ideas and beliefs he considers to be maladaptive are correlated with higher intelligence. As an example, a meta-analysis of 83 studiesMeta-analysis of 83 studies produces ‘very strong’ evidence for a negative relationship between intelligence and religiosity by Eric W. Dolan (November 14, 2019) PsyPost.The Negative Intelligence–Religiosity Relation: New and Confirming Evidence by Miron Zuckerman et al. (2019) Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 46(6):856-868. doi:10.1177/0146167219879122. has demonstrated that atheists are more intelligent, on average, than religious believers including Christians, so "how can high intelligence be compatible with the idea that atheists have harmful mutations?"Are Atheists Genetically Damaged? by Neuroskeptic (March 16, 2019 12:31 PM) Discover Magazine. Dutton himself co-authored a study showing a negative relationship between religiosity and intelligence meaning atheists and agnostics, on average, are smarter than religious believers.Dutton, Edward; Van der Linden, Dimitri (2017-12-01). "Why is Intelligence Negatively Associated with Religiousness?". Evolutionary Psychological Science 3(4):392–403. To explain how high intelligence could be maladaptive, Dutton argues that atheists might be too intelligent because a study of American Mensa members revealed that they have a much higher risk for psychological and developmental disorders including autistic spectrum disorder.High intelligence: A risk factor for psychological and physiological overexcitabilities by Ruth I.Karpinski et al. (2018) Intelligence 66:8-23. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2017.09.001. However, only individuals with very high IQ rather than general high IQ have a higher risk; Dutton's argument is therefore dubious.
While studies have shown that religiosity is associated with lower rates of depression, anxiety and suicide, psychologist Scott A. McGreal has criticised Dutton for overstating the extent to which religiosity is associated with better physical and mental health. For example, he notes "A [2015] survey of 59 countries found that a positive relationship between religiosity and self-rated health occurred only in 20 countries; in 37, there was no relationship, and in two there was actually a negative relationship".Religiosity, Atheism, and Health: The Atheist Advantage: There is no evidence that atheism is associated with poor health. by Scott A. McGreal (Mar 19, 2018) Psychology Today. New research has also shown that "people possessing strong religious beliefs and convinced-atheists tend to share similarly positive mental health. The worst mental health is observed in those with more ambiguous, confused, and weaker religious or spiritual beliefs."The Mental Health of Atheists and the "Nones": New research suggests that atheists have better mental health than other nones. by Rob Whitley (Dec 04, 2018) Psychology Today. The link between religiousity and better health is more complicated than Dutton's pigeon-holing of people as religious versus non-believers since some subgroups within "nones", meaning non-religious, share positive mental health alongside those with strong religious beliefs.
Dutton appears to completely ignore the relationship between A number of studies have shown higher prevalence of hallucinations (a symptom of schizophrenia) in those with higher religiosity. In a review of 70 studies, Gearing et al. (2011) reported 30/70 (43%) have found a relationship between hallucinations and religious beliefs in the supernatural.Association of religion with delusions and hallucinations in the context of schizophrenia: implications for engagement and adherence by Robin Edward Gearing et al. (2011) Schizophenia Research 126(1-3):150-63. doi:j.schres.2010.11.005.
Dutton argues religious people are not spiteful mutants because they tend to have more children than non-religious people. For example, the average US Mormon female has a fertility rate of 3.4, while Catholic, 2.5 — both above replacement fertility (2.1). This sharply contrasts, to atheist, 1.6, and agnostic, 1.3.Charted: The religions that make the most babies by Christopher Ingraham (May 12, 2015 at 7:37 a.m. PDT) The Washington Post. There are though some religious groups with sub-replacement fertility and Dutton conveniently doesn't discuss those. In the US, Jews have a fertility rate of 2.0, and mainline Protestants a fertility rate of 1.9. In India, Jains have a fertility rate of 1.2, Sikhs, 1.6 and Buddhists 1.7.Fertility rate below replacement level for all but Hindus & Muslims by Rema Nagarajan (Jan 12, 2018, 14:56 IST) The Times Of India. In some religions, individuals are expected to remain unmarried and to abstain from sex completely, for example monks and priests in various sects of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Christianity. Also there have been celibate religious sects throughout history who are forbidden to procreate such as the Dutton does briefly mention religious celibates in his writings but provides an ad hoc explanation to explain away evidence that contradicts his view about religiosity and fertility:
===Spiteful mutations as homosexuality===
Some studies have shown that homosexuals have higher intelligence on average than heterosexuals.Intelligence and homosexuality by Satoshi Kanazawa (2012) J. Biosoc. Sci. 44(5):595-623. doi:10.1017/S0021932011000769.Nonreproduction, Homosexuality, Transsexualism, And Intelligence: I. A Systematic Literature Search by James Weinrich (1978) Journal of Homosexuality 3(3):275-290. doi:10.1300/J082v03n03_10 Dutton is aware of this and tries to explain it in line with the spiteful mutant hypothesis through his bizarre speculative "Gay Shaman Theory":
Another criticism of homosexuals being spiteful mutants is Dutton's incorrect claim that homosexuality "is a reproductive dead-end" and maladaptive to reproductive success. This is because there has been a significant increase in same-sex couples seeking IVF treatment and surrogates. A report from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) in the UK revealed there has recently been a 12% increase in female same-sex couples seeking IVF treatment, while surrogates rose by 22%.Huge increase in UK same-sex couples seeking IVF and surrogates by Patrick Kelleher (May 9, 2019) Pink News. The most recent year (2017) for which figures are available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for same-sex parents, reveals the number has increased to 18,000 families in UK (up from 12,000 in 2013).
===Spiteful mutations as liberalism===
Dutton has described individuals with left-wing in particular liberal political views (so-called SJWs) as spiteful mutants on the basis that right-wing conservatives have more children on average than liberals and the latter are below replacement fertility. A 2018 study shows that while this is generally the case today, political "moderates" (a.k.a. centrists) nevertheless have a slightly lower fertility rate (1.6) than "extremely liberal" individuals (1.7) when mean fertility rate data was analysed for 100 countries world-wide in 2010-2014.Political Attitude and Fertility: Is There a Selection for the Political Extreme? by Martin Fieder & Susanne Huber (2018) Frontiers in Psychology 9:2343. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02343. Another complication is that when looking at the fertility data for Western countries, prior to the 1990s, the pattern of conservatives having a higher fertility rate is much more blurred; in fact, "extremely liberal" individuals as opposed to conservatives had the highest mean number of children. Dutton's argument clearly doesn't make sense since the same left-wing ideology he is now describing as maladaptive for reproductive success was formerly (about four decades ago) associated with the highest fertility. Arguably therefore it is not liberalism as a political ideology that has changed its values and ideals, but individuals over time that identify as liberals, having changed their lifestyles.
===Spiteful mutations as Marxism===
Dutton has misleadingly claimed that Marxism as an ideology is "understood to be maladaptive, and this is evidenced by the fact that those who hold to ideologies that are related to Marxism — such as postmodernism, nihilism, and atheism — have limited fertility". Karl Marx though had seven children and opposed Malthusian arguments to limit population growth.Capitalism and Population: Marx and Engels Against Malthus by Yves Charbit (2009). In: Economic, Social and Demographic Thought in the XIXe Century: The population Debate from Malthus to Marx, edited by Yves Charbit. ISBN 1402099592. Pages 121-162. Furthermore, he "bitterly attacked and condemned Malthus and his ideas more than a half a century after Malthus published his famous Essay on Population in 1798."Overpopulation: Development, Economics of by J. R. Behrman (2001) 'International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioral Sciences, edited by N. J. Smelser P. B. Baltes. ISBN 0080430767. Pages 3566-3574. Contemporary Marxists aren't concerned with overpopulation.Overpopulation or overblown lies? by Allyson Hose (Spring 2011) Marxist Left Review, Volume 3.Are there too many people? Population, hunger, and environmental degradation by Chris Williams (January 2012) International Socialist Review, Issue 81. Paul R. Ehrlich, co-author of the neo-Malthusian book has said that the far-left in modern times find "the advocacy of limiting population growth immoral" and have attacked him for wanting to globally lower-fertility rates.The Population Bomb Revisited by Paul R. Ehrlich & Anne H. Ehrlich (2009) The Electronic Journal of Sustainable DevelopmentThe Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development 1(3):63-71.
===Spiteful mutations as multiculturalism===
Dutton has most controversially argued that individuals who support multiculturalism and BLM/anti-racist movements are spiteful mutants. His reasoning is that individuals who "put other ethnic groups before their own" are maladaptive and want to destroy their own ethno-cultural group.Suomen vaiennettu raiskausepidemia: Miten suomalaiset valjastettiin rakastamaan hyväksikäyttäjiään by Edward Dutton, translated by Saara Sarivuori (13.06.2020 00:30) Oikean Median (archived from September 19, 2020). Dutton is English and emigrated to Finland; he is married to a Finnish woman with whom he has two children of mixed ethnicity — so by his own definition he is a spiteful mutant himself. Dutton claims that ethnocentrism and nationalism predicts high fertility, while multiculturalism predicts low fertility; he also thinks "Multicultural societies have been shown to always degenerate into distrust and war, because people are evolved to want to be with genetically similar people." The latter he bases on the Genetic Similarity Theory (GST) of J. Philippe Rushton which has been heavily criticised for failure to understand the theory of kin selection.Kin selection, genic selection, and information-dependent strategies by John Tooby & Leda Cosmides (1989) Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12:542-544. As noted by Dawkins, "Kin selection favors nepotism towards your own immediate close family. It does not favor a generalization of nepotism towards millions of other people who happen to be the same color as you."Darwin's dangerous disciple: An Interview With Richard Dawkins by Frank Miele (2005) Scepsis.
In 2019, D published The Silent Rape Epidemic: How the Finns Were Groomed to Love Their Abusers in response to the In the book, Dutton argues the more multicultural and ethnically diverse Finland and the adjacent Nordic countries become, the more inter-ethnic conflict in society and this will lead to civil war:The Silent Rape Epidemic: How the Finns Were Groomed to Love Their Abusers by Edward Dutton (2019) Thomas Edward Press. ISBN 9781799003649.
Dutton has a tendency to quote studies that don't support his conclusions. Vanhanen in Ethnic Conflicts: Their Biological Roots in Ethnic Nepotism (2012) for example ranks countries on a scale of 1-5 based on severity of ethnic conflict (EC): 1 being "minor ethnic incidents at individual and local levels", while 5 "violent conflicts and civil wars; ethnic cleansings and genocide".Ethnic Conflicts: Their Biological Roots in Ethnic Nepotism by Tatu Vanhanen (2012) Ulster Institute for Social Research. ISBN 0957391315. He calculates the percentage of ethnic heterogeneity (EH) in each country from 1 to 100% to show how diverse ethnically or multicultural countries are. Vanhanen calculates Finland's EC is 1 while its EH 7%. This means Finland is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world with lowest level of ethnic conflict (similar to Iceland and Norway). Yet Dutton promotes a false doomsday scenario that Finland is going to "spiral into increasingly intense ethnic conflict" and civil war in the near-future.
To end ethnic conflicts, Vanhanen has suggested solutions opposite of Dutton's support for ethnic separatism and restricting immigration. He mentions the most effective strategy is large-scale mixing and intermarriage between groups the "biological mixing of conflicting groups would provide the most effective way to reduce and ultimately remove ethnic conflicts." When describing some Latin American countries, Vanhanen notes, "Extensive racial mixing between whites, indigenous peoples and blacks seems to have blurred ethnic boundaries and decreased ethnic conflicts". He also mentions that in the Dominican Republic, "Extensive racial mixing has restrained ethnic conflicts and supported ethnic peace in the country", in Cuba, "Ethnic peace in Cuba can be traced to… the extensive racial mixing of the population" and in Panama, "racial mixing of the population may be a factor which dampens ethnic interest conflicts."
===Spiteful mutations as mental illness===
Dutton argues spiteful mutations as maladaptive thoughts against reproductive success significantly increase risk of mental illnesses and neurodevelopmental disorders because under Darwinian conditions, "these instincts and desires would be comorbid with other maladaptive traits". As evidence, he cites a questionable study by Kirkegaard (2020) provocatively titled "Mental illness and the left" that claims left-wing political views, in particular "extremely liberal" — predicts worse mental health:Mental Illness and the Left by Emil O. W. Kirkegaard (2020) The Mankind Quarterly 60(4):487-510. doi:10.46469/mq.2020.60.4.3.
Kirkegaard published the study in the far-right pseudojournal Mankind Quarterly. It has only one citation on Google Scholar, an article published by Dutton.Mental illness and the left Google Scholar. A major flaw with the study is excluding clinical depression. The survey does not describe any other mental disorder, rather, survey questions concerning mental health included only Yes/No response to "Do you have any emotional or mental disability?", "Have you ever felt you had a mental health problem?" and "Have you personally ever received treatment for a mental health problem?"
The reason Kirkegaard likely omitted data on a wide-range of mental disorders is because many studies show narcissistic personality disorder, Machiavellianism and psychopathy — the of personality traits — have highest prevalence among individuals with right-wing, especially anti-immigration political views.The impact of dark tetrad traits on political orientation and extremism: an analysis in the course of a presidential election by Boris Duspara & Tobias Greitemeyer (2017) Heliyon 3(10):e00425. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00425.Hodson G., Hogg S.M., MacInnis C.C. "The role of dark personalities (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy), the Big Five personality factors, and ideology in explaining prejudice". J. Res. Pers. 2009;43:686–690Arvan M. "Bad news for conservatives? Moral judgments and the Dark Triad personality traits: A correlational study". Neuroethics. 2013;6:307–318.(Im)moral aspects of attitudes towards immigrants: The role of the Dark Tetrad and Moral Foundations by Boban Petrović (2019) Psihološka istraživanja 22:115-134. In 2018, a survey revealed right-wing voters in the US on average have more psychopathic traits than left-wing voters.Study suggests psychopathic traits are higher in Republicans than in Democrats by Eric W. Dolan (November 11, 2018) PsyPost.Psychopathic traits and politics: Examining affiliation, support of political issues, and the role of empathy by Olivia C.Preston & Joye C.Anestis (2018) 131:142-148. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.034. A few studies have shown a link between right-wing voters and sadism (for example a 2017 study on the 2016 Austrian presidential election found voters of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer, had higher scores in everyday sadism than did left-wing Alexander Van der Bellen voters, as well as having higher scores in narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy).The impact of dark tetrad traits on political orientation and extremism: an analysis in the course of a presidential election by Boris Duspara & Tobias Greitemeyer (2017) Heliyon 3(10):e00425. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00425. Kirkegaard and Dutton are completely silent on this subject.
A number of studies have shown that conservatives are more happy than liberals and the latter have a higher risk of clinical depression. Kirkegaard and Dutton have latched onto these studies but do not report the reason why liberals are less happy than conservatives. Psychologists Jaime Napier and John Jost in a 2008 study found conservatives are more happy than liberals because they possess an "ideological buffer" against the negative effects of inequality. This means conservatives are able to ignore or downplay inequalities for example by believing the poor are poor because they've not worked hard enough.Why are conservatives happier than liberals? by Jaime L. Napier & John T Jost (2008) Psychol. Sci. 19(6):565-572. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02124.x.
Kirkegaard has incorrectly claimed transgenderism is a mental illness. However, transgender people are no longer classified as having a mental disorder by the World Health OrganizationBeing Transgender Not a Mental Disorder, WHO Says (May 29, 2019) '"WebMD. nor by the American Psychiatric Association.Myth #8: Transgender people are mentally ill by German Lopez (Updated Nov 14, 2018, 4:08pm EST ) Vox. Furthermore, not all transgender people suffer from gender dysphoria.Expert Q & A: Gender Dysphoria American Psychiatric Association. Dutton in 2020 co-authored a study in Sexuality Research and Social Policy arguing that "gender dysphoria is robustly associated with ASD".Gender Dysphoria and Transgender Identity Is Associated with Physiological and Psychological Masculinization: a Theoretical Integration of Findings, Supported by Systematic Reviews by Edward Dutton & Guy Madison (2020) Sexuality Research and Social Policy (2020). doi:10.1007/s13178-020-00489-z. Turban and van Schalkwyk (2018) though have cautioned "current research has not established an over-representation of gender dysphoria (GD) in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or the converse."“Gender dysphoria” and autism spectrum disorder: Is the link real? by Jack L. Turban & Gerrit I. van Schalkwyk (2018) Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 57(1):8–9. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2017.08.017.
In an interview for the white nationalist magazine American Renaissance, Dutton claims that interracial relationships involving a black male and a white female result in "elevated levels of mental instability." Dutton uploaded a video to YouTube criticising interracial relationships, which claims that mixed-race adolescents are mentally unstable, and have higher health and behaviour risks. In the same vein Kirkegaard published an essay on his website titled "Is Miscegenation bad for your kids", quoted by VDARE:Mixed-Race People: Taller, More Intelligent, Better Looking? —But Also Crazy by Lance Welton (10/13/2018) VDARE (archived from 4 Nov 2020 17:18:04 UTC).
This racist aspect to the spiteful mutant hypothesis combined with Dutton's approval of ethnocentrism, has attracted neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Dutton knows this is his target audience and he primarily speaks on far-right podcasts, online chats and radio-shows including Red Ice Creations,We Are Getting Dumber and Dumber, Civilization Will Collapse (Feb 27, 2019) Red Ice Radio (archived from August 6, 2020). This Week on the Alt Right (with Mark Collett), identitarian YouTuber Tom Rowsell (a.k.a. Survive the Jive)Big-brained Barbarians! with Dr. Edward Dutton (The Jolly Heretic) by Survive the Jive (Jun 11, 2019) YouTube. and conservative activist Robyn Riley to discuss the "decline of Western civilization" by spiteful mutants.When the Heart of the Civilization Stops Beating w/ Dr. Edward Dutton by Robyn Riley (Dec 21, 2019) YouTube. On 2 July 2019, Dutton appeared on a neo-Nazi podcast by the Nordic Frontier #114: Dr. Edward Dutton (July 2, 2019) Nordic Resistance Movement (archived from July 3, 2019). Kirkegaard has similarly appeared on white supremacist Tara McCarthy's The Reality Call Show.Tara McCarthy - The Reality Calls Show: Emil OW Kirkegaard: IQ And The Future Of Eugenics (20:39 UTC on August 31st, 2018) Bitchute.
Other groups that Dutton and Kirkegaard claim to have a high prevalence of mental illness are vegans, feminists and antinatalists (see below).What Kind of People Become Vegan? by Edward Dutton (Aug 13, 2019) YouTube.Mental illness and the left: vegan edition. "The majority of studies, and especially the higher quality studies, showed that those who avoided meat consumption had significantly higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety, and/or self-harm behaviors." by Emil O. W. Kirkegaard (5:15 AM - 6 May 2020) Twitter (archived from November 4, 2020).Interview with Edward Dutton on MGTOW and Feminism by huffduffer (2019) PlayerFM.
===Spiteful mutations as voluntary childlessness===
Dutton has an intense dislike of individuals who are voluntarily childless (so-called 'childfree'), especially antinatalists — people who are opposed to human procreation for moral or philosophical reasons — as well as people who choose not to have children because of environmental concerns (such as climate change and overpopulation). He describes voluntarily childless people as "highly maladaptive in evolutionary terms" and being a "failure as an organism" for not wanting to reproduce.
The number of years a woman has spent in education is inversely correlated with the number of children she will bear in her lifetimeFemale education and its impact on fertility: The relationship is more complex than one may think by Jungho Kim (2016) IZA World of Labor 228:1-10. doi:10.15185/izawol.228.Female Education and Childbearing: A Closer Look at the Data by Elina Pradhan (November 24, 2015) World Bank Blogs. and childless women (both voluntary and involuntary) tend to have the highest levels of education when compared to women with children.Never-married childless women in Australia: health and social circumstances in older age by Julie Cwikel et al. (2006) Soc. Sci. Med. 62(8):1991-2001. doi:0.1016/j.socscimed.2005.09.006.Choosing Childlessness: Weber's Typology of Action and Motives of the Voluntarily Childless by Kristin Park (2005) Sociological Inquiry 75(3):372–402. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2005.00127.x. A 2006 study reported voluntarily childless women in the US have the highest income and prior work experience compared to other women.Childlessness Among Older Women in the United States: Trends and Profiles by Joyce C. Abma & Gladys M. Martinez (2006) Journal of Marriage and Family 68:1045-1056. doi:10.1111/J.1741-3737.2006.00312.X. One thing Satoshi Kanazawa even seems to have gotten right is that more intelligent individuals are more likely to prefer to remain childless than less intelligent individuals.Intelligence and childlessness by Satoshi Kanazawa (2014) Soc. Sci. Res. 48:157-70. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.06.003. Like atheists (who have higher IQs on average than religious people, but lower fertility) Dutton is left with a dilemma that (voluntary) childless people he dislikes are typically smarter than individuals who produce offspring. As a counter-argument, Dutton has claimed voluntary childlessness is maladaptive because antinatalists have a high risk of mental illness.The Jolly Heretic reviewed (2019-07-15 20:21) Nordik Radio. Umberson et al. (2010) note "the available evidence suggests that childlessness has few costs for psychological well-being and may even be associated with enhanced well-being, at least for certain social groups."Parenthood, Childlessness, and Well‐Being: A Life Course Perspective by Debra Umberson et al. (2010) Journal of Marriage and Family 72(3):612-629. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00721.x. A 2015 study found that among unmarried Australian women, the absence of children is associated with better well-being and health than women with children, but that worse health conditions are experienced if childless women are separated, divorced or widowed.Is Being Childless Detrimental to a Woman's Health and Well-Being Across Her Life Course? by Melissa Graham (2015) Women's Health Issues 25(2):176-184. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2014.12.002. Zhang and Hayward (2001) criticise studies on the mental and physical health of childless individuals for lumping voluntary and involuntary childlessness (for example women who want children but can't for medical reasons). They note studies analysing voluntarily childless people reveal they have a tendency to have good mental health and well-being because of desired lifestyle, unlike involuntarily childless persons who are more likely to suffer from depression or loneliness:Childlessness and the Psychological Well-Being of Older Persons by Zhenmei Zhang & Mark D. Hayward (2001) The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 56(5):S311–S320. doi:10.1093/geronb/56.5.S311.
Dykstra and Hagestad (2007) summarised the research literature on childless individuals' socioeconomic status, health and social networks by remarking "Childless older adults did not emerge as the sad bunch they often are assumed to be".Childlessness and Parenthood in Two Centuries: Different Roads—Different Maps? by Pearl A. Dykstra & Gunhild O. Hagestad (2007) Journal of Family Issues 28(11):1518-1532. doi:10.1177/0192513X07303881. Studies that have analysed between childless individuals and individuals with children have discovered "no difference in this association for childless women and mothers and for childless men and fathers."Rothrauff, T., & Cooney, T. M. (2008). "The role of generativity in psychological well-being: Does it differ for childless adults and parents?". Journal of Adult Development, 15(3-4), 148-159. Avison and Furnham (2015) in their paper "Personality and voluntary childlessness" published in Journal of Population Research found voluntarily childless participants in their study scored signiﬁcantly higher in independence than those who had or wanted children.Personality and voluntary childlessness by Margaret Avison & Adrian Furnham (2015) Journal of Population Research 32(1):45-67. doi:10.1007/s12546-014-9140-6. Independence as a personality trait means a person prefers to act on his/her own thoughts and feelings rather than be influenced by the views of others. More recently, clinical psychologist Noam Shpancer (2019) has compiled evidence in an article that shows research has "consistently shown negative correlations between having children and marital and life satisfaction. Having children is associated with reduced happiness, particularly for women, and particularly in the U.S., and that link appears to sustain over the long term."Why So Many Are Satisfied Being Childless by Choice: Despite lingering stigma, childfree women are often happier. by Noam Shpancer (Dec 29, 2019) Psychology Today. In the US, based on the General Social Survey (1972-2016) women having children is associated with a marginally-significant 3 or 4 percentage point decline in happiness compared to childless women.Does Having Children Make People Happier in the Long Run? by Nicholas H. Wolfinger (December 10, 2018) Institute for Family Studies. The American Sociological Association conducted a major study and found that parents are more likely to be depressed than people who are childfree.Kids are Depressing, Study of Parents Finds by Robert Roy Britt (February 07, 2006) Live Science.
In 2015, it was estimated that 7.4% of women in the US are voluntarily childless (up from 6% in 2010) and 2.1% are involuntarily childless.Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth - C Listing: Childlessness (Page last reviewed: May 7, 2019) Centers for Disease Control (archived from 5 Nov 2020 01:34:42 UTC). An additional 35.6% of US women are childless but this figure is categorised as neither voluntarily or involuntarily childless but temporarily childless meaning women who plan to have children in the future but don't currently have any.
===Spiteful mutations as ugliness===
Dutton has claimed spiteful mutants including liberals, Marxists and atheists are less physically attractive on average than conservatives and religious people. On 7 September 2019 he delivered a speech at the white nationalist Patriotic Alternative conference titled "Why are Conservative Girls So Attractive and Liberal Girls So Ugly?"Why are Conservative Girls So Attractive and Liberal Girls So Ugly? by Edward Dutton (2019) Radio Albion (archived from May 11, 2020). The main study Dutton bases this claim on is Berggren et al. 2017.The right look: Conservative politicians look better and voters reward it by Niclas Berggren et al. (February 2017) Journal of Public Economics, pages 79-86. doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.12.008. Berggren carried out three separate studies including a web survey in which 2,513 non-Finnish respondents (from Sweden and US) evaluated the facial appearance in terms of beauty or handsomeness of 1,357 female (684) and male (673) Finnish political candidates from 2003-2004. The candidates were from three parties, National Coalition Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Left Alliance. Results showed females and males of the National Coalition Party were rated on average better-looking than the Social Democratic Party and the Left Alliance (although for male candidates, rating differences were not statistically significant among respondents from Sweden). Berggren et al. classify National Coalition Party as right-wing, while the other two parties as left-wing. The though is a liberal-conservative party (combining conservative policies with liberal stances) and is not standard right-wing; socially it is very liberal on issues such as LGBT rights, multiculturalism and immigration. The National Coalition Party is in fact more pro-immigration than the Social Democratic Party; in 2015 it was reported they are most welcoming of immigrant workers from outside EU.Centre Party split over immigration: The most welcoming towards workers from outside the EU are the Green League, the Swedish People’s Party and the National Coalition Party, says Helsingin Sanomat. (7.3.2015 10:48 | updated 7.3.2015 11:56) Yle.
Kirkegaard has cited another study in the journal Politics and the Life Sciences to support Dutton's claim conservatives are more physically attractive than liberals.Conservatives are more attractive. Evidence from ANES and WLS. Of course, Guardian has us covered with the left-friendly spin: pretty people receiving unfair advantages from halo effect, which makes them think world is fair etc. by Emil O. W. Kirkegaard‏ (3:57 AM - 24 May 2019) Twitter' (archived from 25 May 2019 13:59:26 UTC). However, this study is contradicted by other studies that specifically look at conservative versus liberal positions on things like abortion and same-sex marriage.How being beautiful influences your attitudes toward sex by Robert Urbatsch (February 28, 2019 6.41am EST) The Conversatoin. For example, a 2018 study found 51% of women rated above-average in terms of their sex appeal turned out to support "a woman who wants an abortion for any reason should legally be allowed to have one". In contrast, 42% of women rated below-average in sex appeal supported the same statement.Study finds that attractive people have more liberal views by Rebecca ReidFriday (1 Mar 2019 12:34 pm) MetroUK.Good Looks as a Source of Moral Permissiveness by Robert Urbatsch (2018) Social Science Quarterly 100(1):328-341. doi:10.1111/ssqu.12544. Dutton and Kirkegaard who engage in confirmation bias don't cite these studies.
In 2020, groypers and other far-right trolls have adopted Dutton's views and now label arrested or convicted Antifa criminals as spiteful mutants based on their police mug-shots posted on Andy Ngo's social media, with one troll tweeting "ANTIFA mugshots are proof of [Edward Dutton] @jollyheretic's 'Spiteful Mutants' theory."ANTIFA mugshots are proof of @jollyheretic's "Spiteful Mutants" theory. by @PALE_Primate (6:38 PM - 17 Jul 2020) Twitter (archived from 14 Sep 2020 08:08:32 UTC).
===Spiteful mutations as involuntary celibacy===
Michael A. Woodley of Menie on a livestream with Dutton on The Jolly Heretic has argued that incels are spiteful mutants. Woodley is quoted as saying "The incel phenomenon seems to be a function of degraded social epistasis".Dr. Michael Woodley: "The incel phenomenon seems to be a function of degraded social epistasis" (29 Sep 2019) Reddit (archived from 24 Sep 2020 12:55:27 UTC). Woodley thinks incels are spiteful mutants because they are involuntarily celibate and therefore childless. Woodley (born 1984) is in his late 30s and childless himself — so his theory on incels might stem from his own psychological projection.
===Spiteful mutations as pedophilia===
Edward Dutton has linked pedophilia to the spiteful mutant hypothesis in a video titled "Do paedophiles rule the world".Episode 16: Do Paedophiles Rule the World? by Edward Dutton (12:01 UTC on June 6th, 2019) Bitchute. He argues non-religious people and liberals (or individuals with left-wing political views) are more likely than religious people and conservatives to be pedophiles, or have views sympathetic towards pedophilia. There is no research to support these claims since no surveys have ever been conducted on liberal and conservative attitudes concerning pedophilia. 
An obvious criticism of Dutton's claim that non-religious individuals are more likely to be pedophiles or sympathetic to pedophilia than religious individuals is the history of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Dutton published a paper in the pseudojournal Mankind Quarterly that touches upon this topic in which he defends his bizarre "Gay Shaman Theory".Why Are Non-Heterosexual Males Attracted to Religious Celibacy? A Case for the 'Gay Shaman' Theory by Edward Dutton (2018) Mankind Quarterly 59(2):197-215. doi:10.46469/mq.2018.59.2.4. In his paper, Dutton makes the dubious claim that homosexuality-pedophilia "is not really pedophilia" because "homosexual pedophiles prefer significantly older children, often those that are already pubescent, and the abusers themselves are also more feminine than heterosexual abusers."Everything you ever wanted to know about homosexuality but were afraid to ask. by Edward Dutton (May 8, 2020) The National Policy Institute (archived from August 22, 2020).
On 14 September 2020 Dutton appeared on a podcast with Richard Spencer to discuss the 2020 film and pedophilia. At the end of the podcast, Dutton claims that Cuties and especially the promotional poster of the film (that recieved so many complaints that Netflix removed its poster), is an example of "negative social epistatis"."Les Prédateurs" @jollyheretic and I discuss #cutiesnetflix. by Richard Spencer (11:56 PM - 13 Sep 2020) Twitter (archived from 4 Nov 2020 05:35:21 UTC). Throughout the podcast Spencer and Dutton try to link pedophilia-advocacy to so-called Social Justice Warriors. Dutton has relied on Emil Kirkegaard's questionable research to claim there is an "SJW-pedophilia" link. Kirkegaard for example has re-tweeted "Opposing pedophilia is officially a right wing position"Opposing pedophilia is officially a right wing position. by Cernovich (September 10, 2020) Twitter (archived from 10 Sep 2020 19:21:23 UTC). despite himself having a controversial history of writing distasteful comments about pedophilia and age of consent. In 2012, Kirkegaard wrote that he thinks age of consent is a "fiction" because "even babies consent" and it should be lowered to 13 or younger in his country (Denmark). Kirkegaard also wants to legalise child pornography.The ban on child porn possession by Emil Kirkegaard (September 8, 2012 at 20:13) Clear Language, Clear Mind (archived from October 10, 2013).
Dutton and Spencer have repeatedly mentioned groups like the Paedophile Information Exchange as evidence that people with left-wing political views are pro-pedophilia. The PIE group between 1974 and 1984 (when it became defunct) campaigned for the complete abolition of the age of consent, but was widely criticised at the time, including by notable left-wing politicians, for example Labour MP, an Honorary Vice-President of Campaign for Homosexual Equality in the 1970s, condemned PIE, "Some plain speaking is called for: paedophilia is not a condition to be given a nod and a wink as a healthy fringe activity in society – it is a wholly undesirable abnormality requiring sensitive treatment."Lobbying by paedophile campaign revealed: Evidence continues to emerge of links between NCCL and PIE after denials by Harman and Dromey by Robert Booth & Helen Pidd (26 Feb 2014 18.41 EST) The Guardian. In 2013, all three major political parties in the UK (Labour Party, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) rejected a call by a leading public health official to consider lowering the age of consent.Parties reject call to lower age of consent: Leading public health official calls for a lowering of the age of consent to make it easier for 15-year-olds to seek contraception by Nicholas Watt (17 Nov 2013 13.25 EST) The Guardian.
==Supporters of SEAM==
(all the individuals and groups below are white supremacists)
*Erik Ahrenshttps://twitter.com/erikahrens_ffm/status/1668975136660156416
*Richard Spencer"Spiteful mutants": Physical ugliness bespeak genetic mutations and general poor health—and the brain is the biggest target for harmful mutations. So, yes, you should judge people by how they look. @jollyheretic by Richard Spencer (12:47 PM · Jun 2, 2020) Twitter (archived from 5 Nov 2020 19:24:23 UTC).
*Anatoly KarlinDiscussion of spiteful mutants with @Starktruthradio and @jollyheretic. by Anatoly Karlin (12:06 PM · Sep 11, 2020) Twitter (archived from 5 Nov 2020 19:25:55 UTC).
*Lance WeltonIs Antifa A "Spiteful Mutation"? Are We Headed To A "Mouse Utopia" Collapse? by Lance Welton (07/18/2020) VDARE (archived from October 10, 2020).Of Mice and Men: "Spiteful Mutations" Look Bad For The West by Lance Welton (10/24/2017) VDARE (archived from September 19, 2020).Are Atheists Genetic Mutants-A Product of Recent Evolution? by Lance Welton (May 26, 2018) The Unz Review (archived from February 2, 2020).
*MetapediaSpiteful mutations Metapedia (archived from November 4, 2020).
*Patriotic Alternative
*American RenaissanceA Conversation with Edward Dutton by Grégoire Canlorbe (July 10, 2019) American Renaissance (archived from September 6, 2020).
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Pseudoscience
Category:Racialism
Category:Social justice