Any characteristic being studied whose presence or absence would be seen as socially negative sense is going to be walking a very fine line if it turns out to b

Any characteristic being studied whose presence or absence would be seen as socially negative sense is going to be walking a very fine line if it turns out to be associated (or not) with certain subgroups because then you're right back to, in Nature's terms "[being] complicit in perpetuating structural inequalities and discrimination in society."