Facing the Problems of Feminism: Working Toward Resolution
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A Lesbian Feminist Critique of Susan Okin's Justice, Gender and the Family
Hastings Women’s Law Journal Volume 4 | Number 2 Article 4 6-1-1993 A Lesbian Feminist Critique of Susan Okin's Justice, Gender and the Family: Lesbian Families with Children as a Non-Heterosexist Model for the Development of Morality and Justice Deborah M. Henson Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hwlj Recommended Citation Deborah M. Henson, A Lesbian Feminist Critique of Susan Okin's Justice, Gender and the Family: Lesbian Families with Children as a Non- Heterosexist Model for the Development of Morality and Justice , 4 Hastings Women's L.J. 249 (1993). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hwlj/vol4/iss2/4 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Women’s Law Journal by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Lesbian Feminist Critique of Susan Okin's ~u~~!ce, G~ll~el"Land_t@_ Pcunily:_ l&sbian Families With Children as a Non-heterosexist Model for the Development of Morality and Justice by Deborah M. Henson* Consider a family structure in which both partners are the same sex and thus have to choose certain divisions of labor rather than having traditional notions of gender-based role functioning upon which to rely. Although, theoretically, the choices these two persons make would not necessarily be more egalitarian than the choices made by two persons in a heterosexual relationship, the potential for radical difference is present. -
Okin, Susan Moller (1946-2004) Abstract Background Criticism Of
Andreas Follesdal Okin, Susan Moller (1946-2004) Approximately as appears in Encyclopedia of Political Thought, ed Michael Gibbons, Diana Coole, and Elisabeth Ellis Wiley-Blackwell, 2014 Abstract Susan Moller Okin, an egalitarian feminist liberal, reconstructed the history of political thought to correct for the absence, exclusion or distortion of women, gendered culture and reproduction. She developed the social contract tradition to secure family and gender central place, highlighted the plight of minority women in multicultural societies, and contributed to women-centred development policies. Background Susan Okin was born in New Zealand, and earned a masters’ degree in philosophy at Oxford in 1970, before obtaining her doctorate at Harvard University in 1975. She taught at the University of Auckland, at Vassar, Brandeis and Harvard before she was appointed Professor at Stanford University from 1990. Criticism of traditional political thought Her first book concerned Women in Western Political Thought (1979), arguing that philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau erred when claiming to write about the individual, since their actual subject were the male heads of families. They would typically ask ‘what is the nature and capacities of man?’ – and ‘what is the purpose of women?’ Conflicts in society at large sapped attention from conflicts among family members. Okin held the philosophers’ divisions between the private and the public to be theoretically untenable and with indefensible implications. John Stuart Mill was an exception, concerned about the plight of women and about how children are socialised to gender roles instead of to equality. This remained one of her central themes: the constraints of justice on socialization in the family. -
Feminist Theory: a Philosophical Anthology Ann Cudd (Editor), Robin Andreasen (Editor)
To purchase this product, please visit https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/9781405116602 Feminist Theory: A Philosophical Anthology Ann Cudd (Editor), Robin Andreasen (Editor) Paperback 978-1-405-11661-9 November 2004 Out of stock £31.25 Hardcover 978-1-405-11660-2 November 2004 Out of stock £103.00 DESCRIPTION Feminist Theory: A Philosophical Anthology addresses seven philosophically significant questions regarding feminism, its central concepts of sex and gender, and the project of centering women’s experience. • • Topics include the nature of sexist oppression, the sex/gender distinction, how gender-based norms influence conceptions of rationality, knowledge, and scientific objectivity, feminist ethics, feminst perspectives on self and autonomy, whether there exist distinct feminine moral perspectives, and what would comprise true liberation. • • Features an introductory overview illustrating the development of feminism as a philosophical movement • • Contains both classic and contemporary sources of feminist thought, including selections by Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill, Simone de Beauvior, Kate Millett, bell hooks, Marilyn Frye, Martha Nussbaum, Louise Antony, Sally Haslanger, Helen Longino, Marilyn Friedman, Catharine MacKinnon, and Drucilla Cornell. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ann E. Cudd is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Women’s Studies at the University of Kansas. She is co-editor of Theorizing Backlash: Philosophical Reflections on the Resistance to Feminism (with Anita Superson, 2002). Robin O. Andreasen is Assistant Professor -
Self-Narrative, Feminist Theory and Writing Practice
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ResearchArchive at Victoria University of Wellington ON SHIFTING GROUND: Self-narrative, feminist theory and writing practice By Anne Else A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2006 To Susan Moller Okin 1946-2004 Abstract This thesis centres on a problem that stands at the heart of feminist theory: how women may come to understand themselves as speaking subjects located within historically specific, discursive social structures, to question those structures aloud, and to seek to change them. It combines self-narrative, feminist theory and writing practice to make sense of a body of published work which I produced between 1984 and 1999, with a consistent focus on some form of gendered discourse, by setting it in its personal, historical, and theoretical contexts. Although the thesis is built around published work, it is not primarily about results or outcomes, but rather about a set of active historical processes. Taking the form of a spirally structured critical autobiography spanning five and a half decades, it traces how one voice of what I have termed feminist oppositional imagining has emerged and taken its own worded shape. First, it constructs a double story of coming to writing and coming to feminism, in order to explore the formation of a writing subject and show the critical importance of the connections between subjectivity and oppositional imagining, and to highlight the need to find ways of producing knowledge which do not rely on the notion of the detached observer. -
Ratio 15.4 Text
Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2002, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Ratio (new series) XV 4 December 2002 0034–0006 LIVED BODY vs GENDER: REFLECTIONS ON SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SUBJECTIVITY Iris Marion Young Abstract Toril Moi has argued that recent deconstructive challenges to the concept of gender and to the viability of the sex/gender distinction have brought feminist and queer theory to a place of increasing theo- retical abstraction. She suggests that we should abandon the category of gender once and for all, because it is founded on a nature-culture distinction and it tends incorrigibly to essentialize women’s lives. Moi argues that feminist and queer theories should replace the concept of gender with a concept of the lived body derived from existential phenomenology. In this essay I take up and develop this suggestions, and argue that there are several advantages that a category of the lived body has over a category of gender for feminist and queer theo- ries: (1) no nature-culture distinction is necessary but the body can be described as historically and socially specific; (2) it is not necessary to break out a gendered and “raced” part of identity with this cate- gory; (3) differences of sexual desire can be described without recourse to an “inner core” of identity or “sexual orientation.” I go on to argue, however, that it is important to retain a concept of gender for a theoretical purpose beyond that which Moi and those she criticizes conceive. In recent years feminist and queer theories have tended to conceive their theorizing as restricted to identity and subjectivity. -
Front Matter
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-13211-4 - Capitalism, For and Against: A Feminist Debate Ann E. Cudd and Nancy Holmstrom Frontmatter More information Capitalism, For and Against Political philosophy and feminist theory have rarely examined in detail how capitalism affects the lives of women. Ann Cudd and Nancy Holmstrom take up opposing sides of the issue, debating whether capitalism is valuable as an ideal and whether, as an actually existing economic system, it is good for women. In a discussion covering a broad range of social and economic issues, including unequal pay, industrial reforms, and sweatshops, they examine how these and other issues relate to women and how to analyze effectively what constitutes “capitalism” and “women’s interests.” Each author also responds to the opposing arguments, providing a thorough debate of the topics covered. The resulting volume will interest a wide range of readers in philosophy, political theory, women’s studies, and global affairs. ANN E. CUDD is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean for Humanities, University of Kansas. She is the author of Analyzing Oppression (2006), and co-edited (with Anita Superson) Theorizing Backlash (2002) and (with Robin Andreason) Feminist Theory (2005). NANCY HOLMSTROM is Professor Emerita and former Chair of Philosophy at Rutgers University Newark. She is the author of numerous articles on core topics in social philosophy and is the editor of The Socialist Feminist Project: A Contemporary Reader in Theory and Politics (2002). © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-13211-4 - Capitalism, For and Against: A Feminist Debate Ann E. -
Race and Oppression: Philosophical Issues in Voluntary Oppression
RACE AND OPPRESSION: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN VOLUNTARY OPPRESSION BY Roksana Alavi Submitted to the graduate degree program in Philosophy and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Professor Ann E. Cudd Chairperson Committee members Professor Thomas Tuozzo Professor Anthony Genova Professor Rex Martin Professor Mehrangiz Najafizadeh Date defended: 1/31/2008 The Dissertation Committee for Roksana Alavi certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: RACE AND OPPRESSION: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN VOLUNTARY OPPRESSION Committee Professor Ann E. Cudd Chairperson Date Accepted: 3/27/2008 ii Abstract In my dissertation I discuss voluntary racial oppression. In my view coercion is not required for all oppressive situations. The psychologically oppressed, internalizes the expectation of inferiority and becomes one’s own oppressor. This theory of oppression can best explain the situation of racial minorities in the United States. There are no laws discriminating against racial minorities. So, their oppression is not externally inflicted. I provide Sally Haslanger’s theory of race. I believe in this theory of race, passing people are also victim of oppression. I discuss three harms of oppression: violence, economic oppression and stereotyping, and show that they can be both voluntarily and involuntarily inflicted. Although passing people are not victims of direct harm, they internalize the negative stereotypes and become their own oppressors. So, in order to end racial oppression, we ought to address both the political aspects of having rights and bringing everyone to the threshold level of functioning of capabilities. iii Acknowledgements It takes a village to write a dissertation! It is with great pleasure that I express my sincere gratitude to all those “villagers” who helped me to get to this point today. -
Thesis Proposal
RAWLS, FEMINIST CRITICISM AND JUSTICE IN THE FAMILY: DO WE REALLY NEED A KITHCHEN POLICE? By Leda Sutlovic Submitted to Central European University Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Political Science Supervisor: Zoltan Miklosi Budapest, Hungary 2008 CEU eTD Collection The family is the association established by nature for the supply of man's everyday wants. Aristotle But then, what is one supposed to call hand-washing of laundry, scrubbing floors, or ironing? The answer is: just women’s work. It is not that the state hated women and, therefore, didn’t produce machines that would make their lives easier, but rather that there were so many other problems to solve, things to produce. The ‘woman question’ (if any!) was going to be solved one day, that’s for certain. Slavenka Drakulic, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed CEU eTD Collection Abstract Justice in the family is an old debate and often considered to be an irresolvable one. Since the family is a space of love and intimacy, it should not be put under any regulations. If this is so, is there any way of achieving justice within the family without interference of the state? Although he places the family within the umbrella of justice, Rawls’ theory was criticized from the feminist viewpoint. The feminist criticism indicates that Rawls did not introduce justice in the family which then makes the well-ordered society unjust and unsustainable, for the family is the primary school of moral development. A theory of justice pledges for the equality of opportunity, a goal that is, according to the feminists, unachievable as long as women bear responsibility for the majority of domestic and dependency work. -
A Critique of Liberal Multiculturalism Anke Schuster University of Groningen
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CommonKnowledge Essays in Philosophy Volume 7 Article 15 Issue 1 Liberalism, Feminism, Multiculturalism 1-2006 Does Liberalism Need Multiculturalism? A Critique of Liberal Multiculturalism Anke Schuster University of Groningen Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.pacificu.edu/eip Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Schuster, Anke (2006) "Does Liberalism Need Multiculturalism? A Critique of Liberal Multiculturalism," Essays in Philosophy: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 15. Essays in Philosophy is a biannual journal published by Pacific nivU ersity Library | ISSN 1526-0569 | http://commons.pacificu.edu/eip/ Essays in Philosophy Essays in Philosophy A Biannual Journal Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2006 Does Liberalism Need Multiculturalism? A Critique of Liberal Multiculturalism Abstract: In this paper I will argue that liberal multiculturalism is neither a necessary nor a convincing extension of liberalism. In evaluating the two main strands of liberal multiculturalism, I will first analyse the approaches of Charles Taylor and Bhikhu Parekh as the main proponents of the version that focuses on the cultures themselves and raises the issue of the value of cultures in connection with public discourse. I will then turn to Amy Gutmann and Will Kymlicka as liberal multiculturalists who use the liberal norm of individual equality as a starting point. I will show that the arguments adduced in favour of liberal multiculturalism fail, due to the following shortcomings. Taylor’s approach is underspecified with respect to the relationship between the process of evaluating cultures and its outcome. -
Philosophical Issues in Feminism
PHIL 347: Philosophical Issues in Feminism David Black [email protected] December 31, 2014 Course Description Feminism is one of the core social justice movements today. A commit- ment to gender justice raises deep philosophical issues. What is gender? What are justice and injustice? What does specifically gendered justice require? In this discussion-focussed class, we will investigate foundational and topical questions of feminist theory, by both classic and contemporary authors. Topics include: the sex/gender distinction, analyses of gender and op- pression, and choice under oppression. Depending on student interest, we may cover sex-positivity and -negativity, feminist criticisms and episte- mologies of science, the ethics of care, or some other topics. 1 Course Information • Meeting Times: TBD • Class Location: TBD • Office Hours: TBD and by appointment • Prerequisites: One philosophy course or one WGS course or instructor's permission • Required Text: None, readings made available through Sakai. Several papers come from anthologies, but you don't need to buy them. • Registration Index: 04519 2 Course Narrative To oversimplify, feminism is a (collection of) movement(s) to end gender-based oppression. Two of these terms stand out in need of further explanation. First, \oppression". What kinds of things are oppressive and what does it mean for something to be oppressive? In the beginning of the course, we'll try to figure out what oppression is and how it is harmful. Second, \gender". Whose oppression is feminism in particular concerned with? Who counts as a woman or a man (or neither)? What makes a person be of one gender, rather than another? In our second unit, we'll see why most 1 people reject a biological answer and end up distinguishing between sex and gender. -
No Justice Without Autonomy. Olympe De Gouges and Susan Moller Okin Alberto L. Siani
POSTPRINT VERSION: DO NOT QUOTE OR REPRODUCE. No Justice without Autonomy. Olympe de Gouges and Susan Moller Okin Alberto L. Siani (Università di Pisa)1 Orcid ID: 0000-0002-6242-2036 Abstract According to a common feminist critique of liberal conceptions of justice, the supposed neutrality of the autonomous individual subject results, because of gender-based assumptions, in paradox and injustice. This paper addresses this critique, asking how liberal theories of justice should be reformed accordingly (first section). The two philosophers considered are Olympe de Gouges and Susan Moller Okin, responding respectively to the French-revolutionary Republicanism and John Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness. Both Gouge and Okin criticize the contradiction between the allegedly neutral universalism of liberal theories and their actual non-inclusive character toward women (and not only), but they pursue this criticism in different ways. De Gouges, while presenting women as independent, does not have autonomy has her goal, but rather social cohesion, morality, and happiness. Faced with the ambiguities of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, she adopts herself an ambiguous position (second section). Such ambiguities are avoided by Okin (third section), whose egalitarian claim firmly relies on individual autonomy. Rather than criticizing the neutral autonomous subject as intrinsically non-inclusive, she convincingly criticizes its use as a descriptive tool, while putting it forward as a normative ideal for both social reform and conceptions of justice. 1 I would like to thank the Department of Philosophy at Yeditepe University, Istanbul, and especially its chairman, Saffet Babür: their support allowed us to organize the international workshop “Women Philosophers on Autonomy” (May 2016), where I presented an early draft of this paper. -
Equality of Whom? Social Groups and Judgments of Injustice
The Journal of Political Philosophy: Volume 9, Number 1, 2001, pp. 1±18 Equality of Whom? Social Groupsand Judgmentsof Injustice* IRIS MARION YOUNG Political Science, University of Chicago ECENT philosophical debates about normative ideals of equality have Rfocused on questions of what we should be aiming at when we wish to make people more equal. Should normsof equality be conceived in termsof welfare, for example, which entails reference to subjective valuations, or should goals of equality be directed at objective resources? Are conceptsof the distribution of resources adequate for comparing objective well-being or do we need to conceptualize and compare what persons are capable of doing with these resources? Recent debates have shown that the apparently simple question of what we should compare when we make judgments of equality and inequality harbors a nest of conceptual and practical tensions. Contributors to the debate have greatly clari®ed these issues, if not solved them.1 Little attention has been paid to another side of this question, however, namely whom we are discussing when we compare people's situation with regard to any or all of these targets of equality. Theorists usually assume that the units we should be comparing when we make judgments of inequality are individuals. Many assessments of inequalities and claims for redress on grounds that an inequality isunjust, however, compare groups of individualsaccording to one or more measures of equality. People commonly claim that women lack equality with men, Blackswith whites,old people with younger people, children of working-class parents with children of middle-class parents, and so on.