NEWSLETTER | The American Philosophical Association Feminism and Philosophy FALL 2020 VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 2 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION BOOK REVIEWS Lauren Freeman Andrea J. Pitts, Mariana Ortega, and José Medina, eds.: Theories of the Flesh: Latinx and ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER ON Latin American Feminisms, Transformation, and FEMINISM AND PHILOSOPHY Resistance Reviewed by Michael Monahan SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION Megan Burke: When Time Warps: The Lived Experience of Gender, Race, and Sexual Violence Reviewed by Caleb Ward ARTICLES Mari Mikkola Noelle Chaddock and Beth Hinderliter, eds.: Précis to Pornography: A Philosophical Antagonizing White Feminism: Intersectionality’s Introduction Critique of Women’s Studies and the Academy Reviewed by Shay Welch Esa Díaz-Len Is Feminist Pornography Possible? Serene Khader: Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic A. W. Eaton Thoughts on Mikkola: Pornography, Artifacts, Reviewed by Jamie Ritzo and Pictures Robin S. Dillon and Armen T. Marsoobian, eds.: Hans Maes Criticism and Compassion: The Ethics and Politics of Claudia Card Pornography and Melancholy Reviewed by Spencer Nabors Katharine Jenkins Pornography, Social Ontology, and Feminist CONTRIBUTORS Philosophy Mari Mikkola Pornography: A Philosophical Introduction: Response to Commentators VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 1 FALL 2020 © 2020 BY THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION ISSN 2155-9708 APA NEWSLETTER ON Feminism and Philosophy LAUREN FREEMAN, EDITOR VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 2 | FALL 2020 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND Lauren Freeman INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE 1. Purpose: The purpose of the newsletter is to publish This issue is dedicated to a critical engagement with information about the status of women in philosophy Mari Mikkola’s 2016 book, Pornography: A Philosophical and to make the resources of feminist philosophy more Introduction (Oxford University Press). It begins with a widely available. The newsletter contains discussions of précis of the book, followed by critical responses by Esa recent developments in feminist philosophy and related Díaz-León, A. W. Eaton, Hans Maes, and Katharine Jenkins. work in other disciplines, literature overviews and book Mari Mikkola responds to these comments in turn. reviews, suggestions for eliminating gender bias in the traditional philosophy curriculum, and refections on Additionally, there are fve book reviews in this issue: feminist pedagogy. It also informs the profession about Michael Monahan reviews Theories of the Flesh: Latinx and the work of the APA Committee on the Status of Women. Latin American Feminisms, Transformation, and Resistance Articles submitted to the newsletter should be around ten (2020), edited by Andrea J. Pitts, Mariana Ortega, and José double-spaced pages and must follow the APA guidelines Medina; Caleb Ward reviews When Time Warps: The Lived for gender-neutral language. Please submit essays Experience of Gender, Race, and Sexual Violence (2019), electronically to the editor or send four copies of essays by Megan Burke; Shay Welch reviews Antagonizing White via regular mail. All manuscripts should be prepared for Feminism: Intersectionality’s Critique of Women’s Studies anonymous review. References should follow The Chicago and the Academy (2019), edited by Noelle Chaddock Manual of Style. and Beth Hinderliter; Jamie Ritzo reviews Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic (2018), by 2. Book Reviews and Reviewers: If you have published Serene Khader; Spencer Nabors reviews Criticism and a book that is appropriate for review in the newsletter, Compassion: The Ethics and Politics of Claudia Card (2018), please have your publisher send us a copy of your book. edited by Robin S. Dillon and Armen T. Marsoobian. We are always seeking new book reviewers. To volunteer to review books (or some particular book), please send the I’m grateful to all of the authors for their wonderful editor, Lauren Freeman ([email protected]), a contributions to this issue. CV and letter of interest, including mention of your areas of research and teaching. 3. Where to Send Things: Please send all articles, comments, ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER ON suggestions, books, and other communications to the editor: Dr. Lauren Freeman, University of Louisville, lauren. FEMINISM AND PHILOSOPHY [email protected]. The Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy is sponsored 4. Submission Deadlines: Submissions for spring issues by the APA Committee on the Status of Women (CSW). The are due by the preceding November 1; submissions for fall newsletter is designed to provide an introduction to recent issues are due by the preceding February 1. philosophical work that addresses issues of gender. None of the varied philosophical views presented by authors of newsletter articles necessarily refect the views of any or all of the members of the Committee on the Status of Women, including the editor(s) of the newsletter, nor does the committee advocate any particular type of feminist philosophy. We advocate only that serious philosophical attention be given to issues of gender and that claims of gender bias in philosophy receive full and fair consideration. APA NEWSLETTER | FEMINISM AND PHILOSOPHY decades, entrenched and seemingly straightforward anti- ARTICLES and pro-pornography positions have emerged. In popular press, those opposing pornography are often portrayed as Précis to Pornography: A Philosophical prudish sex-negative feminists, who advocate censorship; pornography’s defenders are characterized as sex-positive Introduction liberals, who fght for free speech and expression. Lively philosophical debates about pornography have emerged Mari Mikkola since the 1980s, and there is by now a rich literature on SOMERVILLE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD the topic. Nonetheless, these debates are still fraught with many difcult questions and precious little agreement exists on even basic questions: What is pornography? What 1. TASK OF THE BOOK (if anything) does pornography do? Is the consumption of This book ofers an opinionated introduction to and an pornography a harmless private matter, or does it harm its analysis of philosophical treatments of pornography. It is users in some ways? Does pornography harm non-users, a work in analytic philosophy; hence, one might expect my like women generally, by increasing the prevalence of frst move in the introduction to be to defne the concept sexualized violence? What, if anything, should legally be of pornography, and to ofer some necessary and sufcient done about pornography? Is feminist pornography possible conditions for why some flm, image, or text counts as and if so, what would make pornography feminist? Not pornography. Perhaps surprisingly, I don’t start with such having a clear idea about what we are talking about when a defnitional task. Perhaps even more surprisingly, this we talk about pornography has hindered philosophical is because such a defnitional undertaking has turned out attempts to answer these questions. There is still much to be far from straightforward. As the US Supreme Court confusion over the conceptual and political commitments Justice Potter Stewart in 1964 famously claimed, although of diferent anti- and pro-pornography positions, while he cannot provide a clear defnition of pornography, he diferent sides tend to portray a simplistic picture of their knows what counts as pornography when he encounters opponents. Participants in the debates end up easily it. Justice Stewart was relying on his intuitive conception of talking past one another. Furthermore, given the emotive pornography; unfortunately, other people rely on theirs. For nature of the topic, interlocutors can miss the fact that instance, many Americans (at least of a certain generation) existing positions are much more nuanced and far more would say that magazines like Hustler and Playboy are complex than might at frst seem. In fact, diferent sides paradigm instances of pornography. The heir of Playboy, to the debate might not even disagree with one another, Cooper Hefner, disagrees: he stated in a more recent contra appearances. newspaper article that the magazine is not pornography, but art, and that it empowers women. The OED’s defnition In light of these difculties and (apparent) disagreements, of pornography is rather innocuous and tame-sounding: this book examines philosophical pornography debates It denotes the explicit description or exhibition of sexual with the aim to steady and clarify the waters. It does not subjects or activity in literature, painting, flms, etc. in a put forward one overarching argument throughout, but manner intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic rather evaluates relevant arguments thematically. In so feelings. Then again, Susan Brownmiller takes pornography doing, the book has three broad goals. First, to conduct to be the “undiluted essence of anti-female propaganda.”1 a comprehensive and careful investigation of diferent And even the most innocent sounding internet searches philosophical positions for and against pornography, which can yield a wealth of pornography hits. (Just think of Rule will provide much needed clarity on how pornography 34 from The Urban Dictionary: If it exists, there is porn on it.) and other key notions are (and should be) understood. In so doing, the book also clarifes what diferent views Many philosophers disagree with all of the above are theoretically and politically committed to. Second, to conceptions irrespective of their stance on the morality