Philosophy of Gender

Course Description

This is a survey course on the philosophy of gender that will explore both historical and contemporary approaches to what gender is (the ontology of gender) and how gender operates in society, politics, and culture (the ethics of gender). The course will be broken down into five modules for each day of the program.

The first module contextualizes the contemporary discourse on the philosophy of gender, beginning with an overview of the sex/gender distinction (Judith Butler; Anne Fausto-Sterling). The second and third modules will explore the ontology of gender as a concept that separates human beings into distinct kinds; these modules will focus on whether gender is an essential feature of human subjectivity or a malleable social reality imposed upon people. The discussion will begin with essentialist positions, which understand gender as an immutable characteristic that divides humanity into categories such as man/woman or male/female (Janet Wesselius; José Manuel Rodríguez Herrera). This account will be contrasted with social constructivist theories, which regard gender as a product of human practices and norms that have been naturalized over time (Sally Haslanger; Dean Spade). Essentialists suggest that universal gender categories most accurately describe the reality of gender-based oppression, whereas constructivists argue that essential criteria for gender categorization erase the diversity of gender systems across cultures.

The fourth and fifth modules will examine how the concept of gender informs the conditions under which individuals navigate social, legal, cultural, and political institutions. These modules intend to demonstrate how philosophical accounts of gender not only shape our conceptual understanding of human kinds, but also inform the concrete ways these categories are lived and enforced. The fourth module will explore the colonial underpinnings of gender as a system of classification to privilege certain bodies and cultural modes of expression over others (Gloria Anzaldúa; Maria Lugones). The fifth, and final module, will investigate how certain gendered expressions and identities are sanctioned as acceptable while others—namely trans ones—are cast into abjected categories deemed deviant or threatening (Susan Stryker; Talia Mae Bettcher).

The goal of this course will be to demonstrate how philosophical accounts of gender not only shape our conceptual understanding of human kinds but also inform the concrete ways these categories are lived and enforced. By tracing gender from theory to practice, students will develop an appreciation for philosophy as a discipline that interrogates both the abstract structures of thought and the embodied realities they produce.