Those theorists whose lives are most directly affected
There are different, clashing rules in play in this “how dare Rebecca Tuvel” issue. Let’s revisit the open letter to look at them:
Many published articles include some minor defects of scholarship; however, together the problems with this article are glaring. More importantly, these failures of scholarship do harm to the communities who might expect better from Hypatia. It is difficult to imagine that this article could have been endorsed by referees working in critical race theory and trans theory, which are the two areas of specialization that should have been most relevant to the review process.
Wait. Are they? Who says so? Why? Hypatia is a journal of feminist philosophy. Why is it expected to consult people in critical race theory and trans theory? Do people in critical race theory and trans theory consult feminists before publishing? I don’t think so. Why does feminism have to consult critical race theory and trans theory when critical race theory and trans theory don’t have to consult feminism? Why is this obligation always only one way?
A message has been sent, to authors and readers alike, that white cis scholars may engage in speculative discussion of these themes without broad and sustained engagement with those theorists whose lives are most directly affected by transphobia and racism.
But the lives of feminists are directly affected by trans ideology and rhetoric. There’s a lot of feminismphobia and misogyny in trans activism. Many trans activists on social media spend far more time verbally attacking feminists than they do anyone else. So why are feminist women obliged to consult experts in trans theory but not vice versa?
The letter gives a list of things Hypatia has to do, then explains further:
These steps are especially important, considering that areas such as trans and race theory have historically been underrepresented and excluded from the field of feminist philosophy.
But feminist philosophy is feminist philosophy. Why is it expected to represent and include trans and race theory?
Given this history, it is especially dangerous for Hypatia to stand behind an article that exhibits poor scholarship in both fields and little concern for the voices of those most impacted by “theoretical” debates on the subject of racial and trans identity.
Most affected [aka “impacted”]? What about women? Women are also affected by theoretical debates on the subject of trans identity, because those debates either rely on or dispute basic assumptions about the nature of gender and identity that are, obviously, significant to women too. Trans people don’t own gender; women have a stake in the subject too, a very big one. The duties and obligations and demands for respect in this area should not run all one way.
I recently decided to stop identifying as a feminist. This was a big decision for me but the recent developments in feminism have bothered me too much. There was a time that I would have said that any woman (and even any man) who supports equality is a feminist. I was puzzled when I heard women who often talked about equality saying that they were not feminists. I assumed it was because of negative stereotypes.
In recent years, feminism has become fashionable and I was glad to see young women becoming engaged. I still am glad that young women want to stand up against sexual violence and other problems that they face. However, I now see a situation where any woman who wants to call herself a feminist is told that she must actively support a range of causes even if she knows little about them or simply disagrees with some parts. She is told to accept orthodoxies about gender, that she may never question a trans woman’s understanding of what it is to be female but that a trans woman may question hers and trash her if it does not toe the party line. She is told to shut up about her body and experience and definitely not to utter the heresy that she only feels female because she has a female body.
If a feminist is white, she can expect to walk on eggshells. She can talk about race but if anyone disagrees they can call her a “white feminist”. This is an insult but if she protests that it is wrong to use a description of what she is as an insult she’s just demonstrating what a spoiled privileged white women she is. She can diplomatically avoid the subject of race but then she’s a white feminist who only cares about white woman things (as if no other women are raped, or suffer domestic violence or need contraception and abortion). What is the alternative? Absolute submission. She must defer absolutely to the views declared orthodox and never disagree with a person from a marginalized group. She must accept that she is racist but she can pay Everday Feminism a fee to help her atone and heal from her toxic whiteness.
I could not encourage girls to get involved in feminism if it means being submissive and letting people treat them like shit. They, like everybody else, should feel entitled to a basic level of respect. They should be encouraged to question orthodox views and form their own opinions.
There have always been feminists that I had a problem with but they were usually on the fringes. The ones I have a problem with now are dominating the discourse and I don’t want to be associated with them. I have a background in human rights activism and want to continue with that rather than waste time with people who would argue whether I am a proper feminist or a white feminist or whatever. I want to get things done that will really make a difference.
I can only add that I am female, bisexual and have suffered from a disabling chronic condition since I was a teenager that has blighted by life. I am exactly the sort of person that social justice enthusiasts claim to represent. However, I want nothing to do with people who shut down all dissent, vilify everyone they disagree with, however small the disagreement, and attack free speech. I care too much about human rights and intellectual freedom for that.
So, I’d rather not call myself a feminist. I want to go back to being a human rights activist and I’ll choose independence of thought over dogma.
Well spoken. I hate the idea of no longer calling myself a feminist, but I also hate the idea of being associated with this brand of repressive ideology. Maybe we just need to invent a term that can let people know we stand for equality without having to take on all this baggage.
I am also white and feminist; I suffered my entire life (and still do) from the whims of people who believe that gender is essential, and that I therefore am some sort of grotesque mutant who isn’t a woman at all – but not a man, either, because reasons. As a teenager, I was forced into high heels, make up, and dresses. We were not allowed to wear anything but dresses to school until I was a freshman in high school, and even then, it had to be “pant suits” with matching tops and pants. When I was a senior, they finally (grudgingly) allowed girls to wear jeans, which the guys had been wearing all along. I was required to take Home Ec, and was discouraged from taking Calculus or Economics, for which I had to wait until college. I was shuffled into the slow Biology class because that was all I could take that didn’t conflict with honors English (the assumption being that, since girls are good at English and boys are good at Science, you wouldn’t have people who were eligible for both classes…in fact, my entire honors English class was filled with people who qualified for both, but none of us could stand the pain of going back through this is a noun, this is a verb, see John run, which is the noun which is the verb…).
I have been beaten for being insufficiently female, for reading the wrong books, taking the wrong classes, thinking the wrong thoughts. I was vilified and pressured until eventually I found someone and got married, more to prove that I was a woman than out of love (I realize that now; I didn’t then). He (my ex) was getting married to prove he wasn’t gay (he was). It was a marriage doomed, and would never have happened if I hadn’t been put into the spot of being expected to “prove” I was a woman, and he hadn’t been put in the spot of being expected to “prove” he was a man.
The young feminists doing all this screaming have no concept of what the earlier feminists went through to gain these rights, and they don’t really care, because they have convinced themselves that these rights were only gained for white, cis-hetero women. Not true – they apply to all women, even those, like my mother, who would rather die than make use of most of these rights.
Now, I find out in the declining years of my life that I have lived at the pinnacle of privilege all these years, a pinnacle apparently even higher than that of the rich white males who just took health care away from millions and continue to do everything they can to make choice an impossible option.
[…] a comment by Myrhinme on Those theorists whose lives are most directly […]
Like like like. Both your comments and analyses, that is, not the phenomena they describe. Sigh.
[No point here, just that Myrhinne’s second and third paragraphs hit home for me]
Straight white cis man here (I think those terms are correct, please don’t hate on me if they’re not!). I wound up on this page reading about the Tuvel controversy. For context, I’ll note that I don’t study gender academically (I’ve heard of Judith Butler, but I don’t know what the 2nd and 3rd waves are).
Recently I’ve promised myself that I will no longer discuss gender or race publically on campus, even though as far as I can see, it’s productive if at least sometimes, men are also part of the conversation. Why do I avoid the topic like the plague? Because it feels like there is simply nothing that I can say without someone interpreting what I say in the worst possible way, and then making vile accusations of sexism or racism against me. I’d love to learn more from my colleagues on campus, but that doesn’t feel like an option anymore. Not complaining, just stating something.
Actually, most people are very fair in discussing gender, and if they point out an experience that I personally am lucky enough to have never had to deal with, there are very few people who hold the fact that I have it pretty good against me. But there are some, and that’s all it takes to feel belittled.
PS – iknklst: You state that “they have convinced themselves that these rights were only gained for white, cis-hetero women. Not true – they apply to all women”. They’ve also apply men with things like toxic masculinity, etc. I know you know that, just saying thanks!