Brian Leiter has two posts on the monstering of Rebecca Tuvel. The first is nicely titled Thought crimes watch: comparing trans-racialism to transgenderism verboten!

A majority of the editorial board of an allegedly scholarly journal apologizes for publishing an article (which presumably went through whatever passes for peer review there) called “In Defense of Transracialism,” by Rebecca Tuvel, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Rhodes College.  Here’s the abstract for the thought crime article:

Former NAACP chapter head Rachel Dolezal’s attempted transition from the white to the black race occasioned heated controversy. Her story gained notoriety at the same time that Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner graced the cover of Vanity Fair, signaling a growing acceptance of transgender identity. Yet criticisms

The open letter to Hypatia that their groveling apology was a response to is pretty horrifying if it really comes from academics.

As scholars who have long viewed Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy as a valuable resource for our communities, we write to request the retraction of a recent article, entitled, “In Defense of Transracialism.” Its continued availability causes further harm, as does an initial post by the journal admitting only that the article “sparks dialogue.”

In what circumstances is it normal to request an academic journal to retract an article? I assume it would have to be for reasons of gross malpractice or dishonesty – shameful mistakes or shameful lies. The “scholars” who wrote the letter have other … Read the rest

Hypatia’s statement on Facebook:

To our friends and colleagues in feminist philosophy,

We, the members of Hypatia’s Board of Associate Editors, extend our profound apology to our friends and colleagues in feminist philosophy, especially transfeminists, queer feminists, and feminists of color, for the harms that the publication of the article on transracialism has caused. The sources of those harms are multiple, and include: descriptions of trans lives that perpetuate harmful assumptions and (not coincidentally) ignore important scholarship by trans philosophers; the practice of deadnaming, in which a trans person’s name is accompanied by a reference to the name they were assigned at birth; the use of methodologies which take up important social and political phenomena in dehistoricized and decontextualized

Another one of these – a public grovel and shunning over someone – a woman, naturally – saying Wrong Things about transracialism and transgenderism. The CHE reports:

The feminist philosophy journal Hypatia has apologized for publishing an article comparing transracialism with transgenderism.

In a post on the journal’s Facebook page on Monday, “a majority of the Hypatia’s Board of Associated Editors” signed a lengthy and “profound apology” in which they said that “clearly, the article should not have been published.”

The article, ”In Defense of Transracialism,” by Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College, drew a significant backlash following its publication, in late March. The article discusses public perceptions of racial and gender transitions by comparing