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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Sexism in philosophy in academia: Jane Clare Jones ... enjoy!

12 replies

JackyHolyoake · 10/06/2019 19:50

Extreme sexism in philosophy in academia .. both barrels from the exceptional analyst and communicator who is Jane Clare Jones:

janeclarejones.com/2019/06/09/women-and-philosophy-a-reflection-on-recent-events/

OP posts:
Philosophia · 10/06/2019 22:22

Quick name change 'cos I don't like too many bits of my CV in one place on this site for obvious reasons.

A very interesting read. So much of it rings bells. Many years ago, I was a university lecturer in philosophy. There is a lot of institutionalised sexism. Highlights were the fact that I kept getting dumped with the lectures on feminism. I am a feminist of course, but not academically so; my research area was philosophy of maths and formal logic. Also creepy colleague who kept insisting on lending me books on 3rd wave feminist defences of pornography, despite the fact that I was not in the slightest bit interested either in porn or in pseudo intellectual defences of it, and told him so. Vast amounts of male lecturers having relationships with female students.

I miss philosophy. I do not miss the university environment.

OccasionalKite · 10/06/2019 22:26

I'm not even vaguely connected to academia or philosophy.

But bloody hell, that's a powerful read.

ScrimshawTheSecond · 10/06/2019 22:29
AnyOldPrion · 10/06/2019 22:44

”For most of us, our well-being is almost never jeopardized by our work environments.”

I found this statement astonishing. This is hyper-privilege speaking from a place of such profound ignorance that I found it hard to get my head round.

”But most of us are fortunate enough never to have had our toughness tested in this way”

I’m not a philosopher, but I’ve faced some fucking difficult challenges in my life. It’s hardly unique.

”Most of us have not experienced what t philosopher has experienced.”

This is true, of course. Most of us have to deal with living in a real world where nobody lies or pretends for us, so we can’t experience the dual pain of realising that not only do we recognise at a deep level, and abhor the fact that we’re lying to ourselves, but that others see the lie clearly and are unwilling to pretend otherwise.

Jane Clare Jones’s dissection rang so true though. A woman doing a publically announced flounce from a profession would be met with rolling eyes, grimaces and derogatory comments about hormones.

Therefore it’s clear as the day that the man who wrote the article treats the anonymous male transitioner in a very different way than he would a woman, thus proving that whatever objections he may squeal, he knows a woman didn’t write it.

AngryFeminist · 10/06/2019 23:26

As we know how expressions of our vulnerability or anger would be taken, the very idea of our writing a post like the post written by t philosopher is inconceivable to us. The assumption that the expression of our pain might “stir some of you to greater action” rather than simply being an extreme professional liability is, in itself, a product of the system of gender as it is brought to bear on the authority and priority granted or not granted to those of certain sexed bodies. And this is one of the reasons why we maintain it is

Just been to a dinner with a number of male philos, at which I was told 'thanks for swelling the numbers.' This was a gratifying read.

Erythronium · 10/06/2019 23:53

I've spoken about this before but Germaine Greer left her fellowship at Newnham College Cambridge because they appointed a transwoman who was still legally a man to a fellowship reserved for women. She certainly did not get tender care from men wanting to protect her interests.

JCJ's point that men in philosophy suddenly find sympathy for the supposedly marginalised when the solution to that is the silencing of women, is well made. Men like trans because they can use it to attack women who stand up for ourselves.

norijunior · 11/06/2019 08:04

That's brilliant, thank you for posting it.

heronsinflight · 11/06/2019 08:29

Lest we forget:

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-university-silent-over-pervert-don/

RoyalCorgi · 11/06/2019 08:57

Wow, that's a fantastic piece of writing from Jane.

Philosophia · 11/06/2019 11:17

herons that's left me feeling sick. I missed that press coverage (was in the process of changing career at the time), but at one point I knew him professionally.

To think that his Cambridge college kept him on the books and expected students to attend supervisions with him...

Anlaf · 11/06/2019 20:35

She is so so good.

I cannot believe that some fool felt sufficiently smug that they could tell Jane her "intellectual trajectory’ was ‘unfortunate,’"

Because she is incredible at thinking, explaining, prodding, wrestling with ideas

Erythronium · 11/06/2019 20:39

They meant it was unfortunate that she was a feminist, with an interest in feminist thought which is all about that unworthy subject for philosophy - women.

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