What Is Gender? Vol. II - MANCEPT Workshop 2021

What Is Gender, Vol. II: Now Including Sexuality, Intersectionality, and Trans Identity 

Have you ever wondered “What even is gender? I don’t get it!” If you have, you’re not the only one!

NOW for just four days' workshop and one low, low payment of £15-£45, YOU TOO can get a grip on the whole phenomenon! NOW INCLUDING sexuality, trans identity, and intersectionality! From September 7th to September 10th, 2021, held online, DON’T MISS OUT!

The question What is gender? has been the subject of much debate in philosophy, social and political theory, and feminist theory.From Judith Butler’s performance theory, to Sally Haslanger’s materialist structuralism, to Charlotte Witt’s theory of gender as a unifying social role, the foundations of contemporary metaphysics of gender invite a wide range of further study. Much attention has been given to questions like: Should we understand gender as a hierarchical system of political subjugation? Or, as Ásta suggests, is it a context-dependent social status that can be conferred or revoked?

Recent scholarship aimed at addressing these questions has drawn attention to the way that the metaphysics of gender is co-constructed with other features of identity, including for example race, class, and sexuality. These dimensions of gender deserve careful and collaborative consideration from philosophers and social theorists alike. Recently, more attention is being paid to the metaphysics of the relations between gender and other social categories. Sara Bernstein, for instance, offers an account of the metaphysics of intersectionality. Marquis Bey has theorized the inseparability of Blackness and trans*ness. Talia Bettcher has argued that sexual orientation involves a gendered eroticization of the self. And Louise Antony has argued that questions like “what is it to be a woman?” do not need a metaphysical answer at all. There is still much work to be done in addressing questions like: what role does self-identification play in constructing gender? In what ways is gender co-constructed with other identities and categories? Is sexuality socially constructed in the same way as gender? How does gender influence our desires?

The first What is gender and what do we want it to be? workshop was organized through MANCEPT workshops in 2020. It was a huge success both philosophically and socially, and it brought together more than 100 people around the world to discuss these topics. The second workshop will be held from September 7-10, 2021, with each day devoted to a specific theme. The themes and keynotes are as follows:

Day 1: The metaphysics of gender (September 7)

Keynote: Louise Antony

Day 2: The metaphysics of intersectionality (September 8)

Keynote: Sara Bernstein

Day 3: The metaphysics of trans(*) identity (September 9)

Keynote: Marquis Bey

Day 4: The metaphysics of sexuality (September 10)

Keynote: Talia Bettcher