Either_and_Or Is Sexually Implausible
Presenter: Faeze (Fafa) Fazeli
The notion of ‘true sex’ understood in terms of a female/male binary is neither scientifically well-grounded nor socially defensible. By defending Anne Fausto-Sterling’s proposal in her Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (2000), I argue for the spectrum theory of sex. That is, human sex should not be understood in terms of male/female binary. Rather, it is better to be understood in terms of a spectrum of sexes that can be located between two extremes of male and female. Fausto-Sterling’s proposal has been criticized by traditional philosophers of science as well as activists and philosophers with social concerns. I shall argue that these concerns are either ill-grounded or can be addressed without any change in the spectrum theory of sex.
Graduate Research Workshop
Thursday, March 21
5:00pm
337 O'Shaughnessy
Before starting her PhD in history and philosophy of science at the University of Notre Dame, Faeze studied philosophy at Shahid Beheshti University and the University of Toledo. Her research interests lie predominantly in the general philosophy of science, Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of sex and gender, with a particular focus on the relationship between science and values.
Gender Studies Graduate Research Workshops