"What Is It Like To Be A Woman?" Final Report Blog Post

MacKenzie "Mac" McDaries #006

For my final report blog post and presentation, I read section IX of the book Question Everything by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley. What’s interesting is that this book is not a traditional “book” per se, rather it is a compilation of essays from the philosophy column known as The Stone on The New York Times. This particular section of the book, section IX, is titled “What Is It Like To Be A Woman?” It consists of eight short pieces from The Stone that specifically pertain to all things womanhood, feminism, and gender in philosophy. With that being said, I will summarize each of these chapters below and provide key quotes from each one.


“Descartes Is Not Our Father”

Christia Mercer - September 25, 2017

Argues that Descartes is overly credited for inventing a “new philosophy” in a way that overshadows the efforts of female philosophers


Discusses reasons women were excluded from philosophy throughout history, citing sexism as the primary cause

“Long-standing prejudice against women, their capacities to reason, and their right to teach had left women out of philosophy for centuries” (16).


Concludes by detailing how female philosophers are gaining more credibility over time, as well as suggesting that we should pay more attention to the role of women in philosophy

“The time seems right to rethink the role of women and other noncanonical figures in the history of philosophy and begin to create a more accurate story about philosophy’s rich and diverse past” (18).






“What Does It Mean to ‘Speak as a Woman’?”

Agnes Callard - December 3, 2018

Inspects the relevance of contributing to a conversation “as a woman” and whether or not doing so is justified


Argues that asserting managerial standing on the basis of demographics can obscure any potential conversational equality


Closes with the idea that we should accept demographic claims of managerial standing and provide respect and sensitivity when navigating such conversations

“For this reason, I think all of us–even philosophers–should be prepared, at times, to accept demographic claims of managerial standing; but I also think we should aspire to navigate each of those conversations with the kind of intellectual excellence, respect, and sensitivity that would allow them to become the full-fledged, unmanaged conversations they aspire to be” (19).

“Who Counts as a Woman?”

Carol Hay - April 1, 2019

Examines the question of what makes one a woman


Claims that the exclusion of AMAB individuals from the ranks of “real women” upholds patriarchal and societal ideals of what a woman should be, so believing that there is a “right way” to be a woman is inherently misogynistic


Calls for feminists to stop rejecting transgender individuals because there are no biological differences or lived experiences that ultimately deem one to be a woman or not

“Any attempt to catalog the commonalities among women, in other words, has the inescapable result that there is some correct way to be a woman. This will inevitably encourage and legitimize certain experiences of gender and discourage and deligimitze others, subtly reinforcing and entrenching precisely those forces of socialization of which feminists claim to be critical” (6).






“A Power of Our Own”

Elena Ferrante - May 17, 2019

Looks at how men have essentially “colonized” storytelling and writing in general, thus forcing female literary work to be pushed aside and ignored throughout history


Calls on women to push to succeed in writing and put aside living up to male expectations and standards


Ends by saying that times are changing and female writers have been getting more of the spotlight in the past few years

“Things are shifting rapidly. Women’s achievements are multiplying. We don’t always have to prove that we’re acquiescent or complicit to enjoy the crumbs dispensed by the system of male power. The power that we require must be so solid and active that we can do without the sanction of men altogether” (15).


“The female story, told with increasing skill, increasingly widespread and unapologetic, is what must now assume power” (16).

“#IAmSexist”

George Yancy - October 24, 2018

Asserts that all men are, whether they realize it or not, inherently sexist and uphold the patriarchy just by their way of thinking and living everyday life

“Men unconsciously engage in patriarchal thinking, which condones rape even though they may never enact it. This is a patriarchal truism that most people in our society want to deny” (14).


Talks about how boys are taught sexism from a young age and how it is essentially a form of “soul murder”


Demands that men do the work to realize their own misogyny and unlearn it in order to dismantle it at the societal level

“Since the world is watching, we, as men, need to join in the dialogue in ways that we have failed to in the past. We need to admit our roles in the larger problem of male violence against women. We need to tell the truth about ourselves” (31).

“The Gender Politics of Fasting”

Mariana Alessandri - January 14, 2019

Compares and contrasts Cesar Chavez and Simone Weil, prominent figures in both philosophy and activism, in how they both starved themselves in pursuit of their religious and political goals


Criticizes the way historians view Weil as “anorexic” or having an eating disorder, while not upholding the same claims for Chavez


“Both [Weil and Chavez] systematically underfed themselves and claimed religious grounds for doing so. [...] In many of the subsequent accounts of her life, Weil has been labeled an anorexic [...] This was not the fate of Chavez, who is today still admired for carrying out a centuries-old ascetic practice” (9-10).


Tells readers to stop perpetuating the gendered double-standard regarding eating habits and disorders

“As a philosopher, I am in no position to make diagnoses for either of these historical figures, but I can insist that their actions–and ours–be viewed in the same light, with the same kind of scrutiny” (16).








“Is There a ‘Rational’ Punishment for My Rapist?”

Amber Rose Carlson - October 23, 2017

Recounts her personal experience with being raped and reflects on what punishment she percieves would adequately serve “justice”-- the death penalty or a life sentence


Presents the counterargument that long-standing punishments, such as a life sentence or the death penalty, are irrational because people often change into better people in prison


Refutes that claim by saying a person’s potential for transformation does not undermine or justify the incredible violence and harm they have caused onto others

“Desiring death or a natural life sentence for those who inflict traumatic violence is a rational response because whether or not my particular rapist transforms is irrelevant to [...] whether or not I will be able to live the sort of life I could have were it not for the [..] amount of damage he wrought in my life” (17).”

“Feminism and the Future of Philosophy”

Gary Gutting - September 18, 2017

Discusses how female philosophy has largely become a mere form of a feminist political movement and how this has grown to be all female philosophers seem to be known for, subsequently weakening their ability to shine in the field of philosophy


Argues that all people should engage with feminist philosophy, regardless of how they view it or if it aligns with their own political views, and how it can benefit philosophy as a whole

“Feminist philosophy should be an essential resource for all philosophers, whatever their views about its political agenda” (7).


“Feminists’ personal and political rage against injustice (and parallel emotional reactions against their claims) could, of course, create an atmosphere inimical to fruitful philosophical reflection. But looking at the significant achievements of feminist philosophers, feminism promises to improve not only the climate for women but also philosophical thinking itself” (17).