The Philosopher Queens: Iris Marion Young

Iris Marion Young

Her Life

Iris Young was born on January 2, 1949, in New York City. Shortly after her birth Her father was seeking to establish the family in a middle-class environment for their family, so he moved them to suburban New Jersey. New Jersey offered stability, schools, and the promise of middle-class advancement. However, Iris’s mother disliked suburban life and resisted typical standards expected of middle-class women in the 1950s. Her father died suddenly in the 1950s, there’s no specific information about how he passed or about his life. Iris’s mother was accused of child neglect by the Authorities, causing Iris and her siblings to spend time in foster care. This experience exposed her to structural injustice and shaped her later sensitivity to oppression and exclusion. By the late 1950s- Iris returned to live with her mother. These experiences in her formative years reinforced how social structures punish women and families and became a central theme in her philosophy.
As a teen Iris aspired to be a poet but was drawn to philosophy through her awareness of social inequality. In 1966 she attended Queens College (City University of New York), to earn a B.A. in Philosophy (1970). Then she attended Pennsylvania State University, earning an M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1974) in Philosophy. After graduation she taught Philosophy courses for a year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Then she moved to Miami, Ohio where she taught Philosophy at Miami University for several years. 
During this time, she began to articulate a feminist perspective that challenged traditional political theory, and developed her early work on phenomenology and embodiment, including her famous essay “Throwing Like a Girl” which analyzed how women’s bodily movements are socially constrained.  Phenomenology is a philosophical movement during the 20^th century that studies reality subjectively experienced. It seeks to investigate the universal features of consciousness. While avoiding assumptions about the external world. Aiming to describe phenomena (described as things as they appear in Emanuel Kant’s theory of Transcendental idealism) as they appear to an individual, and to explore the meaning and significance of the lived experience. Embodiment is the relationship between the body and experience, challenging the traditional mind-body dualism proposed by Rene Descartes, that separates mental processes from physical existence. It emphasizes that consciousness, perception, thought, and self-identity are not abstract or purely mental phenomena, but are deeply rooted in the physical, lived experience of having a body.
Then in 1980s she transitioned to the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, where she taught Political Theory for nine years. Before joining the University of Chicago in 2000 as Professor of Political Science, affiliated with the Center for Gender studies and Human Rights Program.

The core of her Philosophy:

1. Justice beyond distribution 

In Justice and the politics of difference, Young said, "Justice encompasses issues of rights and power, and these are neither distributed in a straightforward way nor can injustices related to them be redressed simply through redistribution of resources." Young argues that justice must go beyond material distribution, but should include institutional structures, decision-making power, and recognition of differences.

2. Five Face of Oppression

In the 2nd chapter of Justice and the Politics of Difference, Five Faces of Oppression, Young states "Oppression is structural. It is embedded in unquestioned norms, habits, and symbols, in the assumptions underlying institutional rules and the collective consequences of following those rules.” Young identifies five systemic forms of oppression: 

1. Exploitation (economic injustice)- Young described it as “The transfer of the results of the labor of one social group to benefit another.” This reveals how capitalism can systematically disadvantage certain groups. She argues that justice requires restructuring economic systems, not just redistributing income. An example is workers in sweatshops producing goods for wealthy consumers, while receiving low wages and no benefits.
2. Marginalization (exclusion from participation)- describes as the expelling “a whole category of people … from useful participation in social life.” This shows how justice must include access to work, education, and public life- not just legal rights. An example is Elderly people, disabled individuals, or racial minorities being excluded from employment or civic life. Young advocated for inclusive hiring, accessible education, and representation in decision-making spaces.
3. Powerlessness (lack of autonomy)- Young stated that “the powerless are situated so that they must take orders and rarely have the right to give them.” This highlights how justice requires empowerment, not just protection. An example is Low-level workers who follow orders without input, or communities with no political voice.
4. Cultural Imperialism (dominance of one group’s norms)- “involves the universalization of a dominant group’s experience and culture, and its establishment as the norm.” This shows that justice must include cultural recognition and self-expression. An example is The media portraying white, male, middle-class values as “neutral,” while exoticizing other cultures.
5. Violence (systematic threat or harm)- Young states “members of some groups live with knowledge that they must fear random unprovoked attacks on their person or property.” This demonstrates that she believed justice must include safety and protection from targeted harm.  She advocated from anti-violence polices, community protection, and trauma-informed care. An example is hate crimes, domestic abuse, or police brutality.

3. Embodiment and gender  

In "Throwing like a girl" and other essays Young states “Women’s bodies thus function as a constraint on women’s agency… the body is the site at once of biological and normative constraints on women’s freedom.” Young shows that gender is not just identity, it’s embodied and shaped by cultural expectations. She bridges feminist activism and philosophy, revealing how oppression is lived through the body and not just through laws or institutions.

4. Political responsibility

In Responsibility for Justice, Young argues "Responsibility is not primarily about blame, but about our collective obligations to transform unjust structures." She distinguishes guilt from responsibility, arguing that individuals and institutions share an obligation to change unjust systems. This book develops Young’s theory of a “social connection” model of responsibility, focusing on how individuals are implicated in structural injustices without being personally to blame.

Dive deeper:

Iris Young's Obituary: Key Thinker: Iris Marion Young 

Explore a review of "Dancing with Iris: The Philosophy of Iris Marion Young" by Ann Ferguson, and Mechthild Nagel

Link to buy "Dancing with Iris: The Philosophy of Iris Marion Young" and includes abstract Dancing with Iris: The Philosophy of Iris Marion Young

Preview of Iris Marion Young: Gender, Justice, and the politics of difference

  

Discussion Questions:

1.      Do you believe that oppression is “embodied”?

2.     Which, if any, of the Five Face of Oppression do you see most in your community or in current events?

3.      Can justice exist without recognition of difference? (Can we create justice if we can’t identify the injustice?)

4.      Can individuals be responsible for injustices they did not directly cause?