Is Consciousness Gendered?
Sophie Grace Chappell
European Journal of Analytic Philosophy March 17, 2023 DOI: 10.31820/ejap.19.1.7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that consciousness is both sexed and gendered, so there is something distinctively it is like to be female or male and to be feminine or masculine. The author contends this follows from the differing physical realities of being male or female and the differing political realities of being masculine or feminine, making the answer to both questions "obviously yes." |
Abstract
We can ask whether there anything it is distinctively like to be female or male (a question about sex). And we can ask whether there anything it is distinctively like to be feminine or masculine (a question about gender). I think the answer to both these questions is “Obviously yes”. Why yes? And why obviously? Consciousness is gendered, and obviously gendered, because the political realities of what it is like to be masculine, and what it is like to be feminine, are distinctively different. Moreover, consciousness is sexed too, and obviously sexed, because the physical realities of what it is like to be male, and what it is like to be female, are distinctively different. And that is why the answer to our two questions is not just “Yes”, but “Obviously yes”.