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Phenomenology at the Intersection of Gender and Race

Céline Leboeuf

Contributions to Phenomenology 2023 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-26074-2_10 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Philosophy of mind
Key points Argues that phenomenological research on gendered and racialized embodiment has developed as largely separate lineages, leaving the specific bodily experiences of women of color comparatively underexamined, and proposes expanding phenomenological work at the intersection of gender and race.

Abstract

Abstract: Research on the experience of gendered embodiment, on the one hand, and racialized embodiment, on the other hand, has emerged as an important tradition in phenomenology thanks to the works of Simone de Beauvoir inThe Second Sex(1949) and Frantz Fanon inBlack Skin, White Masks(1952) respectively. Beauvoir’s work has been prolonged by pioneering feminist phenomenologists, such as Iris Marion Young and Sandra Bartky, who have investigated both the cultural significance of female bodily functions and the alienating effects of feminine standards of beauty for women. And those inspired by Fanon—for example, George Yancy and Alia Al-Saji—have homed in on the experiences of persons of color confronted by the white gaze or entering white spaces. While each of these lineages has contributed to expanding the discipline of phenomenology, specific descriptions of the bodily experiences of women of color have received comparatively little attention in this field. This chapter aims to fill this gap by exploring the bodily experiences of women of color, thereby making a case for expanding phenomenological work at the intersection of gender and race.

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