What Is Race?
Jan 27, 2004Is race a discredited pseudo-scientific category? Or a real dimension of difference among humans?
Defense of Transracialism Goes Awry
Truman Chen
04 May 2017
In a recent article titled "In Defense of Transracialism" for the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia, philosopher Rebecca Tuvel penned a defense of "transracialism" through an argument that the logic which supports transgender individuals also should lead one to support transracial individuals in their decision to "change" races.
The idea for the article came after Rachel Dolezal's controversial case, in which Tuvel "perceived a transphobic logic that lay at the heart of the constant attacks against her." Her article "is an effort to extend our thinking alongside transgender theories to other non-normaitve possibilities."
The article has nonetheless exploded in controversy after accusations of using transphobic language (e.g. in "deadnaming" Caitlyn Jenner) and of not citing any trans folk of color who have written on this issue before. Tuvel has since apologized for deadnaming Jenner, but has reasserted the value of the questions and points raised in her article.
In an open letter signed by over 400 academics, Hypatia was called upon to rescind the article and has since issued an apology for publishing it. Tuvel has even received death threats for her work.
See Daily Nous' report on it here: http://dailynous.com/2017/05/01/philosophers-article-transracialism-sparks-controversy/
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