In recent years, society has witnessed a seismic significant shift in our understanding of gender. For some, the binary notion of gender, once seen as immutable and fixed, has given way to a more inclusive and fluid understanding of identity… a transformation that has brought to the forefront the lived experiences of transgender individuals, who have long grappled with issues of self-identity, societal acceptance, and the philosophical underpinnings of gender itself.

For others, the emergence of trans issues and trans people has motivated a passionate and often violent kind of re-entrenchment. The refusal of trans recognition and trans rights, for those on the political right, is not just a matter of attitudinal disposition or theory, but actual legislation.

Transgender individuals often find themselves at the intersection of various philosophical disciplines, from ethics to epistemology and metaphysics. Questions about the moral obligations society owes to its transgender members, the authenticity of one’s gender identity, and the implications of gender fluidity for our understanding of reality are just a few areas in which trans philosophers have made important contributions in the past several decades. Philosophy can also be blamed—or credited, depending on one’s views—with the rise and influence of trans-exclusionary radical feminists, or TERFs, whose rhetoric and views sharply divides not only philosophy Twitter, but the discipline itself.

But discussions about trans philosophy extends beyond academia into the realm of social justice and activism. Trans issues encompass a wide range of concerns, including healthcare access, legal recognition, and the protection of civil and human rights. These practical considerations are deeply rooted in philosophical discussions not only about sex and gender, but also about fairness, equality, and the social contract, adding an urgent and concrete dimension to the work of people like our guest today, Talia Mae Bettcher (California State University, Los Angeles), author of the 2019 essay “What is Trans Philosophy?”.

In this episode, we discuss the following ideas/thinkers/texts/etc.:

• Naked Attraction (Channel4 television series, now streaming on MAX)
• Frankie’s (@meditationsfortheobvious on TikTok) observations about the Millennial Generation
• Jordan Peele (Ed.), Out There Screaming (2023)
• Talia Mae Bettcher,“What is Trans Philosophy?” (Hypatia, 2019)
• The Rebecca Tuvel / Hypatia “Transracialism” controversy
• A brief treatment of the 2018 exchange between Katheleen Stock and Talia Mae Bettcher
• Katelyn Burns, “TERFs: The Rise of “trans-exclusive” feminists, explained” (Vox, 2019)
• Talia Mae Bettcher, “When Tables Speak” (Daily Nous, 2018)
• Alex Byrne, “Are Women Adult Human Females?” (Philosophical Studies, 2020)
• lesbian separatism
• Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990)
• Jordan Peterson‘s start-up “University” UATX lol
• Kimberlé Crenshaw (Columbia Law School) on intersectionality
• Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity
• Wikipedia’s entry on “gender critical feminism” (NB: searches for “TERF” redirect to this entry) 
• Gabrielle Kassel, “What the ‘Born This Way’ Narrative Gets Wrong about Being Queer” (2021)
• Gayatri Spivak (Columbia University) on strategic essentialism
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s advice for “Respecting pronouns in the classroom”
• why the singular “they” is controversial
• our Season 3 HBS episode on “Cancel Panic”
• 2023 Anti-trans legislation tracker
• Alexandra Minna Stern, Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate (2020)
• Nashville Human Rights Campaign (HRC-Nashville) billboards featuring Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s drag history

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