Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism
| Author | Kathleen Stock |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Fleet |
Publication date | 2021 |
| ISBN | 978-0-349-72659-5 |
Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism is a 2021 book by Kathleen Stock which explores issues related to transgender civil rights and feminism. The book reached number 13 on the UK list of best selling non-fiction charts.[1]
Summary[edit]
In this book, Stock critiques the theory that individuals have an inner feeling known as a gender identity that is more socially significant than an individual's biological sex. Stock surveys and critiques the philosophical ideas underpinning this theory and argues that that biological sex performs an important social role in the contexts of exclusive spaces and resources, healthcare, epidemiology, political organization and data collection for non-trans women.[2][3]
Stock argues the idea that biological sex is material (physical) and has social relevance.[4] She proposes that biological sex is binary in nature,[4] which is in opposition to the scientific understanding it is a spectrum.[5] Stock argues entry to "women's only spaces" (e.g.: toilets) to be based on her proposed definition of biological sex as opposed to the gender identity of the individual and they should be provided legal protection on a separate basis.
Reception[edit]
Reviewing in The Times, Emma Duncan called the book an easy read and said it helped her understand trans issues better.[6] In The Telegraph, Jane O'Grady describes the book as brave, enligtening and closely argued.[7] Julie Bindel writing in The Spectator says that the book was meticulously researched and carefully argued.[8]
Gaby Hinsliff reviewed the book in The Guardian together with Helen Joyce's book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. Hinsliff said that Stock's book used a cooler lens than Joyce's and is focused on abstract concepts rather than personal stories.[9]
Reviewing in The Philosophers' Magazine, Julian Baggini comments that Stock's work is not the last word on the debate but a legitimate contribution, arguing that it is far from obvious that gender self-identification is the only legitimate criterion for identifying as a sex or gender and that those who do not accept this position should be taken seriously.[4]
Julie Bindel, author of Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation, says that Stock incorrectly conflates feminists with gender critical activists, and that Stock's critique of standpoint epistemology, while valid, does not distinguish the second wave feminist idea of the personal is political which focuses on connecting individual experiences to social forces rather than privileging these experiences epistemically.[8]
Philosopher Adam Briggle, writing in the Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective, argues, based on Briggle's own anecdotal experience as the parent of a transgender son in Texas, that Stock's analysis derives from somewhat speculative analysis of risks to non-trans women and that Stock has failed to adequately analyze the tradeoff of these risks with risks to transgender persons, which analysis, Briggle argues, should prioritize the personal experience of transgender persons.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ Perry, Louise (2021-07-28). "It's still possible to "cancel" gender-critical feminists, but this strategy won't work". New Statesman. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ Noble, Barnes &. "Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism|Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Fleet to publish Kathleen Stock's Material Girls". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ a b c "Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism - a review - The Philosophers' Magazine". www.philosophersmag.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
- ^ King, Dillon E. (22 July 2022). "The Inclusion of Sex and Gender Beyond the Binary in Toxicology". Frontiers in Toxicology. 4: 929219. doi:10.3389/ftox.2022.929219. PMC 9355551. PMID 35936387.
- ^ Duncan, Emma. "Material Girls by Kathleen Stock review — the ideas that frighten the trans bullies". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
- ^ O'Grady, Jane (2021-04-30). "If biological sex is a myth, so is evolution". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ a b Bindel, Julie (2021-05-13). "The gender identity issue: Kathleen Stock puts her head above the parapet". The Spectator. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (2021-07-18). "Trans by Helen Joyce; Material Girls by Kathleen Stock – reviews". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
- ^ "Which Reality? Whose Truth? A Review Kathleen Stock's Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism, Adam Briggle". Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2023-03-06.