Feminist Ethics Research Articles

Teaching leadership the “Day After”, with care

PurposeThis paper aims to share the author’s thoughts and reflections on teaching leadership in “pandemic times”. The author has been teaching leadership for nearly 20 years, both to undergraduate and graduate students, always stressing the importance of humility and compassion, traits that were often doubted and questioned vis-à-vis more traditional, masculine, perceptions of leadership. Yet, local and international leadership during the pandemic brought to surface the need and effectiveness of such characteristics, or what the author calls “the need for a feminist ethics of care” in leadership.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a thought piece stemming from the author’s experiences and reflections.FindingsThe paper discusses the fact that the most successful handling of the pandemic was largely carried out by female leaders, while also asking “why did so many male leaders do badly?”Research limitations/implicationsWith this thought piece, the author hopes to not only engage the readers in a discussion about effective leadership but also on how to teach leadership in today’s schools of management.Originality/valueThe paper hopes to serve as a springboard for opening the discussion around traditional masculinist modes of leadership that have proven to be detrimental in managing the COVID-19 pandemic while also proposing that feminist leadership embedded in an ethics of care is what the world needs today.

Capacitating care: Activist anthropology in ethnographies of gender‐based violence

AbstractIn ethnographic analyses of gender‐based violence (GBV), anthropologists working on the front‐lines of advocacy and service delivery have increasingly adopted dual roles as activists and researchers. While these positionings have allowed for alternative fields of vision in the ethnographic process, less attention has been dedicated to what these roles do ethnographically, and the kinds of skills and core competencies advocacy roles teach us as feminist anthropologists. If front‐line work has become a tacit best practice of ethnographies in contexts of GBV, then we must ask what kinds of training and preparation is necessary for contemporary anthropologists who want to pursue research among survivors or care providers responding to conditions of violence. I propose that we need to develop capacity‐building strategies that more transparently address these implicit best practices as part of our feminist ethics of care. This investment in capacitating care would acknowledge the moral compulsion to research the experiences and needs of survivor populations, while also considering how we equip ourselves to respond to the specialized needs of survivors, and the forms of care work with survivors necessitates.

Negotiating the practical ethics of 'self-tracking' in intimate relationships: Looking for care in healthy living.

In this paper, we offer insights into practices of tracking as part of healthy living through talk about home blood pressure and weight from adults living in the UK. Drawing on theoretical resources from feminist ethics of care and Science and Technology Studies on care as socio-material practice, we build on interest in the relational dimensions of tracking and the potential for intimate surveillance and care using monitoring technologies. Our cases offer not only new perspectives in a field that has often focused on fitness tracking but also help go beyond a narrow focus on surveillance, showing how surveillance and care may be intertwined in the everyday negotiation of health-related tracking and other 'health practices' in family life. Using the diversity in our relatively large sample, and reflecting on the different types of interview completed, we highlight the varied ways in which adults engage with tracking blood pressure and weight (or body mass index) in the context of established relationships. The combination of attentiveness and appeals to responsibility for maintaining health as something owed to a partner can make tracking a very ethically sensitive area. In this paper we emphasise that reciprocity is one important way in which couples make tracking feel more like care. Tracking together or discussing it can take couples in this direction even if the actual practice remains somewhat difficult. On the other hand, responsiveness to someone else's feelings, including a desire to avoid the topic altogether, or avoid weight as a specific parameter, might all help move towards more caring tracking. We therefore develop a more sustained account of care in relation to tracking than in previous work, and a novel account of tracking as a (potential) care practice between adult partners.

Khader’s feminist ethic against imperialism: proposing a pluriversal philosophic resolve

ABSTRACT Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic brings to our attention in a forceful way that feminist modernity is complicit with imperialist ideals and attitudes. She offers an extensive set of examples, analyses and arguments to recommend a nonideal universalism while embracing maternal ‘feminized power’ from non-Western cultures. I comprehend her arguments to understand salient features of imperialist feminism and then contextualize her critique in the South Asian context of feminist discourse. Expanding on her main critique of Western imperialist hegemony, I propose pluriversal philosophies as a positive approach towards a more just world. I take inspiration from Mignolo, Phule, Ambedkar, Buddha, Anzaldúa and Freire as philosophers of praxis and engage with important anti-hegemonic scholars and organizations to offer a pragmatic translation of powerful ideas.

Acts of Agency: Exploring a Feminist Approach to Abortion Research in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, abortion continues to be a criminal offence under the Penal Code of 1883. Several attempts have been made to challenge the colonial-era law since the 1990s with no success thus far. This study documents and centres the knowledge of women and transpersons in accessing abortion and sexual health and reproductive health services in Sri Lanka in order to contribute to the conversation on abortion law reform as well as research and advocacy. Our data suggest that the existing legal reforms proposed to the abortion law would be unresponsive to the needs of women and transpersons in Sri Lanka, and that in additional to legal changes, we would need significant social and cultural changes. This study uses feminist research methodologies, building towards a feminist ethics in abortion research.

Introduction: Symposium on Serene J. Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic

ABSTRACT This symposium brings together commentaries on Serene J. Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic from Linda Martín Alcoff, Sunaina Arya, and Olúfẹ'mi O. Táíwò with a reply from Khader. Khader’s book aims to develop a conception of feminism that is both universalist and anti-imperialist. Central to this feminism are (a) the idea that the normative core of feminism is opposition to sexist oppression and (b) the idea that the role of normative concepts in transnational feminist praxis is a justice-enhancing, or nonideal theoretical, one. Khader resists the universalism/relativism framing of debates in global feminisms and argues that opposition to sexist oppression can be detached from the values and social ontology of what she calls ‘Enlightenment liberalism’. She asks whether the values that are most often accused of being vehicles for Western imperialism, namely autonomy, individualism, and gender role eliminativism, are necessary for feminism at all.

Reflections on decolonial feminist political philosophy: a reply to Alcoff, Arya and Táíwò

ABSTRACT I discuss the issues raised by Alcoff, Arya, and Táíwò in their responses to Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic. I pay special attention to a fact I think all nonideal theorists, particularly ones who care about reducing oppression, must take seriously: the fact that oppression characteristically faces its victims with tradeoffs such that attempts to advance their interests usually come with significant costs. I discuss how this fact bears on the situations of poor women and those oppressed by sexism and imperialism simultaneously. I also discuss how the nonideal universalist perspective I develop in Decolonizing Universalism supports criticism of neoliberalism, how it takes seriously concerns about the locus of enunciation in Latin American decolonial theory, how it supports transnational solidarities, and its upshots for thinking the relationships between feminism, culture, and modernity.

DIE VRAAGSTUK VAN `N NUWE-TESTAMENTIESE ETIEK: ENKELE BLIKRIGTINGS IN DIE GANG VAN DIE ONDERSOEK

THE QUESTION OF A NEW TESTAMENT ETHICS: A FEW POINTERS IN THE COURSE OF THE INVESTIGATION Part one of this article started with a very brief overview of nineteenth and twentieth century viewpoints, going into somewhat detail with regard to the latter. In part two some of the important questions brought forward in the research and partly reflected in part one, were elaborated upon with reference to specific literature. The issues were detailed under the headings of ‘unity and diversity in New Testament ethics’, and ‘relevance’. Under the first the viewpoint of situation ethics was discussed, with brief reference to ‘Mitte’ and ‘proprium’. Under the second the importance of eschatology was pointed out, but more space was devoted to social ethics, leading amongst others to liberation ethics; the questions of normativity and Christian freedom were touched upon; and finally the very important aspect of ecology was placed on the agenda, with reference to the excellent article by Grasser (1979), on creation ethics.

Political Ideology in Consumer Resistance: Analyzing Far-Right Opposition to Multicultural Marketing

Political ideologies of the far-right are gaining ground in world politics and culture, not least by way of market forces. It has therefore become urgent to understand how these ideologies manifest themselves in the fields of marketing and consumption at a sociocultural level. The authors explore the discursive efforts in far-right consumer resistance to advance a political agenda through protests directed at brands’ multicultural advertising and analyze how these consumers conceptualize their adversaries in the marketplace. In contrast to previous framings of adversaries identified in consumer research, where resistance is typically anticapitalist and directed toward firms’ unethical conduct or the exploitation by the global market economy per se, the authors find that the following discursive themes stand out in the far-right consumer resistance: the emphasis on the state as main antagonist, the indifference to capitalism as a potential adversary, and overt contestation of liberal ethics. The article concludes with a discussion of research contributions as well as the public policy and marketing implications in light of a growing far-right consumer culture.

Access to Care for Persons With Brain Injury: Ethical Frameworks to Promote Health Systems Change.

The challenges of providing optimal healthcare for individuals with brain injuries are heightened by the unique complexity of the injury itself. Survivors with long-term needs often encounter precarious situations where they struggle to receive services in health systems focused on cost containment driven by medical necessity and managed care. This article draws inductively from the rehabilitation experiences of 2 survivors to highlight neuroethical considerations representing the person, the rehabilitation system, and the medical model. Drawing upon our experience studying the provision of care in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we seek to explicate the challenge of providing longitudinal services. Three diverse and intersecting ethical considerations are applied: (1) teleological implications within rehabilitation medicine; (2) a care ethics framework, nested in the scholarship of feminist and disability ethics; and (3) the literature on pragmatism and dehumanization. This article uses these frameworks to explore the challenge posed by current healthcare practices and the needs of individuals with chronic brain injury.

The Feminist Ethic of Care: Mothering Among Sex Workers in Mumbai

The majority of sex workers are mothers. Although participation in sex work is primarily driven by the prioritization of their children’s needs over their own, mothers are stigmatized, subject to poorer health, and lack access to quality health care and social services. Interviews with 25 mothers in Mumbai, India, were analyzed using theory-driven coding to reexamine participation in sex work in context of Gilligan’s three-stage ethic of care, a feminist theory of moral reasoning. Stage 1 (decision making focused on self) themes were (a) sex work served as a means to survival and (b) exploitative and unfulfilling relationships required a focus on self. The transition from Stage 1 to 2 theme was language of selfishness versus responsibility. Stage 2 (selflessness is goodness) themes characterizing the majority of narratives were (a) sex work is justified, (b) duty to prioritize care of others, and (c) self-sacrifice to achieve aspirations for children. The transition from Stage 2 to 3 had one theme: consideration of self. While Stage 3 represents women taking holistic care of themselves and others, the data did not reflect this. Reframing mothers’ participation in sex work using the ethic of care framework may support destigmatization, decriminalization, and security of human rights.

COVID-19, ethics of care and feminist crisis management.

The COVID‐19 pandemic threatens both lives and livelihoods. To reduce the spread of the virus, governments have introduced crisis management interventions that include border closures, quarantines, strict social distancing, marshalling of essential workers and enforced homeworking. COVID‐19 measures are necessary to save the lives of some of the most vulnerable people within society, and yet in parallel they create a range of negative everyday effects for already marginalized people. Likely unintended consequences of the management of the COVID‐19 crisis include elevated risk for workers in low‐paid, precarious and care‐based employment, over‐representation of minority ethnic groups in case numbers and fatalities, and gendered barriers to work. Drawing upon feminist ethics of care, I theorize a radical alternative to the normative assumptions of rationalist crisis management. Rationalist approaches to crisis management are typified by utilitarian logics, masculine and militaristic language, and the belief that crises follow linear processes of signal detection, preparation/prevention, containment, recovery and learning. By privileging the quantifiable — resources and measurable outcomes — such approaches tend to omit considerations of pre‐existing structural disadvantage. This article contributes a new theorization of crisis management that is grounded in feminist ethics to provide a care‐based concern for all crisis affected people.

‘Moral dumbfounding’: Moral Foundations Theory for the classroom

There has been a growing literature among philosophers of education on how to frame questions of moral controversy in the classroom. Through the application of hard moral cases that may be said to leave one ‘morally dumbfounded’, I take up Michael Hand’s influential epistemic criterion and attempt to show why its monistic approach is too limited in its ability to capture the complexity of such moral dilemmas. Rather, I argue that the classroom requires a pluralist moral framework, as exemplified by the Moral Foundations Theory, developed by Jonathan Haidt. Not only does Moral Foundations Theory consider the liberal ethic of autonomy, it also extends consideration to the ethics of community and divinity, which is crucial for meeting the broader aims of moral and religious education, such as developing reason, identity and cultural understanding.

The problem of moral liberation of personality in the philosophy of Russian populism

The subject of this research is the problem of moral liberation of personality in ideological heritage of Russian Populism. In the social philosophy of Russian populism this problem is an integral part of the theory of holistic liberation of personality (moral, socioeconomic, political). Emphasis is made on the concept of “rational egoism” and principle of oneness of human nature (unity of material and moral) of N. G. Chernyshevsky; significance of subjective method in social sciences in formation of anthropological (“moral”) ideal of P. L. Lavrov; as well as theory of solidary relations as the key concepts of ethicism of social philosophy of Russian Populism. The scientific novelty consists in examination of the problem of moral liberation in the context of theory of holistic liberation of personality, developed by the Russian populists on the basis of socio-philosophical ideas of Enlightenment. The problem of autonomous (sovereign) personality in the social philosophy of Russian populism is viewed in the context of “liberation of personality”, with emphasis on the anthropological ideal of “moral personality”. Advancing the theory of “rational egoism”, N. G. Chernyshevsky came to the conclusion that autonomy of personality is achieved due to social solidarity. P. L. Lavrov, having continued the inner logics of populist thought on the development of solidary relations in the society, basically neglected the autonomy of personality. An attempt to solve the problem of correlation between moral freedom and moral demand, applicable to the ideal personality, led to formation of the fundamentals of solidarism within the philosophy of Russian populism.

‘What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?’ Betrayal and the Feminist Ethics of Aesthetic Involvement

The #MeToo movement has put a spotlight on sexual harassment and abuse in a number of industries, notably the arts. It has raised a set of questions about how to receive the artistic works of the accused, particularly when such work has been beloved or formative for an individual, and collectively when it has cultural significance and influence. Claire Dederer, writing in The Paris Review, posed the question bluntly in her piece, “What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?” This question, and the range of (often perplexed) responses to it, reveal the lack of adequate resources to evaluate responses to an artist’s actions that may bear on our aesthetic valuations of the artist’s work and that may be experienced as quite intimately personal. What do we do with the sense of betrayal that may follow on the discovery of an artist’s bad behavior? What are the implications of consuming of such art? What concepts and norms might help to guide reflection? These questions bear on the ethical significance of love and appreciation for artworks and artists, and, more broadly, the ethical consumption of artworks. This paper responds to these questions in two ways: first, it develops an account of “aesthetic involvement” to elaborate the sense of betrayal that may follow accusations or revelations of sexual harassment and abuse. Second, it proposes a feminist ethics of aesthetic involvement in response to such betrayals and to dilemmas about the individual and collective ethical consumption of artworks.

"You have to find a caring man, like your father!" gendering sickle cell and refashioning women's moral boundaries in Sierra Leone.

Most research on sickle cell disorders has tended to be gender-blind. This qualitative study undertaken in 2018, explores if and how sickle cell disorders become gendered in Sierra Leone through the analytical framework of a feminist ethics of care. It argues that women have to navigate moral blame when they have children with the condition. At the same time women refashion moral boundaries so that gendered norms around childhood and parenting for such children become suspended, in favour of creation of careful spaces. Parental fears of physical and sexual violence mean that gendered sexual norms are enforced for teenage boys as they are encouraged into early adulthood. In contrast, girls are kept in enforced ignorance about the consequences of sickle cell for reproduction and are encouraged to delay motherhood. This is because, as women relate, relationships and giving birth are fraught with embodied dangers and risks of violence.

KUMPULAN PUISI NEGERI DAGING KARYA A. MUSTOFA BISRI: ETIKA LIBERASI DAN KANDUNGAN NILAI KARAKTERNYA (METODE SASTRA PROFETIK)

The purpose of this study is to describe the ethics of liberation, values characters in the collection of Negeri Daging by A. Mustofa Bisri,, and its application in learning as a character education media. Research this is a qualitative research. Research data in the form of aesthetic unity and grammatical unity. Data source in the form of a collection of Negeri Daging . Instrument . This research is the researcher himself with the relevant theory and assisted grating along with indicators of ethical liberation and character values. Data collection technique using note taking techniques. Data analysis techniques using descriptive techniques qualitative. The results of his research are as follows. 1) Ethics of liberation include: a) Political oppression represents an authoritarian system of government, no the existence of human rights; b) State oppression depicts the absence of freedom opinion, gross human rights violations, and dictatorial leadership; c) Economic injustice illustrates social inequality, monetary crisis, corruption; and d) gender injustice illustrates harassment of people women, domestic violence, women deemed inappropriate as leaders. 2) Value characters include: tolerance, democratic, national spirit, peace, and responsible. 3) Application in learning as an educational medium characters through KI 3 and KD 3.16, 3.8 (IBB) using the method participatory-exhibition.

Этическое содержание термина «забота» (в контексте сравнительного анализа этики религиозной и этики феминистской)

The study aims to identify and theoretically ascertain differences in the ethical content of the term “care” in religious and feminist ethics basing on such characteristics as the role of the transcendental ideal in providing care, the nature of interaction between a subject and an object of care. Scientific novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive analysis of the distinctive features characterising the term “care” in the context of contrasting them within the framework of religious and feminist ethics. The identified distinctive features determine the ethical content of the term “care” depending on a particular type of ethics and can serve as a methodological basis for conducting philosophical, social, psychological and pedagogical research.

Can political realism be action-guiding?

ABSTRACT Various political realists claim the superior ‘action-guiding’ qualities of their way of approaching normative political theory, as compared to ‘liberal moralism’. This paper subjects that claim to critique. I first clarify the general idea of action-guidance, and identify two types of guidance that a political theory might try to offer – ‘prescriptive action-guidance’ and ‘orienting action-guidance’ – together with the conditions that must be met before we can understand such guidance as having been successfully offered. I then go on to argue that if we take realist understandings of political psychology seriously, then realist attempts to offer action-guidance appear to fail by realism’s own lights. I demonstrate this by means of engagement with a variety of different realist theorists.

Reflexive-Liberative Filipino Feminist Ethics

Reflexive-Liberative Filipino Feminist Ethics