Open-access Gender and Feminist Philosophies: philosophical insurgencies

Gênero e Filosofias Feministas: insurgências filosóficas

Género y filosofías feministas: insurgencias filosóficas

Abstract

Gender and Philosophy is a topic that for a long time was considered non-philosophical. Problematizing gender relations was historically done privately, as personal studies, in the same way as studies of life stories and ideas of philosophers. Even with great difficulty in accessing works by female philosophers, we had pioneering Brazilian professors and researchers who positioned themselves in a hostile and sexist field, and showed that the gender issue was indeed a philosophical topic, and that there were/are women philosophers. However, we cannot talk about gender in Philosophy without recognizing that it was through feminist criticism that such reflections were endorsing (even if slowly) gender studies in Philosophy. In this text, we seek to value feminist philosophies and analyze how the theme of gender was inserted, valuing the pioneers who, from the beginning of the 2000s, began to propose events, publications, study groups, and other activities in Brazil, even before we have had working groups that deal with the topic of Gender and the life stories and thoughts of women in Philosophy, at the National Association of Postgraduate Studies in Philosophy (Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia, ANPOF). Such actions need to be remembered in studies, research, publications and events on feminist Epistemologies, Gender and Philosophy. Denouncing gender prejudices, machismo and patriarchy in our research, and learning to value gender studies in Philosophy and the contribution of feminist studies to this area of knowledge is still necessary. Studying and researching the thoughts of philosopher women is also contributing to a non-macho, non-patriarchal society, because as we have more works published on the thoughts of women, the more we will learn to value women in different societies.

Keywords: Gender; Fascism; Politics; Exile; Patriarchal society.

Resumo

Gênero e Filosofia é um tema que por muito tempo foi considerado não filosófico. Problematizar as relações de gênero foi historicamente feito de forma privada, como estudos pessoais, da mesma maneira que ocorria com estudos de histórias de vida e ideias de filósofas. Mesmo com muita dificuldade para acessar obras de filósofas, tivemos pioneiras professoras e pesquisadoras brasileiras que se posicionaram em um campo hostil e machista, mostraram que o tema gênero era sim um tema filosófico e que havia/há mulheres filósofas. No entanto, não podemos falar de gênero na Filosofia sem reconhecer que foi a partir das críticas feministas que tais reflexões foram endossando (mesmo que lentamente) os estudos de gênero na Filosofia. Nesse texto, busca-se valorizar as filosofias feministas e analisar como o tema gênero foi sendo inserido, valorizando as pioneiras que, a partir do início dos anos 2000, começaram a propor eventos, publicações, grupos de estudos e outras atividades no Brasil, antes mesmo de termos grupos de trabalho que tratam o tema de gênero e as histórias de vida e pensamentos de mulheres na Filosofia na Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia (ANPOF). Tais ações precisam ser lembradas em estudos, pesquisas, publicações e eventos sobre epistemologias feministas, gênero e Filosofia. Denunciar os preconceitos de gênero, o machismo e o patriarcado em nossas pesquisas e aprender a valorizar os estudos de gênero na Filosofia e a contribuição dos estudos feministas para essa área do conhecimento ainda se faz necessário. Estudar e pesquisar o pensamento de mulheres filósofas é também contribuir para uma sociedade não machista, não patriarcal, pois na medida que temos mais obras publicadas sobre o pensamento de mulheres, mais se aprenderá a valorizar as mulheres nas diferentes sociedades.

Palavras-chave: Filosofia; Mulheres; Gênero; Feminismos; Educação.

Resumen

Género y Filosofía es un tema que durante mucho tiempo se consideró no filosófico. La problematización de las relaciones de género históricamente se hizo de forma privada, como estudios personales, del mismo modo que los estudios de historias de vida e ideas de filósofos. Incluso con grandes dificultades para acceder a obras de filósofas, tuvimos profesoras e investigadoras brasileñas pioneras que se posicionaron en un campo hostil y sexista, y demostraron que la cuestión de género era efectivamente un tema filosófico, y que había/hay filósofas. Sin embargo, no podemos hablar de género en Filosofía sin reconocer que fue a través de la crítica feminista que tales reflexiones fueron avalando (aunque lentamente) los estudios de género en Filosofía. En este texto buscamos valorar las filosofías feministas y analizar cómo se insertó el tema de género, valorando a las pioneras que, desde principios de la década de 2000, comenzaron a proponer eventos, publicaciones, grupos de estudio y otras actividades en Brasil, incluso antes hemos tenido grupos de trabajo que abordan el tema de Género y las historias de vida y pensamiento de las mujeres en Filosofía, en la Asociación Nacional de Estudios de Posgrado en Filosofía (Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia, ANPOF). Estas acciones deben ser recordadas en estudios, investigaciones, publicaciones y eventos sobre Epistemologías, Género y Filosofía feministas. Aún es necesario denunciar los prejuicios de género, el machismo y el patriarcado en nuestras investigaciones, y aprender a valorar los estudios de género en Filosofía y la aportación de los estudios feministas a esta área del conocimiento. Estudiar e investigar el pensamiento de las mujeres filósofas también contribuye a una sociedad no machista y no patriarcal, porque cuanto más trabajos publiquemos sobre el pensamiento de las mujeres, más aprenderemos a valorar a las mujeres en diferentes sociedades.

Palabras clave: Filosofía; Mujeres; Género; Feminismos; Educación.

Introduction

“Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to plunder and slander, but they can also be used to empower and humanize. They can shatter the dignity of a people, but they can also repair that shattered dignity”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2019, p. 32.

Historically, we have studied philosophy with very little to learn about women's contribution to philosophical thought, and if we look at it from an ethnic-racial perspective, the problem is even worse. This absence was especially disturbing for women who were studying for licentiate and/or bachelor's degrees in the courses of our Brazilian Universities. The topic of gender has not been considered a philosophical topic, and our gender and feminist studies in our research have proven this.

Until the mid-2000s, it was common to hear the question: "But is gender a philosophical topic?" Even with research, extension and teaching projects in progress, and some events taking place in the country. For us women, working with feminist epistemologies and gender issues has never been easy. We created strategies to work with feminist epistemologies and gender in Philosophy. One of them was to carry out research in departments and institutes that were not in Philosophy, but that accepted our research proposals. This brought up another problem - the fact that we do not have a a Ph.D. in Philosophy, making it even more difficult to access competitions, public notices and access to institutes and departments of Philosophy in Brazil.

To work in Philosophy, we women still need, to this day, to learn, first of all, to transgress. "Transgressing in Philosophy implies questioning how can we transgress in Philosophy as women, in order to be known/acknowledged? Who are the philosopher women? Where are the women in philosophy? What are the thoughts of philosopher women on different philosophical topics?" (Rosa, 2015, p. 34).

In the book "Women and Philosophy. Gender Relations in Philosophical Thought" (Pacheco, 2015), in the article entitled "Transgressions, Subversions and the Margins of Philosophical Thought" (Rosa, 2015), the concept of subversion is problematized. Historically, women have had to subvert, disobey and infringe some norms pre-established by men, breaking with sexist and patriarchal thoughts, which have violated, sickened, silenced and tried to exclude women from the history of Philosophy. Heleieth Saffioti is one of the most important Brazilian feminist researchers. In the 1960s, she was a pioneer in analyses of inequalities between men and women. In her book Women in Class Society, she recorded that, "as one of the agents of the process of mystification of women, men, both bourgeois and proletarian and, above all, those belonging to the middle social strata, render colossal help to the ruling class and mystify themselves" (Saffioti, 2013, p. 75).

There is no doubt that we are moving forward! Today we have research groups on women and philosophy, gender and philosophy, and feminist epistemologies. We have public notices that contemplate women and explain these themes in their contents. A network of philosopher women was created in Brazil. The National Association ANPOF has working groups that address women's philosophical thinking, and/or gender and feminist epistemologies.

We have meetings that are held in Brazil on Gender and Philosophy, and other events that stamp the faces and echo the voices of philosophers who compose the philosophical canon. Today, feminist researchers present their studies, research, and work on Women in Philosophy at events that are not feminist in nature. We also have the Philosophers Award, which rewards researchers in the field of Philosophy, among other actions.

However, reflecting on what philosophers said and wrote about women in the history of Philosophy continues to be important to contextualize the historical gap, and more than that, to value what women have done and are doing in Philosophy, even with so much adversity and difficulties1. The work organized by Maria Luísa Ribeiro Ferreira (2010) presents us with what (male) philosophers thought about women. In this book we find articles on Plato, Aristotle, Tertullian, Augustine, Saint Anselm, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Russel, Lévinas and Foucault. In addition to having to know this part of the history of philosophy to carry out feminst criticism, we need to mention more nosotras, and, to do so, it is necessary to read women and know feminist theories, as they propose research, teaching and extension methodologies that value the knowledge and actions of women in Philosophy. In the second chapter of the book “Gender Relations in Philosophy” (2012), entitled “Philosophy and feminisms: learning other readings with some philosophers”, the contribution of feminist movements and what some feminist philosophers taught us are presented, demonstrating that for us to think gender in philosophy is fundamental that we question, what do feminist philosophers say about women and Philosophy2?

The different feminisms are fundamental to understanding the history of Philosophy3, as well as a history of violence, silencing and exclusion of women. By reading the thoughts of female philosophers, we come to know other philosophical themes and enchanting works that deserve to be published and valued. Many female philosophers became known only for their intellectual relationships with other thinkers, or solely for being wives and/or companions of recognized intellectual men. Thus, we can say that the question "who are the female philosophers?" still needs to be answered in classrooms, and, for that, we need to produce beyond the academy4. And to write, research and study beyond academia, it is important to work alongside groups of women, activists, often feminists. That involves learning other knowledge systems and epistemologies based on gender and feminist criticism.

Gender, Feminisms, Philosophies and Women

"It was, indeed, the feminists who first raised complaints about gender relations"

Rosa, 2012, p. 35.

The topic of gender, feminisms, and philosophy is currently in the spotlight, yet it is not a new subject. There is still much to be done to incorporate feminist epistemologies into philosophy, and these ideas should form part of philosophy education, as well as teacher training, to contribute to a philosophy that is non-androcentric, sexist, racist, homophobic, and patriarchal.

Before we problematize gender, feminists were already denouncing the way women were treated in philosophy, as well as the exclusion of female philosophers, the aberrations uttered by renowned thinkers about women, and the absence of their ideas in the philosophical canon. Being a woman and reading what men wrote in philosophy about women has generated anger and indignation. omen reacted in various ways to break free from prejudices, sexism, and this patriarchal, racist, and misogynistic system.

Así, las feministas sintetizan la experiencia colectiva, critican y proponen a la sociedad en su conjunto pactos sociales (desde el mundo personal hasta el Estado) nuevas normas - que sancionem desde las mujeres constituidas en sujeto político, los derechos, los límites y las opciones en las relaciones sociales y políticas -, realizan una crítica de la cultura patriarcal y de todas las formas de opresión que reproducen el mundo en la alienación, y proponen nuevas formas sociales y culturales que emergen antiopresivas y se fundan en la diversidad, en el bienestar, en la creatividad, y en la posibilidad de disfrutar y gozar subjetiva y objetivamente de la vida (Lagarde y de Los Ríos, 2015, p. 560).

We are only recently establishing alliances in Philosophy among us women. Studies on gender and feminisms in philosophy have helped us to break free from the captivity where we were incarcerated, silenced, and left behind. I refer to captivity, inspired by Lagarde y de los Ríos (2005), who categorizes captivity as an anthropological category that synthesizes the cultural fact defining the situation of women in a patriarchal world, characterized also by deprivation of freedom, silencing, power relations, a power that was/is white, male, and Eurocentric.

Studies on the concept of woman, especially from a feminist and gender perspective, in works written by philosophers are little known. Until recently, feminist studies were scarcely read, translated, and known/acknowledged in our universities, leading to a delay in the recognition of an area of knowledge that we are calling Feminist Philosophy. However, this does not mean that women were not questioning what citizenship excluded women, but questioning was just one of our possibilities. We must strengthen our networks, cite more women in our publications and in classrooms, strive for gender equality, recognition of women's protagonism in Philosophy, value their works and research, establish pacts between us which contribute to disseminating our ideas.

An important work entitled Feminist Philosophy (2023) was recently released, organized by Maria de Lourdes Borges, Marcia Tiburi and Susana de Castro. The work presents currents of feminist philosophy, such as ecofeminism, universalist feminism, decolonial feminism, addresses topics such as feminist epistemologies, slavery, ethics of care, feminist philosophy and human rights, feminist political philosophy, feminist Greek philosophy, feminist aesthetics, abortion, youth, violence, beauty, waves of feminism, among others. Works like this need to continue being written, published and studied.

Even when academic events were offered at Universities with the theme of women and Philosophy, we observed that the audience was predominantly women and these themes rarely appeared. In a hostile environment, women were creating strategies to work on their themes, publish their work, manage to complete their studies in the field of Philosophy, develop their feminist research, and gain financial support. Such strategies can be traced in readings of letters, works written by women, event titles and lectures, conferences and presentations of papers. However, there is a facet of this history that we can only get to know when we are willing to listen to/read the women, in interviews, meetings and through research that engages with oral history methodologies, and that involves the stories of women's lives in Philosophy.

To talk about gender and philosophy is to think about people (men and women) who have produced and continue to produce philosophy from places, often foreign to the academy, such as, for example, political movements, non-governmental organizations, as philosophy still does not make room for it, in many Higher Education institutions (Rosa, 2012, p. 18).

Listening to life stories of female philosophy teachers strengthens our formation as women in Philosophy. We work as philosophy teachers in basic education, in both public and private schools, and we are still unsettled by the absence of female philosophers in classrooms, especially in textbooks. Until recently, we did not have publications in printed children's and young adult books. Websites and blogs addressing the topic were rare.

In the research titled Gender Relations in Philosophy: Experiences and Narratives of Philosophy Teachers (Rosa, 2004, 2006) were presented data from teachers in Philosophy Courses in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions, number of enrollments by gender in Philosophy courses at Brazilian Higher Education Institutions, number of entrants through entrance exams for Philosophy courses and number of available slots and number of enrollees through other processes, as well as analysis of the number of graduates in Philosophy courses in Brazil in 2003. In this pioneering research on the theme of Gender and Philosophy, a survey of Philosophy courses was conducted at seven universities located in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), with gender analysis based on the number of enrolled students by sex, as well as interviews with female Philosophy professors working in postgraduate programs. It was found that at that time, women were a minority in Higher Education Institutions, both in undergraduate and postgraduate Philosophy programs.

There were still no studies in Brazil that had conducted this survey of institutions and faculty. This study also questioned where the gender statistics were in Brazilian universities, especially in Philosophy courses, and why we still did not find female philosophers in philosophy textbooks. It was partially published in the book "Gender Relations in Philosophy" (2012), whose cover expresses the silencing of the gender issue in Philosophy and the silencing and exclusion of women themselves.

Figure 1
Cover of the book Gender Relations in Philosophy

This exclusion and silencing of philosopher women in the philosophical canon and in classrooms are a form of violence that we still need to denounce. Questioning where female philosophers are in classrooms and in textbooks remains important, because:

[…] if we don't address these issues in universities, women's biographies, women's texts and ideas will not reach elementary schools. Where are our thinkers? Which textbooks contain ideas that were originally ours? It is absurd to find works with fifty stories by Brazilian thinkers, without even one female philosopher. Again, I question: did we not have any female philosophers during the periods of colonial and imperial Brazil? How can an intellectual who sets out to write about the history of philosophy in Brazil not even dedicate a footnote to the absence or existence of women in philosophy? (Rosa, 2012, p. 73)

The article What Do Female Philosophers Have to Say About Violence? (Rosa, 2023), written from a feminist perspective, based on (re)interpretations of works by Simone de Beauvoir, Angela Davis, Nísia Floresta, Simone Weil, Hannah Arendt, and Marcia Tiburi, showcases to the reader that in addition to denouncing and researching gender-based violence and violence against women, it is important and necessary to get to know what female philosophers have said on the subject, as well as to be aware of the aberrations expressed by philosophers regarding women5.

To this day, we hardly study feminist epistemologies and gender in our Philosophy courses. Our students graduate with little knowledge of the thoughts of female philosophers throughout the history of Philosophy. However, we are making progress, and within the Brazilian network of philosopher women, where we also find some feminists problematizing and taking a leading role in valuing the thought of philosopher women. The Philosophy and Gender Working Group of ANPOF has also been important in organizing activities, meetings, publications, manifestos, and actions that contribute to preventing gender violence and promoting the recognition of women's ideas in Philosophy. It was established only in 2016 but had already been claimed and suggested ten years before its creation in the master's research titled Gender Relations in Philosophy: Experiences and narratives of female Philosophy teachers6 (Rosa, 2006), and in the book Gender Relations in Philosophy (Rosa, 2012).

Ana Miriam Wuensch worked in the early 2000s as a professor in the Philosophy department at the University of Brasília (UNB) and questioned why there was little dissemination of female contributions in the history of philosophical thought. Her contributions were documented on a website. During that period, she already raised concerns that textbooks in all areas, including Philosophy, provided little information about female participation and their contributions, and that this history needed to be reconstructed.

The feminist itinerary in Philosophy is on the agenda in Brazil. Themes such as gender and Philosophy, women and philosophy, feminist philosophy, and feminist epistemologies have begun to gain some visibility in recent years, especially after the movement known as the philosophical spring7. Carolina Araújo (2023) explains the significance of this spring and presents some academic events that addressed the theme of women and Philosophy between 2014 and 2019, and she also lists news and publications on the topic on the ANPOF website, including documents, articles, interviews, videos, publication news, and community news. In the last section of the article, Carolina Araújo presents the official figures from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel on women in postgraduate programs in Philosophy in Brazil between 2014 and 2018.

The image of spring should be understood here as a moment of great visibility, of flourishing, of work that has been plowed, sown, and cultivated for a long time, by different people and across various generations. This is obviously the fundamental work, of which ‘spring’ is but an epiphenomenon. However, as is well known, the realm of politics and the public sphere are greatly influenced by visibility; the intense frequency with which people are exposed to ideas changes some of their attitudes (Araújo, 2023, p. 159).

Women have always been in Philosophy, and even though they did not have visibility, they were part of philosophy in all historical periods. However, it took us a long time to value their ideas and thoughts, and conduct studies on women and philosophy, intersecting with gender and feminist studies. Women have always been studying philosophy and producing theories. In this sense, Rosa Maria Rodriguez Magda, in her work Mujeres en la história del pensamiento (1997, p. 90) said:

Chirstine de Pizan, Marie de Gournay, Lucrezia Marinelli. Simone de Beauvoir, Maria Zambrano o Simone Weil...asumieron el riesgo del pensamiento, escribieron, nos legaron sus obras, y ello es importante no porque pretendamos entresacar una temática específica, no porque pretendamos añadir un pequeño capítulo de filosofia femenina a la filosofia en general, sino porque es justo el reconocimiento a su esfuerzo, porque las teorias de hoy e del futuro deben saber que sus palabras rememoran toda un tradición de pioneras, que el ejercicio del pensamiento no ha estado acotado a un solo sexo, y ello independientemente del campo de reflexión que se elija.

Social media has contributed to an increasing access for a new generation of girls and women to works and life stories of these thinkers. It is enough to observe children's books that also give visibility to women scientists, black women, and philosophers. Until recently, we rarely found (and when we did find) this type of publication. The feminisms brought from the margins to the center, as pointed out by Bell Hooks (2019), contributed to this philosophical spring. However, we cannot say that everything related to women in Philosophy, gender and philosophy, and feminist philosophy is recent, because it is not!

Black women and black feminisms have pointed out new horizons for Philosophy. They remind us that there are philosophies, epistemologies, and feminisms that constitute the struggle for an anti-racist, colonialist, androcentric, and patriarchal Philosophy. Furthermore, we have learned about whiteness, structural racism, black feminisms, place of speech, among other ideas and philosophies that present us with alternative ways of looking at the history of women and feminisms.

We can say that some works by white female philosophers were accessed, read, and translated before works by black female philosophers in Brazil. In the article Angela Davis: a black panther in Philosophy (Ferreira; Rosa, 2016) in the book Philosophers - The presence of women in philosophy (2016) the authors report that they cannot find works translated into Portuguese, only free translations.

If it is true that many women are victims of sexist tyranny, there is little evidence that this creates a 'common bond among all women.' There is much more evidence supporting the fact that race and class identities create differences - rarely overcome - in terms of quality of life, social status, and lifestyle, and that this prevails over all common experiences shared by women. When educated, materially privileged white women, with many career and lifestyle options in front of them, insist that 'suffering cannot be measured,' their motives must be questioned (hooks, 2019, p. 31).

When researching gender relations in Philosophy and the violence experienced by women who work in philosophy, for a long time black female professors were not found working in postgraduate Philosophy programs at the universities surveyed in the South of Brazil, for example. We know that there are still fewer black male/female professors in our universities than white ones, and there is no doubt about the importance of these professionals in different areas of knowledge, especially in colonized countries.

Lélia Gonzalez placed black feminism in the history of philosophy. By the late 1970s, she was already analyzing issues facing black women in Brazilian society through activism, analysis, and reflections on the feminist and black movements. In the 1980s, she became one of the pioneers in the fight against sexism and racism. In 1958, she completed her studies in History and Geography at the age of 23 at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (formerly the University of the State of Guanabara), and in 1962 she obtained a bachelor's degree in Philosophy. As a political activist, she forged connections with the international black movement, and her work was recognized by international black leaders as she exposed to the world the living conditions of black Brazilian women.

Why do we still read and cite black female philosophers less? Black women have denounced that «what we usually find when reading feminist texts and practices are formal references that denote a kind of forgetfulness of the racial issue» (Lélia Gonzalez, 2000, p. 141), and they prompt us to think and teach us about the danger of a single story (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2019); if feminism is for everyone (Bell Hooks, 2019, 2017); the pact of whiteness (Cida Bento, 2022); Intersectionality (Carla Akotirene, 2019). They question who is afraid of black feminism? (Djamila Ribeiro, 2018). They teach us about womanisms (Anin Urasse); Gender, Race, and Class (Angela Davis); Sisterhood (Bell Hooks, 2017); among other philosophies that show us that feminism is also Afro-Latin-American, as Lélia Gonzalez teaches us, and that «Latin American feminism loses much of its strength by abstracting a fact of utmost importance: the multi-racial and pluricultural character of the region's societies» (Lélia Gonzalez, 2020, p. 142).

It is worth highlighting a significant number of works published since 2017 in Brazil on fundamental themes for thinking and understanding feminist philosophy, feminisms and womanisms. However,

it is undeniable that philosophical themes have been present in studies on women, as many of the themes that concern different feminisms are of a philosophical nature (Dicionário da Crítica Feminista, 2005, p. 80).

According to Carla Akotirene (2019, p. 96), “The black feminist project adopts political coalition and solidarity in favor of those oppressed by class, sexuality or territory, among different markings. Intersectionality can help us see oppressions and combat it by recognizing that some oppressions are more painful.” Thus, as we can perceive, all forms of work and studies that aim to value human, ethnic-racial, and gender diversity are valid. Even though some have criticisms that cause discomfort and/or disagreements, none excludes the other in essence. After all, we are not here to replicate among “nosotras” what the patriarchal, racist system has historically done to us.

As highlighted by hooks (2017, p.35), "la sororidad sigue siendo poderosa"! However, we have many challenges ahead for feminist education8.

Dado que muchas mujeres jóvenes saben poco sobre el feminismo y muchas asumen de forma equivocada que el sexismo ya no es un problema, la educación feminista para la consciência crítica debe ser constante. Las pensadoras feministas de más edad no pueden asumir que las jóvenes adquirirán conocimientos sobre feminismo cuando se vayan haciendo adultas; necesitan orientación. En general las mujeres de nuestra sociedad han olvidado el valor y el poder de la sororidad. Un movimiento feminista renovado debe levantar la voz outra vez para proclamar de nuevo que ‘la sororidad es poderosa’ (hooks, 2017, p. 39-40).

However, it is necessary to continue building a philosophy, which is called “unshattered” here, as it does not tell part of the story nor excludes thoughts and bodies. A philosophy that does not remove the thoughts of women from its pages, as it recognizes that throughout the history of philosophy women have been present. Furthermore, that values the dialogue with feminist movements and gender studies, understanding these as philosophical themes that dialogue with all fields of Philosophy.

For an unshattered philosophy: some final considerations

The history of women in Philosophy was torn apart, as were some bodies and writings, books written by female philosophers. Working on Gender in Philosophy and feminist theories is the least we can do to wage the fight against racism, machismo, sexism, androcentrism, homophobia and all types of prejudice and violence that persist in being part of the history of Philosophy.

The Philosophy that once did not value the margins has begun to learn from them and know/acknowledge that there are other knowledge systems and practices that constitute Philosophy. Black, decolonial/"descolonial" feminisms have pointed out new themes and demands for Philosophy and questioned the philosophical canon regarding the historical silencing of women and black people. African-derived philosophies present us with a complexity of themes and a non-Eurocentric, anti-patriarchal, and anti-racist approach, denouncing the oppressions and violence against their bodies and knowledge, and how much we still need to learn.

The issue of patriarchy has not been overcome; other problems have been identified through the denunciation of the privileges that were socially attributed to men, and denied to women. We know that gender issues in Philosophy go far beyond what philosophers have said/written about women. Thus, all feminist approaches, as well as those concerning gender, have been and are important for the history of philosophical thought.

However, valuing the pioneering practices in the field of Philosophy and the philosopher women who preceded us is a challenge for us educators and students in the field of Philosophy. To learn about the first publications on the subject of gender and philosophy, as well as the first study and research groups created to break through gender prejudice, the exclusion and the historical silencing of their ideas. Such a movement was led by some women who took up their readings, advocated for access to positions in Philosophy departments and postgraduate programs, and those who dared to take books, write texts about the histories of women in philosophy, and their philosophical ideas.

With feminist ethics and sisterhood, we are moving forward as, among other things, we learn to:

  • Respect gender equality in our notices, panels and selections.

  • Value pioneering practices in the field of Philosophy and philosopher women.

  • Create specific announcements that address the topic of gender and feminism.

  • Quote/cite nosotras.

  • Strengthen our networks.

  • Study feminist theories, without forgetting Afro-Latin American ones.

  • Study the concept of gender and contextualize it with the Latin American reality.

  • Know and dialogue with the criticisms that black women have made towards feminism.

  • Establish dialogues at academic and non-academic events, as well as in classrooms about different feminisms.

  • Criticize the exclusion of philosopher women and read works by philosopher women.

  • Know what male philosophers have said about women throughout the history of Philosophy, even though this has been one of the first movements that we, as feminist women, have undertaken in Philosophy to then talk about gender and Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Feminist Epistemologies, and/or Violence and Philosophy.

  • Continue denouncing epistemological and gender-based violence.

  • Study African philosophies, gender theories, womanisms, and feminisms in our Philosophy courses.

  • Know/acknowledge the contribution of Black theorists: with them, we learn that we cannot talk about class and gender without addressing diversity, equality, blackness, public policies, racisms, colonialism, womanisms, among many other issues.

  • Value the life stories and ideas of women who have dedicated themselves to Philosophy.

  • Strengthen feminist movements, feminist education, and Feminist Philosophy.

  • Teach and learn about the power of sisterhood and feminist ethics.

  • 1
    On the topic, see subchapter 2.5 Androcentric perspectives and stories to be told, from the book “Gender Relations in Philosophy” (Rosa, 2012, p. 36-52).
  • 2
    This question composes the second chapter of the book “Gender Relations in Philosophy” (Rosa, 2012).
  • 3
    Some texts and authors also inspired the beginning of this search for women in Philosophy, from a feminist and gender perspective, see: Has feminism changed Science? (Londa Schiebinger); Tiempo de Feminismo sobre feminismo, proyecto ilustrado y posmodernidad (Célia Amoros, 2000); Feminism, Education and Citizenship (Maria de Penha Carvalho, 2005); The feminist as the other (Susan Bordo, 2000); Gender problems. Feminisms and subversion of identity (Judith Butler, 2003); Las ideas Feministas Latinoamericanas (Francesca Gargallo, 2005); Ethics and Feminism (Graciela Hierro, 1990).
  • 4
    Regarding the topic, it is suggested reading chapter 3 titled Gender, Philosophy and Education: The teaching of Philosophy and the challenges facing the gender issue (Rosa, 2012, p. 53-p. 88).
  • 5
    On the topic of Women and Philosophy, see also: Women and the teaching of Philosophy: challenges at the Frontier of the Human (Rosa, 2005); Including women philosophers in classrooms (Rosa, 2005); Where are the philosopher women in Latin America? (Rosa, 2005); Challenges of including issues of gender, feminisms and women in classrooms (Rosa, 2005); Where are the rare works of philosopher women, their reflections, biographies and references in textbooks? (Rosa, 2005); There are also female philosophers: a work to think about education and philosophy (Rosa, 2006).
  • 6
    This refers to a master's dissertation research conducted in the Postgraduate Program in Education, defended in 2006, supervised by Professor Dr. Edla Eggert.
  • 7
    Suggestion to read the article The spring of 2016, by Carolina Araújo (2023).
  • 8
    Regarding feminist pedagogy, consider reading Feminist Educational Practices in Brazil: Antipatriarchal Epistemological Perspectives and Feminist Pedagogy (Rosa; Silva, 2017).

Acknowledgements

I thank all the philosopher women I have read, interviewed, listened to, and who have taught me other philosophies. I thank those with whom I have the joy of fighting, writing and sharing the feminist struggle.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    29 Nov 2024
  • Date of issue
    2024

History

  • Received
    14 Mar 2024
  • Accepted
    02 Sept 2024
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