The feminist philosophy journal Hypatia became involved in a dispute in April 2017 that led to extensive criticism of an author of one of its articles, Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College in Memphis. The journal had published a peer-reviewed article by Tuvel in which she compared the situation of Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman, to that of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who identifies as black. When the article was criticized on social media, scholars associated with Hypatia joined in the criticism and urged the journal to retract it.Singal, Jesse (2 May 2017). "This Is What a Modern-Day Witch Hunt Looks Like". New York magazine. The controversy exposed a rift within the journal's editorial team and more broadly within feminism and academic philosophy.
In the article—"In Defense of Transracialism", published in Hypatias spring 2017 issue on 25 April—Tuvel argued that "since we should accept transgender individuals' decisions to change sexes, we should also accept transracial individuals' decisions to change races". After a small group on Facebook and Twitter criticized the article and attacked Tuvel, an open letter began circulating, naming one of Hypatias editorial board as its point of contact and urging the journal to retract the article. The article's publication had sent a message, the letter said, that "white cis scholars may engage in speculative discussion of these themes" without engaging "theorists whose lives are most directly affected by transphobia and racism".
On 1 May the journal posted an apology on its Facebook page on behalf of "a majority" of Hypatias associate editors. By the following day the open letter had 830 signatories, including scholars associated with Hypatia and two members of Tuvel's dissertation committee. Hypatias editor-in-chief, Sally Scholz, and its board of directors stood by the article.Schuessler, Jennifer (19 May 2017). "A Defense of ‘Transracial’ Identity Roils Philosophy World". The New York Times. When Scholz resigned in July 2017, the board suspended the associate editors' authority to appoint the next editor, in response to which eight associate editors resigned. The directors set up a task force to restructure the journal's governance. In February 2018 the directors themselves were replaced.
Some members of the academic community responded with support for Tuvel.Walters, Suzanna Danuta (5 May 2017). "Academe's Poisonous Call-Out Culture". The Chronicle of Higher Education.. The affair exposed fault lines within philosophy about peer review, analytic versus continental philosophy, diversity within the profession, who is deemed qualified to write about people's lived experience, the pressures of social media, and how to preserve the free exchange of ideas.Dea, Shannon (2 August 2019). "Academic freedom, scholarly responsibility and the new gender wars". University Affairs. ; ; .
Background Hypatia
Founded in 1983 by Azizah Y. al-Hibri and the Society for Women in Philosophy, Hypatia is owned by a non-profit corporation, Hypatia Inc. At the time of the dispute in April 2017, the journal was published by John Wiley & Sons. Miriam Solomon (Temple) was president of the board of directors and Sally Scholz (Villanova) editor-in-chief. In addition to the directors and editorial staff, in April 2017 there was a 25-strong editorial board; a 10-member advisory board; 12 local editorial advisors; and a board of 10 associate editors. The associate editors, who appointed the editors-in-chief and advised on editorial policy, consisted of Linda Martín Alcoff (CUNY); Ann Cahill (Elon); Kim Hall (App State); Cressida Heyes (Alberta); Karen Jones (Melbourne); Kyoo Lee (John Jay); Mariana Ortega (John Carroll); Ásta Kristjana Sveinsdóttir (SFSU); Alison Wylie (Washington); and George Yancy (Emory).
Author Rebecca Tuvel was born in Toronto to a Jewish family; her mother is a pharmacist and her father a dentist. Tuvel attributes her interest in justice partly to the loss of family members during the Holocaust; both her grandfathers were survivors.Sosis, Cliff (5 October 2017). "Interview with Rebecca Tuvel". What Is It Like to Be a Philosopher?. Specializing in feminist philosophy, the philosophy of race, and animal ethics, Tuvel obtained her BA from McGill University in 2007 and her PhD in 2014 from Vanderbilt University for a thesis entitled Epistemic Injustice Expanded: A Feminist, Animal Studies Approach."Rebecca Tuvel", Rhodes College. Retrieved 18 May 2017."Title page for ETD etd-07102014-161455", Electronic Theses and Dissertations, Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 14 May 2017. Tuvel, Rebecca (August 2014). Epistemic Injustice Expanded: A Feminist, Animal Studies Approach. Vanderbilt University. In 2014 she joined Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, as an assistant professor of philosophy."New faculty". Rhodes Magazine, 3 November 2014, 52.
"In Defense of Transracialism" Jenner and Dolezal Tuvel began writing the transracialism article after noticing the contrast between the reception given in 2015 to Caitlyn Jenner's coming out as a trans woman in April and that given in June to Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who identifies and had been passing as black. Jenner became one of Glamour magazine's Women of the Year and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, while Dolezal lost her position as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Spokane, Washington, and became, in her view, unemployable.Engber, Daniel (30 May 2017). "Are Angry Mobs on Facebook Taking Over Academia?". Slate. "Caitlyn Jenner Glamour Women of the Year 2015 Award Acceptance Speech". Glamour, 9 November 2015. Pérez-Peña, Richard (12 June 2015). "Black or White? Woman's Story Stirs Up a Furor". The New York Times. Tuvel was not interested in the details of the cases but in their structure. She set about writing an argument in support of the position: "Since we should accept transgender individuals' decisions to change sexes, we should also accept transracial individuals' decisions to change races."
Arguments
Tuvel suggests that "generally, we treat people wrongly when we block them from assuming the personal identity they wish to assume". Self-identification and social recognition of the new identity are the two components needed for a successful change. As an example, she offers conversion to Judaism; if there is no reason to block the conversion, such as the rabbi doubting the seriousness of the commitment, transition to the new identity will be accepted. Arguing for "an account of race that allows for racial membership on the basis of social treatment and ... self-identification", she maintains that race is a malleable social construct and that, while ancestry—a feature external to the body—is a highly valued determinant of race in America, its value varies elsewhere. In Brazil, for example, Dolezal's self-identification as black, her living as someone society had accepted as black, and her exposure to black culture would be enough to deem her black, according to Tuvel.
Tuvel addresses four objections to transracialism. First, a claim to be black requires the experience of having grown up with the suffering anti-black racism causes; the journalist Touré called this the "one thing that binds black people".; Schwartz, Ian (16 June 2015). "Toure Roasts Rachel Dolezal: "The One Thing That Binds Black People Is The Experience Of Racism". RealClear Politics. That trans women are not raised with the suffering caused by sexism is not reason enough, Tuvel argues, to reject their identification as women. Therefore, in Tuvel's view, Dolezal's experience of racism while living as a black woman would be sufficient exposure. A second objection is that Dolezal cannot identify as black because of the importance placed in America on ancestry; no matter the facts, there is intersubjective agreement that ancestry matters. Tuvel argues there was also an intersubjective agreement that biology mattered in relation to trans people, both in America in the past, and in some countries even today. Therefore this objection from "intersubjective agreement" holds the possibility of change "hostage to the status quo".
Third, there is an objection that the black community is harmed when a white person seeks to enter it; Dolezal's passing as black was compared to blackface. Tuvel distinguishes between problematic and unproblematic identification. Dolezal's self-identification was not based on a change in physical appearance alone; there was nothing insulting about it; it did not appear to be temporary; there were no questionable ends; and there was no reinforcement of harmful stereotypes. It was therefore an example of unproblematic identification, Tuvel argues. A fourth objection is that Dolezal was engaged in a "wrongful exercise of white privilege": a white person can restore their white privilege whenever they need it, while a black person is denied this ease of movement. Tuvel writes that the same argument applies to trans women, especially before surgery; that someone could return to male privilege should not preclude their transition.
Peer review and publication The paper thanks J. Baird Callicott (UNT), Andrew Forcehimes (NTU) and David Gray (UofM) for having read earlier drafts. Tuvel submitted the article to Hypatia on 12 February 2016,"Publication history", "In Defense of Transracialism", Hypatia, 25 April 2017. and on 26 February she presented it to a conference at the University of Waterloo."Philosophy Colloquium Series 2015-2016" , University of Waterloo. Retrieved 9 May 2017. The manuscript was revised on 24 September and accepted for publication on 10 October 2016, after the standard double-blind peer review by at least two reviewers.
On 4 January 2017 Tuvel presented the paper to the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division."2017 Eastern Division abstracts of accepted papers". American Philosophical Association. Retrieved 7 May 2017. The scheduled commentators were Kris Sealey (Fairfield), a Hypatia reviewer in 2016, and Tina Fernandes Botts (Fresno State). Sealey's rebuttal included that the biology of race "is really about a relationship between actual genetic ancestry (on the one hand), and the cultural and social signification of that ancestry (on the other)". The role of ancestry is therefore not biological but cultural, she argued. She argued further that "the white person who attempts to shed her white identity becomes blind to the racial privilege that she cannot opt out of".
Botts did not attend the meeting but submitted a short reply, arguing that the contemporary understanding of race in the US sees it as an "identity marker based in ancestry", which unlike gender is not changeable; she called race "externally derived" and gender "internally derived".. She presented a more detailed position at a Fresno State meeting in March and at the Res Philosophica conference in April.; Uribes, Tom (9 March 2017). "Philosophy Professor Tina Botts kicks off Women's Studies Lunchtime Talks". The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State. Hypatia made Tuvel's article available online on 29 March 2017 and included it in their spring issue on 25 April. It was published while Botts was at the Res Philosophica conference. There was support there for both Botts's and Tuvel's positions; according to Botts, the view was expressed that Tuvel's ideas were out of step with recent scholarship, but that she might be onto something in calling for the right to reject one's designated race.
Social media response Criticism