Global InformationHypatia transracialism controversy information
 Hypatia's associate editors posted an unauthorized apology for the publication of one of its peer-reviewed articles.[1] | |
| Date | From April 2017 |
|---|---|
| Event | Academic dispute |
| Field | Feminist philosophy |
| Disputed article | Rebecca Tuvel (Spring 2017). "In Defense of Transracialism". Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy. 32 (2): 263–278. doi:10.1111/hypa.12327. S2CID 151630261. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. |
| Publisher | Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, John Wiley & Sons |
| Request for retraction |
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| Journal response |
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| Journal website | Hypatia website Wiley Hypatia page Cambridge Hypatia page |
The feminist philosophy journal Hypatia became involved in a dispute in April 2017 that led to the online shaming of one of its authors, Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College in Memphis.[8][9] 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.[4] The controversy exposed a rift within the journal's editorial team and more broadly within feminism and academic philosophy.[5][10]
In the article—"In Defense of Transracialism", published in Hypatia's 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".[11] After a small group on Facebook and Twitter criticized the article and attacked Tuvel, an open letter began circulating, naming one of Hypatia's 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".[2][4]
On 1 May the journal posted an apology on its Facebook page on behalf of "a majority" of Hypatia's associate editors.[3][4] By the following day the open letter had 830 signatories,[6] including scholars associated with Hypatia and two members of Tuvel's dissertation committee. Hypatia's editor-in-chief, Sally Scholz, and its board of directors stood by the article.[5][12] 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.[7][13][14] The directors set up a task force to restructure the journal's governance.[15] In February 2018 the directors themselves were replaced.[16]
Some members of the academic community responded with support for Tuvel.[8][17][18][10] 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.[12][19]
- ^ Flaherty, Colleen (19 May 2017). "'Hypatia' Disavows the 'Hypatia' Disavowal". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
letterwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Heyes30April2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d Singal, Jesse (2 May 2017). "This Is What a Modern-Day Witch Hunt Looks Like". New York magazine.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
McKenzie6May2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Anderson18May2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Zamudio-Suaréz, Fernanda (21 July 2017). "Months After 'Transracialism' Flap, Controversy Still Rages at Feminist Philosophy Journal". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- ^ a b Brubaker, Rogers (18 May 2017). "The Uproar Over 'Transracialism'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017.
- ^ Smith 2019, 223.
- ^ a b Whittington 2018, 170–171.
- ^ Tuvel 2017, 264.
- ^ a b Schuessler, Jennifer (19 May 2017). "A Defense of ‘Transracial’ Identity Roils Philosophy World". The New York Times.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Weinberg24July2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Announcement from the Editorial Team and Statement from the Hypatia Board of Directors". Hypatia. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017.
- ^ Weinberg, Justin (13 November 2017). "Hypatia Board Announces Task Force". Daily Nous.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
search23Feb2018was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Oliver7May2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Walters, Suzanna Danuta (5 May 2017). "Academe's Poisonous Call-Out Culture". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- ^ Dea, Shannon (2 August 2019). "Academic freedom, scholarly responsibility and the new gender wars". University Affairs.
Zack 2018, 236–237; Dunn & Manning 2018; Smith 2019, 223.