•  643
    : Liberal rights theory can be used either to challenge or to support social hierarchies of power. Focusing on Ronald Dworkin's theory of rights and Catharine MacKinnon's feminist critique of liberalism, I identify a number of problems with the way that liberal theorists conceptualize rights. I argue that rights can be used to chal-lenge oppressive practices and structures only if they are defined and employed with an awareness and critique of social relations of power
  •  110
    Defining Rape
    Social Philosophy Today 35 89-101. 2019.
    Legal definitions of rape traditionally required proof of both force and nonconsent. Acknowledging the difficulty of demonstrating the conjunction of force and nonconsent, many feminists argue that rape should be defined based on one element or the other. Instead of debating which of these two best defines the crime of rape, I argue that this framework is problematic, and that both force and nonconsent must be situated in a critique of social power structures. Catharine MacKinnon provides such a…Read more
  •  92
    Can Liberalism Account for Women’s “Adaptive Preferences”?
    Social Philosophy Today 23 175-186. 2007.
    Feminist philosophers have questioned whether liberal theory can account for the phenomenon of adaptive preferences, specifically women’s preferences that are formed under conditions of sexist oppression. In this paper, I examine the argument of one feminist who addresses the problem of women’s “deformed desires” by relying on a liberal framework. Assessing her argument, I conclude that liberalism provides inadequate resources for responding to this issue since it errs in understanding adaptive …Read more
  •  78
    Abstraction, idealization, and oppression
    Metaphilosophy 37 (5): 565-588. 2006.
    Feminists, critical race scholars, and other social‐justice theorists sometimes object to “abstraction” in liberal normative theory. Arguing that oppression affects individual agents in powerful yet subtle ways, they contend that allegedly abstract theories often reinforce oppressive power structures. Here I critically examine and ultimately reject Onora O'Neill's “abstraction without idealization” as a solution to this problem. Because O'Neill defines abstraction as simply the “bracketing of ce…Read more
  •  72
    In responding to Anderson, Tobin, and Mills, I focus on questions about non-ideal theory, normative individualism, and standpoint theory. In particular, I ask whether feminist theorizing can be "liberal" and yet not embody the problematic forms of abstraction and individualism described in "Challenging Liberalism". Ultimately, I call for methods of theorizing that illuminate and challenge oppressive social hierarchies
  •  70
    Feminist Interventions in Ethics and Politics: Feminist Ethics and Social Theory (edited book)
    with Barbara S. Andrew and Jean Clare Keller
    Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2005.
    This collection breaks new ground in four key areas of feminist social thought: the sex/gender debates; challenges to liberalism/equality; feminist ethics; and feminist perspectives on global ethics and politics in the 21st century. Altogether, the essays provide an innovative look at feminist philosophy while making substantive contributions to current debates in gender theory, ethics, and political thought.
  •  51
    Relational Autonomy (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 25 (2): 183-186. 2002.
  •  50
    Feminist Analyses of Oppression and the Discourse of “Rights”
    Social Theory and Practice 28 (3): 465-480. 2002.
  •  48
  •  41
    Groups and Group Rights (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 27 (2): 184-187. 2004.
  •  35
    Action-Guidance, Oppression, and Nonideal Theory
    Feminist Philosophy Quarterly 2 (1): 1-9. 2016.
    Lisa Tessman’s Moral Failure: On the Impossible Demands of Morality raises important questions about ideal theory, oppression, and the role of action guidance in normative philosophy. After a brief overview of feminist and anti-racist philosophers’ critiques of ideal theory, I examine Tessman’s claim that nonideal oppression theorists focus too narrowly on action guidance and thereby obscure other important normative issues, such as the problem of moral failure. Although I agree with Tessman’s a…Read more
  •  34
    Feminist interventions in ethics and politics : an introduction
    with Barbara S. Andrew and Jean Keller
    In Barbara S. Andrew, Jean Clare Keller & Lisa H. Schwartzman (eds.), Feminist Interventions in Ethics and Politics: Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 1. 2005.
  •  33
    Appetites, Disorder, and Desire
    International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 8 (2): 86-102. 2015.
    Popular interest in the topic of food has exploded in the past decade. Due in part to books by Michael Pollan, Barbara Kingsolver, and Eric Schlosser and films such as Food, Inc., Super Size Me, and Forks over Knives, people are starting to think critically about where their food originates, how it is processed, and how their consumption choices affect the environment, nonhuman animals, and other people. At the same time, there is rising concern about the dangers of obesity. Although the voices …Read more
  •  29
    Neutrality, Choice, and Contexts of Oppression
    Social Philosophy Today 21 193-206. 2005.
    In her recent book, Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values, Kimberly Yuracko argues that perfectionism is a promising theory for feminists, and she suggests that “what really motivates and drives feminists’ arguments is not a neutral commitment to freedom or equality but a perfectionist commitment to a particular, albeit inchoate, vision of human flourishing.” In my paper, I explore the connections between feminism, perfectionism, and critiques of liberal neutrality by focusing critical …Read more
  •  25
    Introduction
    Journal of Social Philosophy 43 (3): 205-211. 2012.
  •  21
    Challenging Liberalism: Feminism as Political Critique
    Pennsylvania State University Press. 2006.
    Questions about the relevance and value of various liberal concepts are at the heart of important debates among feminist philosophers and social theorists. Although many feminists invoke concepts such as rights, equality, autonomy, and freedom in arguments for liberation, some attempt to avoid them, noting that they can also reinforce and perpetuate oppressive social structures. In Challenging Liberalism Schwartzman explores the reasons why concepts such as rights and equality can sometimes rein…Read more
  •  11
    A Feminist Critique of
    In Barbara S. Andrew, Jean Clare Keller & Lisa H. Schwartzman (eds.), Feminist Interventions in Ethics and Politics: Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 151. 2005.
  •  8
    Relational Autonomy (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 25 (2): 183-186. 2002.
  •  6
    Neutrality, Choice, and Contexts of Oppression
    Social Philosophy Today 21 193-206. 2005.
    In her recent book, Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values, Kimberly Yuracko argues that perfectionism is a promising theory for feminists, and she suggests that “what really motivates and drives feminists’ arguments is not a neutral commitment to freedom or equality but a perfectionist commitment to a particular, albeit inchoate, vision of human flourishing.” In my paper, I explore the connections between feminism, perfectionism, and critiques of liberal neutrality by focusing critical …Read more
  •  6
    Can Liberalism Account for Women’s “Adaptive Preferences”?
    Social Philosophy Today 23 175-186. 2007.
    Feminist philosophers have questioned whether liberal theory can account for the phenomenon of adaptive preferences, specifically women’s preferences that are formed under conditions of sexist oppression. In this paper, I examine the argument of one feminist who addresses the problem of women’s “deformed desires” by relying on a liberal framework. Assessing her argument, I conclude that liberalism provides inadequate resources for responding to this issue since it errs in understanding adaptive …Read more
  •  1
  • Normative Theory in the Context of Gender Inequality: A Feminist Critique of Liberalism
    Dissertation, State University of New York at Stony Brook. 2000.
    How is it that the same liberal ideals that guide liberatory social change can also impede that change by justifying oppressive institutions? Focusing on Ronald Dworkin's liberalism, I argue that abstract theoretical ideals can function to reinforce social hierarchies when they are defined and applied under conditions of structural inequality, including sexist and racist oppression. As an alternative to liberalism's abstraction, I defend the attempts of feminist theorists such as Rae Langton and…Read more