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23Against Convergence Liberalism: A Feminist CritiqueCanadian Journal of Philosophy 52 (6): 654-672. 2022.Convergence liberalism has emerged as a prominent interpretation of public reason liberalism. Yet, while its main rival in the public reason literature—the Rawlsian consensus account of public reason—has faced serious scrutiny regarding its ability to secure equal citizenship forallmembers of society, especially for members of historically subordinated groups, convergence liberalism has not. With this article, we hope to start a discussion about convergence liberalism and its (in)ability to addr…Read more
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21The Empire of Women: Rousseau on Domination and SexualitySouthern Journal of Philosophy 61 (1): 158-181. 2023.Jean-Jacques Rousseau's works are often a touchstone and inspiration for many when it comes to thinking carefully about domination. We find Rousseau-inspired analyses across a wide range of political theories centering the concept of domination, from republicanism, liberalism, and Marxism to critical theory, feminisms, and beyond. This article aims to raise questions about a powerful, prevailing, and compelling reading of Rousseau's conception of domination. Beyond that, I hope to offer further …Read more
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A feminist defense of political liberalismIn Sarah Roberts-Cady & Jon Mandle (eds.), John Rawls: Debating the Major Questions, Oup Usa. 2020.
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45Critical reflections on The Right to Sex: A review essayEuropean Journal of Philosophy 30 (3): 1198-1203. 2022.European Journal of Philosophy, Volume 30, Issue 3, Page 1198-1203, September 2022.
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65The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Sex and Sexuality (edited book)Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy. 2022.This Handbook covers the most urgent, controversial, and important topics in the philosophy of sex. It is both philosophically rigorous and yet accessible to specialists and non-specialists, covering ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of language, and featuring interactions with neighboring disciplines such as psychology, bioethics, sociology, and anthropology. The volume's 40 chapters, written by an international team of both respected senio…Read more
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21Review of Gina Schouten’s Liberalism and Neutrality and the Gendered Division of Labor (review)Res Publica 27 (3): 509-514. 2021.
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32On Equal Citizenship and Public Reason : Reply to CriticsJournal of Applied Philosophy 37 (5): 881-894. 2020.In writing Equal Citizenship and Public Reason, we aimed to show that political liberalism is a feminist liberalism. To that end, we develop and defend a particular understanding of the commitments of political liberalism. Then, we argue that certain laws and policies are needed to protect and secure the interests of persons as free and equal citizens. We focus on the laws and policies that we think are necessary for gender justice. In particular, we apply our view to the contexts of prostitutio…Read more
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65Gender Policing: Comments on Down GirlPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 101 (1): 236-241. 2020.
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40This book is a defense of political liberalism as a feminist liberalism. A novel and restrictive account of public reason is defended. Then it is argued that political liberalism's core commitments restrict reasonable conceptions of justice to those that secure genuine, substantive equality for women and other marginalized groups.
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60Debating Sex WorkOup Usa. 2019.In this "for and against" book, ethicists Lori Watson and Jessica Flanigan debate the criminalization of sex work. Watson argues for a sex equality approach to prostitution in which buyers are criminalized and sellers are decriminalized, known as the Nordic Model. Flanigan argues that sex work should be fully decriminalized because decriminalization ensures respect for sex workers' and clients' rights, and is more effective than alternative policies.
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98Philosophical Debates about Prostitution: State of the QuestionSouthern Journal of Philosophy 57 (2): 165-193. 2019.This article aims to present “the state of the question” concerning prostitution. The “state of the question” has a double meaning. On the one hand, it can mean the state of the debate. Treating it as such, one might be inclined to describe and evaluate the various positions by the conclusions they offer, e.g. for or against decriminalization, for or against the Nordic Model, etc. On the other hand, a deeper sense of “the state of the question” concerns what question is it that people are askin…Read more
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89Debating PornographyOup Usa. 2018.Pornography is everywhere, and it raises a host of difficult questions. What counts as pornography, first of all? When does material cross the line from being erotic to being objectionable? Where does a person's entitlement to sexual freedom end and another person's right not to feel objectified begin? How should rights be weighed against consequences in deciding what laws and policies ought to be adopted? Philosophers Andrew Altman and Lori Watson explore these and other issues in this succinct…Read more
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28On Bauer's How to Do things with PornographyEuropean Journal of Philosophy 26 (4): 1427-1434. 2018.This article is a response to Nancy Bauer's How To Do Things with Pornography. The main argument of the book is presented and evaluated. In particular, Bauer's criticisms of Catharine MacKinnon's work on pornography are considered and a defense of MacKinnon's views offered.
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6Book ReviewsMargaret Urban Walker,. Moral Contexts.Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Pp. xi+221. $26.95Ethics 117 (3): 585-588. 2007.
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34Phil Studies Introduction, for Pacific APA special issuePhilosophical Studies 175 (5): 1011-1012. 2018.
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16Introduction: Symposium on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Twenty-Five Years LaterFeminist Philosophy Quarterly 3 (2): 1-4. 2017.This paper introduces the peer-reviewed “Symposium on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Twenty-Five Years Later.” In these essays in honor of the work of Catharine MacKinnon, edited by Lori Watson, the authors attend primarily to MacKinnon’s book, critically reflecting on it and connecting it with recent scholarship. This symposium is in part the outcome of the set of papers emerging from the Book Symposium at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, held Satu…Read more
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157Is Feminist Political Liberalism Possible?Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 5 (1): 121. 2010.Is a feminist political liberalism possible? Political liberalism’s regard for a wide range of comprehensive doctrines as reasonable makes some feminists skeptical of its ability to address sex inequality. Indeed, some feminists claim that political liberalism maintains its position as a political liberalism at the expense of securing substantive equality for women. We claim that political liberalism’s core commitments actually restrict all reasonable political conceptions of justice to those th…Read more
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495PornographyPhilosophy Compass 5 (7): 535-550. 2010.This article provides an overview of the key philosophical themes and debates in discussions of pornography. In particular, I consider the major positions on how pornography ought to be defined, when (and if ) it should be regulated, whether it is best understood as speech (or action), whether there is evidence that is it harmful. I argue in favor of what is known as the civil rights approach to pornography, as reflected in the work of Catharine MacKinnon.
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46Comments on Michael Slote's Moral SentimentalismSouthern Journal of Philosophy 49 (s1): 142-147. 2011.I present two challenges to the theory of moral sentimentalism that Michael Slote defends in his book. The first challenge aims to show that there are cases in which we empathize with an agent and yet judge her actions to be morally wrong. If such cases are plausible, then we have good reason to doubt Slote's claim that moral judgments are an affective attitude of warmth or chill and, thus, are purely sentiments. The second challenge is more of a suggestion. At the end of my paper, I suggest tha…Read more
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133Political Liberalism, Marriage and the FamilyLaw and Philosophy 31 (2): 185-212. 2012.Can and should political liberals recognize and otherwise support legal marriage as a matter of basic justice? In this article, we offer a general account of how political liberals should evaluate the issue of whether the legal recognition of marriage is a matter of basic justice. And, we develop and examine some public reason arguments that, given the fundamental interests of citizens, could justify various forms of legal marriage in some contexts. In particular, in certain conditions, the reco…Read more
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95Pornography and Public ReasonSocial Theory and Practice 33 (3): 467-488. 2007.This paper has two major goals: First, I argue that Catharine MacKinnon’s and Andrea Dworkin’s anti-pornography activism was an act of public reason and their arguments public reasons arguments. Thus, MacKinnon’s argument that pornography is best understood as a practice of sex discrimination is a public reason argument—and so can be defended as grounded in liberal political principles. Political liberalism, as I defend it, can support MacKinnon’s approach to pornography as embodied in a civil…Read more
University Of Ilinois At Chicago
Institute For The Humanities
Alumnus
San Diego, California, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Law |
Social and Political Philosophy |
PhilPapers Editorships
Philosophy of Sexuality |