Ahoy!
My name is Maximiliana. I'm a researcher and doctoral candidate in philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center in NYC.
My work lies at the intersection of several areas in philosophy, including but not limited to trans philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of science, and social and political philosophy. I tend to think about different biological, psychological, and social kinds from an interdisciplinary perspective. I'm particularly interested in how scientific and philosophical perspectives can shed light on trans people's lived experiences and offer tools for their liberation.
Some examples of the kinds I like to think about include sex and gender broadly, along with sexual orientation, gender identity and gender dysphoria more narrowly. Some questions I am particularly interested in include:
What is sex? How should we theorize about sex? Are sexes ‘natural kinds’, ‘social kinds’, or both? How many kinds of sexes are there? Can sex change?
What is gender? What is the relationship between sex and gender? Is gender necessarily oppressive?
What is gender identity? How does it relate to the brain, cognition, and society? How do we assess and integrate philosophical and scientific work on gender identity? Can gender identity change?
What is sexual orientation? What is the relationship between sexual orientation and sex? How do we assess and integrate philosophical and neuroscientific work on sexual orientation?
What is gender dysphoria? Is gender dysphoria a mental disorder? If not, how do we provide trans people access to gender-affirming care?
Besides these kinds and questions about them, I also like to think about many other philosophical topics, including natural kinds, freedom, oppression, and equality.
If you share my curiosity about any of the above, please do say hello!
