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Telling Feminist Philosophy Stories: Introduction to the FPQ Symposium on Cressida Heyes’s _Anaesthetics of Existence: Essays on Experience at the Edge_
No full textThis introduction reflects on practices of telling stories about works by influential contemporary feminist philosophers, interrogating what is considered impactful feminist philosophy. I frame this edition through a particular kind of re-citational engagement with Heyes’s work—through her own previous writings and my first-personal experiences with the text and her role in my intellectual formation as my dissertation supervisor. I draw on Clare Hemmings’s (2011) work on the grammar of feminist intellectual storytelling, offering brush strokes through embodied and relational stories that help me make sense of Anaesthetics, in order to tell alternative stories to frame the work, specifically Heyes’s methods, impacts, and the relations amongst her previous works. In reflecting on the embodied realities and feminist intellectual networks that inform our framing practices, I consider how we are relationally and affectively invested in figures and thinkers, our schools of thought, our style of philosophy, and our forms of participation in the discipline. Through these reflections, I trace Heyes’s work as grasping life examples with rich opportunities to grapple with stubborn philosophical ambivalences in conceptualizing embodied freedom and agency, while developing adaptive methods that probe their transcendental conditions
Heyes’s Responses to Readers
No full textIn this response to readers, I start by summarizing and extending Megan Burke’s comments on interrupted time in the context of houselessness and the way vulnerable people are often denied their own temporality altogether. Burke suggests that there is something called “anaesthetized time” that approaches death, and they invite the project to consider more closely the varieties of power that some have over others’ time. I relate these remarks to a political tradition in African American philosophy that Elizabeth Freeman calls thanatomimesis. In her response to the book, Talia Bettcher argues that two of the overly dichotomous framings need to be broken up: postdisciplinary and anaesthetic time, and agency and passivity. I clarify this point and suggest that these comments might point toward more generative work, including in relation to Bettcher’s own project on intimate agency. Finally Alisa Bierria relates the work of Anaesthetics to her own project on incarceration, suggesting that in addition to being denied their own time, prisoners are rendered into temporal property. This is a helpful concept that, I suggest, could be linked more clearly to Bierria’s understanding of revelatory agency and to the time of the contracted present
Representation and Misconceptions of Intimate Partner Violence in the Media
No full textThe media's portrayal of intimate-partner violence (IPV) has far-reaching consequences that are often overlooked. The genre of true crime often provides ‘safety tips’ to the audience. This contributes to victim-blaming narratives, implying that there are ways for victims to prevent their partners from abusing them. By placing the onus of the abuse on the victim, it serves to absolve the abuser from the crime. Furthermore, recounts of IPV in the media lack representation of emotional abuse (which is the most common type of IPV), portraying IPV as a singular incident. This carries profound implications for the perception of IPV in the public sphere. Firstly, it implies that abuse must be physical for it to be considered “real.” Secondly, IPV is a process of abuse as opposed to a single incident. Instances of IPV typically increase in frequency and severity as an intimate relationship progresses. Given that these communities also face high rates of IPV, this work looks at the importance of ensuring that these stories are adequately represented in the media.
CW: this work contains themes and mentions of intimate-partner violence, emotional and physical abuse, and victim-blamin
(A)Sexuality Online: Self-Discovery, Exclusion, and Community in the Digital Age of Asexuality
No full textThe introduction of the internet and related online platforms such as social media and online forums has revolutionized the way people interact with each other and understand themselves. This is especially true for marginalized communities in which meeting people with shared experiences is difficult and representation in mainstream media is scarce. This essay explores how the internet facilitates self-discovery and community building for asexual people, the impact of the lack of asexual representation, and the flawed nature of the few instances of asexual representation in mainstream media on both the asexual community and society as a whole.
CW: this work contains themes and mentions of exclusion, acephobia (or aphobia), sexuality, and visibilit
Weapon and Shield: Apologies and the Duty to Be Vulnerable
No full textApologies are an important part of moral life and a method by which someone can satisfy their reparative obligations. At the same time, apologies can be used both as a shield to protect the person apologizing and as a weapon against the person to whom the apology is owed. In this paper we unpack both claims. We defend two principles one should employ to try to avoid such bad outcomes: (1) Apologies must be one-sided and nontransactional, and (2) the wrongdoer must be willing to pay what they owe. We argue that these principles require the wrongdoer’s emotional vulnerability. Furthermore, we argue that the duty to be vulnerable in issuing apologies helps to make sense of why apologizing well is so difficult and why members of privileged groups might be especially prone to apologizing badly
The Future of Indigenous Health Policy in Manitoba: Moving Beyond Soft Reconciliation in Health
No full textThis article examines the changing nature of Indigenous healthcare and policy in Manitoba focusing on two critical healthcare gaps in the province: the health transfer policy, a policy that continues to be counterproductive to Indigenous health and well-being; and the intended closure of Grandview’s EMS station and its failure to consider First Nations and Métis perspectives and access to care. Drawing on over a decade of community-engaged research in the province, our research argues for the need to move beyond soft reconciliation efforts in Indigenous health to reinterpreting Canada’s colonial history by recognizing Indigenous peoples’ hard rights to healthcare. Reconciliation should bring about changes to bureaucratic structures and challenge non-Indigenous peoples’ values. Health system changes in Indigenous communities, without consultation, will continue to negatively impact community life and wellbeing. This article is intended to contribute to a broader discussion about the future of Indigenous healthcare, policy and reconciliation efforts in Manitoba
Questioning Equity and Excellence in Ontario and Scotland: Critical Policy Analysis of Parent Inclusion for Reducing Educational Inequality
No full textOver the last three decades many countries made efforts to improve their education systems by increasing students’ academic achievement. A new appreciation of inequality in education among policymakers provided impetus to focus on equity. Parental involvement and engagement in education are vital for students’ academic achievement. If in the context of educational policy, excellence and equity go together, what is the role assigned to parents? A critical policy analysis of seven policy documents from Ontario and Scotland showed that policies acknowledge the crucial role of parents in achieving educational excellence and mention barriers marginalized parents face in engaging with their children’s education. The role of White middle-class nonimmigrant parents in pursuing excellence for their children at the expense of equity for all is neglected. Marginalized parents are seen through the deficit lens. Implications for policy include making parents from dominant groups visible and adopting an asset-based approach to marginalized parents
The Century of Humiliation: The Opium War and 1842 Treaty of Nanjing
No full textThis essay argues that the terms present in the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing originated as British Grievances that date back to the late-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century. British gievances represented in the Treaty include a desire for equality between Britain and China, desire for British extraterritoriality, desire to fix the balance of payments problem and a desire to expand trade. The Treaty of Nanjing was able to solve British Grievances but only at the expense of the Chinese, who suffered a loss of status and power. Ultimetly, the First Opium War, the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, and the suppplemntary treaties which followed resulted in a shift of the balance of power into British Hands. 
