Toward an account of gender identity

Jenkins, Katharine (2018) Toward an account of gender identity. ERGO . ISSN 1802-2170 (In Press)

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Abstract

Although the concept of gender identity plays a prominent role in campaigns for trans rights, it is not well understood, and common definitions suffer from a problematic circularity. This paper undertakes an ameliorative inquiry into the concept of gender identity, taking as a starting point the ways in which trans rights movements seek to use the concept. First, I set out six desiderata that a target concept of gender identity should meet. I then consider three analytic accounts of gender identity: the dispositional account, the self-identification account, and the norm-relevancy account. I argue that only the norm-relevancy account can meet all six desiderata. Finally, I defend the norm-relevancy account from three objections: that it is cis-normative, that it has problematic implications regarding trans women, and that it entails that some people do not have the gender identity they take themselves to have.

Item Type: Article
RIS ID: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/947168
Keywords: Gender; Gender Identity; Transgender; Trans rights; Conceptual engineering
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Arts > School of Humanities > Department of Philosophy
Depositing User: Jenkins, Katharine
Date Deposited: 20 Jul 2018 09:27
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 19:46
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/53023

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