On Being Objective and Being Objectified

Abstract

One of the common themes in feminist research over the past decade has been the claim that reason is “gendered”: more specifically, that reason is “male” or “masculine.” Although feminists have differed in their interpretations of this claim and the grounds they offer for it, the general conclusion has been that feminist theory should steer clear of investments in reason and rationality, at least as traditionally conceived. For example, we should avoid an epistemology that privileges reason or the standpoint of reason; we should avoid theories of the self that take rationality to be a defining trait; and we should avoid endorsing moral and political ideals that glorify reason and the reasonable “person” (read: Man).