Welcome to the weekly Fairer Disputations round-up: your one-stop shop for the best in sex-realist feminism. This week, we’re highlighting Leor Sapir on the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Julie Bindel on the dark side of the global surrogacy industry, and Leah Libresco Sargeant on the false promises of IVF.
Plus: Christine Emba on the song of the summer, Olivia Reingold on the Elizabeth Holmes of FemTech, Patrick Brown on childcare reform, Victoria Smith on why women shouldn’t stop complaining, Elayne Allen on what children are for—and more!
First up, Leor Sapir reports on “the first big fracture” in the consensus of American medical groups, which have thus far endorsed “gender-affirming” care for kids.
Next, Julie Bindel takes readers on a deep dive into the exploitative, under-regulated world of surrogacy.
Finally, Leah Libresco Sargeant offers a beautiful reflection on infertility, parenthood, and the gift of a child.
More Great Reads
- Who Wants a ‘Man in Finance’?, Christine Emba, The Atlantic
- Is Madison Campbell a Fraud–or a Feminist Hero?, Olivia Reingold, The Free Press
- Building Blocks for Childcare Reform, Patrick T. Brown, American Compass
- The Virtues of Complaint, Victoria Smith, The Critic
- ‘What Are Children For?’ Can’t Remain a Question Forever, Elayne Allen, The Dispatch
Fairer Disputations Recommends
Featured Author Abigail Favale writes:
“Philosopher Prudence Allen, in her epic three-volume work The Concept of Woman tracks the evolution of ‘woman’ as a philosophical concept from the pre-Socratic age to the present.
There is, quite simply, nothing like Allen’s magnus opus in the realm of philosophy or women’s studies. My own graduate program in women’s studies, for example, cast a backward glance only as far as the enlightenment, staying firmly entrenched in the theories of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But Allen goes back to the genesis of philosophy itself, meticulously cataloguing several basic theories of gender relations and how those theories have developed over the arc of Western intellectual history. Her work is not only descriptive, but evaluative; she examines the philosophical and theological implications of each approach, concluding that one theory stands out among the others as best able to uphold two key principles in a healthy, fruitful tension: first, the equal dignity of man and woman, and, secondly, significant differentiation between them.”
