Intersectionality and Anti-Carceral Feminism

talk handout

This talk will be led by Dr Rachel Fraser, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at Exeter College. She works primarily in epistemology, philosophy of language, and feminist philosophy. "Feminists can seem to face a dilemma. On the one hand, the feminists have been historically suspicious of the state, seeing it as the lynchpin of a patriarchal order. On the other, any feminism worthy of the name must take seriously, and oppose sexual violence. Carceral feminism represents one attempt to solve the dilemma. Carceral feminists seek to use the power of the state for feminist ends, by wielding state power against perpetrators of sexual violence. I give some examples of carceral feminism, before showing why carceral feminism is incompatible with a commitment to intersectionality."