Wendy Brown is a distinguished feminist scholar at UC Berkeley, specializing in political theory and critical theory. She will visit SU Monday, September 15 through Tuesday, September 16.
Her talk, “Women or Persons? The Naming Debate in Reproductive Freedom Campaigns,” explores the conundrum, and broader concerns in contemporary social theory and social movements posited when transgender activists petitioned Planned Parenthood and NARAL to rename their health clinics and reproductive justice campaigns to remove references to gender. The activists argue that a focus on “women’s health” and “women’s control over their bodies” excludes transgender people who do not identify as women yet need reproductive services and advocacy. Planned Parenthood, while wanting to be LGBTQ inclusive, has been reluctant to surrender its focus on women, especially because of the link between women’s historical lack of control over reproduction and women’s social and economic status.
Please join us for her public lecture, Monday, September 15 in the Maxwell Auditorium at 4pm
An ASL interpreter will be at the event. If people have accessibility needs, please contact Eric Holzwarth.
