Where metaphysics tries to explain what is the universe and what it is like, feminist metaphysics questions how metaphysical answers have supported sexism.[1] Feminist metaphysics overlaps with fields such as the philosophy of mind and philosophy of self.[1] Feminist metaphysicians such as Sally Haslanger,[2] Ásta,[3] and Judith Butler[4] have sought to explain the nature of gender in the interest of advancing feminist goals. Philosophers such as Robin Dembroff[5] and Talia Mae Bettcher[6] have sought to explain the genders of transgender and non-binary people.
Simone de Beauvoir was the first feminist theorist to distinguish sex from gender, as is suggested by her famous line, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”[4] In her seminal work The Second Sex, de Beauvoir argues that, although biological features distinguish men and women, these features neither cause nor justify the social conditions which disadvantage women.[4] Since de Beauvoir, many feminists have argued that constructed categories re-enforce social hierarchies because they appear to be natural.[7] Later theorists such as Judith Butler would challenge de Beauvoir's commitment to the pre-social existence of sex, arguing that sex is socially constructed as well as gender.[4] Feminist metaphysics has thus challenged the apparent naturalness of both sex and gender.
Another aim of feminist metaphysics has been to provide a basis for feminist activism by explaining what unites women as a group.[8] These accounts have historically centered on cisgender women, but more recent accounts have sought to include transgender women as well.[9][10][6] Robin Dembroff has introduced a metaphysical account of non-binary genders.[5]