Hi friends!
At long last, the piece I’ve been working on about diet culture, intuitive eating, and virtue ethics is now in print in the summer issue of America! You can read it here.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. This is a topic that has so many levels: the philosophical question of the relationship between soul and body, the evolving science on what constitutes and leads to health, the complex and deeply personal histories we all have with food, the psychology of eating disorders, the need to fight back against fat discrimination, the unique demands of each of our vocations… There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question posed by the title, but I do think there are some essential principles that can guide us in our personal discernment and our engagement with others.
Man and Woman, Body and Soul
My America piece tackles a different application of the questions of philosophical anthropology that are more commonly discussed in the context of sex and gender. In June, I was lucky to have the opportunity to attend an amazing seminar led by scholars Erika Bachiochi and Angela Franks that zeroes in on that topic of sex difference.
It was such an incredible intellectual treat. I’ve been working my way through Sr. Prudence Allen’s huge masterwork, The Concept of Woman (email me if you want in on the online reading group tackling it!). This seminar is kind of like a primary text version of that, with readings from thinkers I’ve studied many times (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Hobbes, Descartes…) as well as lots of readings from thinkers I’ve read a lot about but hadn’t actually read before (Christine de Pizan, Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Shulamith Firestone, Judith Butler, and lots more).
If you’re interested in understanding sex and gender more clearly and are able to get away for a week during the summer (a million thanks to my mother-in-law for watching my kids!!), I highly recommend applying for next year.
Webinar on The Genesis of Gender
In the meantime, you can satisfy your curiosity about sexual difference, gender theory, and a Christian understanding of embodiment by tuning in to the webinar I’m hosting tomorrow night with the amazing Abigail Favale.
I’ve raved about her new book before, so I won’t try to summarize it again here. But I will say that, in my opinion, she is one of the most well-informed, thoughtful, and compelling voice in contemporary debates about sex, gender, and feminism, uniting a solid Catholic worldview with her pre-conversion background as a scholar of French feminist theory. She doesn’t vilify those on “the other side” or oversimplify the complexities of the vast and complicated world of feminism, but she also doesn’t shy away from pointing out the core assumptions that cause proponents of what she calls “the gender paradigm” to go so deeply wrong in key areas.
Join us tomorrow night at 7:00 pm to hear Abigail speak, and bring your questions! I’m looking forward to a lively conversation about a difficult but fascinating really important topic.
The Genesis of Gender: A Webinar with Abigail Favale and Serena Sigillito
July 26, 2022 07:00 PM, Eastern Time