Anderson's ethical vulnerability: animating feminist responses to sexual violence

Cousens, Emily (2020) Anderson's ethical vulnerability: animating feminist responses to sexual violence. Angelaki - Journal of the Theoretical Humanities, 25 (1-2). pp. 165-180. ISSN 0969-725X

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Abstract

Pamela Sue Anderson argues for an ethical vulnerability which “activates an openness to becoming changed” that “can make possible a relational accountability to one another on ethical matters”. In this essay I pursue Anderson’s solicitation that there is a positive politics to be developed from acknowledging and affirming vulnerability. I propose that this politics is one which has a specific relevance for animating the terms of feminist responses to sexual violence, something which has proved difficult for feminist theorists and activists alike. I will demonstrate the contribution of Anderson’s work to such questions by examining the way in which “ethical vulnerability” as a framework can illuminate the intersectional feminist character of Tarana Burke’s grassroots Me Too movement when compared with the mainstream, viral version of the movement. I conclude by arguing that Anderson’s “ethical vulnerability” contains ontological insights which can allay both activist and academic concerns regarding how to respond to sexual violence.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformat...
Additional Information:	© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Date Deposited:	13 May 2020 13:30
Last Modified:	07 Apr 2024 01:00
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103861

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