Kate Manne | |
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| Academic background | |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Doctoral advisor | Sally Haslanger |
| Academic work | |
| Era | 21st-century philosophy |
| School or tradition | Analytic feminism |
Kate Alice Manne (born 1983) is an Australianphilosopher, associate professor ofphilosophy atCornell University, and author.[1] Her work is primarily infeminist philosophy,moral philosophy, andsocial philosophy.[1]
Born in Australia in 1983, Manne grew up inCottles Bridge, Victoria.[2] Her fatherRobert Manne was a political science professor atLa Trobe University, and her motherAnne Manne (née Robinson) is an author.[2][3]
As anundergraduate, Manne studiedphilosophy,logic, andcomputer science, at theUniversity of Melbourne (2001–2005), earning a BA (Honours) in philosophy. She received her PhD in philosophy from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (2006–2011). Her dissertation,Not by reasons alone, argued in part that "the practical reason is not a suitable master concept in ethics, let alone the only ethical notion we need."[4]
From 2011 to 2013, Manne was ajunior fellow at theHarvard Society of Fellows.[1][5] Since 2013, she has been at the Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University, where she is an associate professor.[1]Prospect Magazine named Manne one of the world's top 50 thinkers of 2019.[6] On 16 May 2024, Manne andDavid Livingstone Smith of theUniversity of New England were awarded the Lebowitz Prize byPhi Beta Kappa and theAmerican Philosophical Association for an as yet unpublished presentation titled "Dehumanization and its Discontents".[7][8]
Manne has written articles inmoral philosophy andmetaethics, as well as three books,Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny (2017),[9]Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (2020),[10] andUnshrinking: How to face Fatphobia (2024).[11]
Down Girl proposes a distinction betweensexism andmisogyny. Manne argues that "sexism is an ideology that supports patriarchal social relations".[12] Sexism, then, acceptsgender roles, and helps to reinforce them, by making them seem as if they were natural or given arrangements. In essence, sexism is a belief system. Misogyny can be understood as an effort to control and punish women "who challenge male dominance".[12] On this definition, misogyny is not necessarily about male hostility or hatred toward women, but more "the law enforcement branch of the patriarchy".[12] According to Manne, "Misogyny is a way women are kept in (patriarchal) order, by imposing social costs for those breaking role or rank, and warning others not to."[13] Manne coins the term "himpathy", which she defines as "the inappropriate and disproportionate sympathy powerful men often enjoy in cases of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, homicide and other misogynistic behavior".[14]
Manne's second book,Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women, exploresmale privilege. It proposes that male entitlement to sex, power, and knowledge has grave and deadly consequences for society at large and women more specifically.[15] The book received mixed reviews.[16]Nesrine Malik ofThe Guardian praised it, writing, "with perspicacity and clear, jargon-free language, Manne keeps elevating the discussion to show how male privilege isn't just about securing and hoarding spoils from women, but an entire moral framework."[17] Writing forThe Chronicle of Higher Education, Anastasia Berg criticized Manne for poorly interpreting theincel phenomenon. Berg argued that to claim that incels police the norms of the patriarchal order is "a gross simplification" since they perceive themselves as the victims of the patriarchal hierarchies that exclude them. Berg also questioned Manne's "perception of continuity from mansplainer to murderer" and compared her pessimism and her injunction not to bother trying to convince those who are not already "of a similar mind" to the attitudes expressed on incel forums.[18]
Manne's 2024 bookUnshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia is a history of the stigmatization of fat people in the workplace, at school, relationships, and in healthcare. It argues against a certain link between health and body weight, and focuses on stigma in doctors' offices.[19] The book was long-listed for theNational Book Award for Nonfiction.[20]
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