"Feminism isn't owned by the left." In this episode of Beyond Gender, philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith examines why a millennia-old definition of "woman" has suddenly become controversial in academic circles. With scholarly precision, she challenges widespread assumptions about gender, feminism, and political alliances while exploring the historical foundations of gender critical thought.
About Holly Lawford-Smith
Holly Lawford-Smith is an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of several books including "Gender Critical Feminism" (Oxford University Press, 2022), "Sex Matters: Essays in Gender-Critical Philosophy" (Oxford University Press, 2023), and the forthcoming "Feminism Beyond Left and Right" (Polity, 2025). Born in New Zealand, Holly completed her PhD at the Australian National University and previously worked at the University of Sheffield before joining the University of Melbourne in 2017. Her work focuses on social, moral, and political philosophy, with particular emphasis on radical feminism and gender critical feminism.
Understanding Gender Critical Feminism
Holly explains that gender critical feminism draws from second-wave feminist thought, particularly the distinction between biological sex and gender as social construction. She defines her core terms:
Sex: Based on gamete production (large or small)
Gender: "A set of external norms, sort of social ideas imposed on people on the basis of sex"
Gender Critical: An approach that reasserts the second-wave understanding of gender in opposition to the concept of gender as an identity
Holly emphasizes that gender abolitionism (a goal of many radical feminists) focuses on eliminating socially constructed expectations based on sex—not eliminating biological differences between the sexes that might exist.
The Problem with Liberal Feminism
Holly criticizes what she calls "liberal feminism" or "mainstream feminism" for its approach to consent and choice:
"It gets so much wrong and it really doesn't serve women's interests... there's such a strong rhetoric these days about, like, well, if a woman chooses it, that's kind of the end of the matter."
She argues that liberal feminism fails to provide a meaningful critique of sex work, pornography, and other issues because it reduces everything to individual choice rather than examining the social conditions that influence those choices.
Philosophical Foundations and Debates
Holly discusses the historical roots of the sex/gender distinction, citing Simone de Beauvoir's famous statement "One is not born, but rather becomes woman" from “The Second Sex” and how Judith Butler later reinterpreted this quote with her claim that "the female body is the arbitrary locus of the gender woman."
The conversation explores competing philosophical claims about biological determinism versus social construction. Holly positions herself as skeptical of evolutionary psychology claims about innate sex differences:
"There just absolutely is not the evidence to support the idea that there's a real sex difference in behavior on evolutionary grounds."
She discusses how academic philosophy departments have struggled with maintaining the traditional feminist sex/gender distinction in the face of newer theories that treat gender as an innate identity rather than a social construct imposed on people based on their sex.
Identity Politics and Its Limitations
Holly expresses skepticism about the modern focus on identity:
"I don't care about anyone's any identity, by the way. It's not just gender. I just, it seems narcissistic and kind of self-obsessed. And I don't understand why everyone's looking inward and downward so much rather than outward at the world."
She questions why identity has become so solipsistic and hyper-subjective, rather than being grounded in social relationships and how others perceive us.
Working Across Political Divides
Looking ahead to her forthcoming book "Feminism Beyond Left and Right" (Polity, May 2025), Holly argues that feminism isn't inherently left-wing and that feminists should be willing to work with those across the political spectrum:
"The left does not own feminism... feminism is not a like political spectrum located project. It's kind of outside of that. It's like working for the interests of female people and you can do that regardless of your politics."
She notes the irony in how political alignments have shifted, with many on the left now taking anti-science positions on sex and biology, while previously criticizing the right for climate change denial. This has created unexpected alliances between traditional opponents who find common ground on the reality of biological sex.
Global Perspectives on Gender Politics
When asked about the state of gender politics across different countries, Holly expresses pessimism about Australia's situation:
"I have very little hope for Australia... the kinds of changes that we made, they're so much more decisive and hard to unroll."
She cites conversion therapy legislation prohibiting non-affirmation and upcoming vilification legislation that would prevent "ridicule of gender identity" as troubling developments.
However, she sees some hope in young women's growing disillusionment with liberal feminism:
"It does seem like certain, like, younger women are starting to see that liberal feminism is bullshit and is not really offering them the critical resources that they need. It does seem like there's a sort of hunger and appetite for real feminism."
Follow Holly Lawford-Smith
For those interested in exploring Holly's work further:
Personal website: hollylawford-smith.org
Books: "Gender Critical Feminism" (2022), "Sex Matters" (2023), and the forthcoming "Feminism Beyond Left and Right" (May 2025)
Academic position: Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Melbourne
Contributor at Quillette
YouTube: @hollylawford-smith
Co-host: The Political Animals Podcast
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