Abstract

LENINE, Enzo. Feminist metaphysics and ontology in international relations. Foro int [online]. 2024, vol.64, n.1, pp.59-97.  Epub Apr 22, 2024. ISSN 0185-013X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/fi.v64i1.2999.

How does feminist metaphysics inform the ontological commitments of feminist International Relations? Since feminisms entered into IR, debates over epistemology and methodology have dominated discussions among feminists in the discipline. Reflections on ontology, especially on gender as a kind, seem to be subsumed under the notion of social construction. However, exactly what and how gender is constructed deserves further exploration in feminist IR research. In this article, I propose a dialogue between Philosophy and IR, aiming to provide a feminist metaphysics for the ontology of gender. I mobilise Ásta’s conferring framework to ground the explanation of gender as social construction that serves the interests of feminists in IR, and I exemplify its use through the debate between empiricist and critical feminists.

Keywords : feminist metaphysics; ontology; feminist IR.