Category: Stereotypes

Linguistic Hermeneutical Injustice

On By BIAP Research & Outreach ManagerIn Diversity, Epistemology, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Social Epistemology, Stereotypes

This is a post by Martina Rosola (University of Barcelona).

Referring to non-binary people in heavily gendered languages like Italian, German or Spanish is difficult because of structural features of the language itself. As a result, non-binary people are systematically misgendered: they are referred to either in the masculine or in the feminine despite non identifying as either men or women. This puts them at an unfair disadvantage and gives rise to a distinctive type of injustice, namely to an instance of what Miranda Fricker calls “hermeneutical injustice”.

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Controlling the Narrative: The Epistemology of Himpathy in Sexual Assault Trials

On By BIAP Research & Outreach ManagerIn Legal Reasoning, Social Epistemology, Stereotypes

This is a post by Margherita Grassi (University of Barcelona) and Eleonora Volta (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University).

Article 111 of the Italian Constitution establishes that every trial must be conducted before a third and impartial judge and under conditions of equality between the parties. That means the judge must sentence based on the law, considering the facts and evidence presented during the trial, and without letting any opinion or prejudice about the parties influence their judgment.
In cases of gender-based violence, however, this required impartiality sometimes fails to be put into practice.

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Stereotypes, Access to Justice and the Masking of Individuality

On By BIAP Research & Outreach ManagerIn Jurisprudence, Philosophy of Law, Stereotypes

This is a post by Federico Arena (University of Girona).

When someone utter stereotypes like “Girls are not good at mathematics” or “Mapuches are usually drunk” we intuitively sense something wrong with what has been said. The reasons for the negative evaluation of stereotypes are linked to the varieties of harms that they may cause to the stereotyped people. Indeed, such statements often express inaccurate beliefs that are the result of the imposition to certain groups of discriminatory social relationships and inegalitarian hierarchies.

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