Stevi Jackson
Encyclopedia
Stevi Jackson started writing on feminist topics in 1973. She describes her research as an attempt to explain and theorise her own experience of being a heterosexual woman. She explicitly states throughout her work that she is a heterosexual feminist working within a materialist framework. Jackson has been Professor of Women’s Studies
at the University of York
for 11 years and has been politically active throughout her life, particularly in the 1970s when she engaged in consciousness raising
groups, went to national conferences and helped to set up Rape Crisis in Cardiff. During the Thatcher years
, she joined the Labour party
to counter the damage she saw being done by the government. She says Labour was “a good base for feminist campaigning”. In the 1980s, she shied away from action during the ‘sex wars’ which attacked heterosexual feminists for fraternising with the ‘enemy’. She found this period destructive for feminism
and as a heterosexual feminist, preferred to stay out of the debates on the issue. Recently, her political action has involved trying to keep women’s studies alive as a space for women to explore feminism but regrets that rising higher in academia leaves less time for feminist action. She believes it is important to build a bridge between feminist theory
and practice which is why she particularly enjoyed writing for radical feminist
magazine Trouble and Strife. Jackson’s utopia
is an egalitarian world without gender where “your genitals matter as little as your hair colour”. A world where marriage is abolished and those who wish to commit to one another engage in civil partnerships. She advocates a collective model of child rearing
and believes that heterosexual, monogamous couples are not necessarily the best parents.
in which they exist. In this sense, her work is strongly influenced by the work of French feminists such as Christine Delphy
, who
she consistently refers to throughout her work.
The work of Delphy also influences Jackson’s classification of herself as a materialist feminist. In her
article “Why a materialist feminism is (still) possible- and necessary”, she outlines her belief that women’s oppression is not created by ‘free floating identities’ but deeply rooted in the material world of social structures, practices and institutions. Jackson criticises the recent ‘cultural turn’ in feminist theorising from ‘things’ to ‘words’. She believes that in order to change women’s position in society, we must focus on the material inequalities which oppress women such as the pay gap
and domestic violence
.
, sex and sexuality are socially constructed and not natural in any way. The second is the examination of the institutionalised and hierarchical nature of gender and heterosexuality
. Jackson wishes to make heterosexuality visible by “divesting it of its cloak of neutrality and normality”. The third theme is the examination of the everyday practices of heterosexual couples and the contradictions in our ideas of sexuality. Jackson believes that if we look at the everyday practices of the majority of society, we can begin to understand the way in which the institution of heterosexuality works. She also looks at the inherent contradictions in sexuality and the ways in which we practise it.
does not exist and is created by gender. She disputes the idea that sexuality is governed by our natural ‘instincts’ and blames ‘pseudo-scientific’ evidence for attempting to prove our inherent sexual natures. Examples of this are evident in popular culture
. For instance, Time magazine hails the discovery of the gay brain and states that it has proven to be similar to straight women’s brains. This comparison of gay men
to straight women upholds the view of gay men as effeminate. The Times provides a quiz that can ‘prove’ whether your sexed brain matches your body.
She particularly criticises evolutionary psychology
for trying to show how our behavior is the natural result of our instinct to survive. She believes evolutionary psychology poses a significant threat to sociology and feminism in that: “the entirety of human social life is made reducible to the heterosexual, reproductive imperative: the drive to pass on our genes to the next generation”. This naturalises the privileging of heterosexuality. This is seen in news articles which propagate evolutionary psychology’s research findings. For instance, The Daily Mail
reports on how researchers have uncovered how evolution has made humans inherently aware that incest is morally wrong. The article enforces the idea that we have fixed natures and does not begin to look at the idea of incest as a socially constructed taboo. Jackson states that sociologists must counter these “populist and deterministic accounts of human nature”.
between a man and a woman. She argues it is institutionalised in society and that heterosexuality is considered so normal many individuals do not even know the meaning of the word.
Jackson highlights how monogamous, heterosexual relationships are privileged above others. Non-monogamous
relationships are treated as dangerous and damaging to women, particularly in popular culture. In the television show Mistresses, a married couple who have agreed to an open relationship
split up over the husband’s desire to sleep with other women. The wife is damaged by the fact that she is ‘not enough’ for him even though she has agreed to a non-monogamous relationship. The BBC
reports on Islamic women in polygamous marriages and how they have been damaged. One states: "you feel worthless...A failure as a wife, a failure as a person". This upholds the idea of monogamous, heterosexual relationships as natural and privileged. Jackson says that the idea of coupledom troubles her in that it downgrades other relationships, such as friendships, which she argues are just as important. She says: “investing everything in your romantic and family relationships impoverishes other relationships”.
Jackson criticises the gay movement for trying to fit into these heterosexual structures, rather than dismantling them. She thinks gay marriages
uphold heterosexuality as the norm. It is clear that gay couples attempt to fit into heterosexual molds in order to benefit from society. The media regularly tells of gay couples who are disadvantaged by their inability to marry. People
magazine tells of an unmarried lesbian couple who had to pretend to be sisters in order to gain adequate visiting rights when one was ill in hospital. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton
comments on photographer Annie Leibovitz
’s financial problems because of the tax she had to pay on her late lesbian partner’s estate. Stevi argues that instead of trying to buy into privileged heterosexual structures, the gay movement should attempt to destroy gender which would then entitle everyone to equal rights.
in which we uphold heterosexuality. She says that is she is most interested in “the ongoing negotiation of everyday, mundane, conventional sexual lives”. In her book Heterosexuality in Question, she compiles numerous articles which examine the way the majority of the population live: in heterosexual couples. The topics covered range from how romantic love
is constructed to a critique of male oriented sex but all are aimed at questioning the accepted nature of heterosexuality.
Stevi argues that sexuality should not be treated as a special area of life or a force beyond the social. She contends that there are many other aspects of society which must be examined in order to truly understand and combat women’s oppression and criticises academics and the media for falling prey to the idea of sexuality as central and ‘special’. This is seen in news stories such as moral outrage at a girl selling her virginity
for £50 000. Or in Lily Allen
’s hit song ‘Not Fair
’ which highlights bad sex with a partner as a reason to end a relationship. Only occasionally is this idea challenged, such as the NHS
advising that sex is a great form of exercise similar to running. Jackson argues that sexuality should be just one part of life and should not be overemphasised.
for its failure to account for many elements of sexuality, such as lesbian
ism. Jackson says: “I have always been implacably opposed to psychoanalytic theory
and I remain unconvinced. It seems to me that more and more feminists are turning to psychoanalysis... I think it has quite a strong depoliticising effect …it loses touch with the wider political questions".
She says she has “running friendly battles” with feminists who advocate psychoanalysis. Her recent work focuses on creating an alternative to psychoanalysis. Based on the work of George Herbert Mead
, she is currently developing a theory of subjectivity
which thinks of the self as social. The self comes into being through our relationships with others and the self continues to change and evolve throughout our lives. Stevi hopes her recent and future work on this topic will help to counter the pervasiveness of psychoanalysis in feminist theory.
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
for 11 years and has been politically active throughout her life, particularly in the 1970s when she engaged in consciousness raising
Consciousness raising
Consciousness raising is a form of political activism, pioneered by United States feminists in the late 1960s...
groups, went to national conferences and helped to set up Rape Crisis in Cardiff. During the Thatcher years
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
, she joined the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
to counter the damage she saw being done by the government. She says Labour was “a good base for feminist campaigning”. In the 1980s, she shied away from action during the ‘sex wars’ which attacked heterosexual feminists for fraternising with the ‘enemy’. She found this period destructive for feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and as a heterosexual feminist, preferred to stay out of the debates on the issue. Recently, her political action has involved trying to keep women’s studies alive as a space for women to explore feminism but regrets that rising higher in academia leaves less time for feminist action. She believes it is important to build a bridge between feminist theory
Feminist theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality...
and practice which is why she particularly enjoyed writing for radical feminist
Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
magazine Trouble and Strife. Jackson’s utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
is an egalitarian world without gender where “your genitals matter as little as your hair colour”. A world where marriage is abolished and those who wish to commit to one another engage in civil partnerships. She advocates a collective model of child rearing
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
and believes that heterosexual, monogamous couples are not necessarily the best parents.
Theoretical Standpoint
Above all, Stevi believes theory has to be able to explain our everyday experiences. She criticises those who produce work which “bears absolutely no relation to everyday life”. Jackson states that her work is shaped by her training as a sociologist and her identity as a feminist. She believes that sociologically informed feminism has a lot to contribute to debates on sexuality and thinks many theorists do not learn from previous sociological work. Sociology has influenced her belief that gender and sexuality are wholly constructed and cannot be understood outside of the social contextSocial environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
in which they exist. In this sense, her work is strongly influenced by the work of French feminists such as Christine Delphy
Christine Delphy
Christine Delphy is a French sociologist, feminist, writer and theorist. She was a co-founder of the review Nouvelles questions féministes with Simone de Beauvoir in 1977.-Biography:...
, who
she consistently refers to throughout her work.
The work of Delphy also influences Jackson’s classification of herself as a materialist feminist. In her
article “Why a materialist feminism is (still) possible- and necessary”, she outlines her belief that women’s oppression is not created by ‘free floating identities’ but deeply rooted in the material world of social structures, practices and institutions. Jackson criticises the recent ‘cultural turn’ in feminist theorising from ‘things’ to ‘words’. She believes that in order to change women’s position in society, we must focus on the material inequalities which oppress women such as the pay gap
Equal pay for women
Equal pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation...
and domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
.
Main Themes
Jackson’s body of work is framed by an interest in sexuality. It can be roughly divided up into three main themes. The first is her attempt to show that genderGender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, sex and sexuality are socially constructed and not natural in any way. The second is the examination of the institutionalised and hierarchical nature of gender and heterosexuality
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
. Jackson wishes to make heterosexuality visible by “divesting it of its cloak of neutrality and normality”. The third theme is the examination of the everyday practices of heterosexual couples and the contradictions in our ideas of sexuality. Jackson believes that if we look at the everyday practices of the majority of society, we can begin to understand the way in which the institution of heterosexuality works. She also looks at the inherent contradictions in sexuality and the ways in which we practise it.
Disputing the Natural
Jackson aims to challenge those who believe gender, sex and sexuality are natural. She states: “nowhere are ideas about naturalness more entrenched than in attitudes to sexuality”. Calling something natural appears to be a fact but inherently involves a moral judgement. It is these moral judgements which Stevi wants to expose and question. She aims to show that men and women do not inherently exist but are socially constructed categories. While many feminists believe that gender is constructed, Jackson goes further than this in believing that biological sexSex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
does not exist and is created by gender. She disputes the idea that sexuality is governed by our natural ‘instincts’ and blames ‘pseudo-scientific’ evidence for attempting to prove our inherent sexual natures. Examples of this are evident in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. For instance, Time magazine hails the discovery of the gay brain and states that it has proven to be similar to straight women’s brains. This comparison of gay men
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
to straight women upholds the view of gay men as effeminate. The Times provides a quiz that can ‘prove’ whether your sexed brain matches your body.
She particularly criticises evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
for trying to show how our behavior is the natural result of our instinct to survive. She believes evolutionary psychology poses a significant threat to sociology and feminism in that: “the entirety of human social life is made reducible to the heterosexual, reproductive imperative: the drive to pass on our genes to the next generation”. This naturalises the privileging of heterosexuality. This is seen in news articles which propagate evolutionary psychology’s research findings. For instance, The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
reports on how researchers have uncovered how evolution has made humans inherently aware that incest is morally wrong. The article enforces the idea that we have fixed natures and does not begin to look at the idea of incest as a socially constructed taboo. Jackson states that sociologists must counter these “populist and deterministic accounts of human nature”.
Questioning Heterosexuality
Jackson believes gender is not only constructed, but is hierarchical in that it divides the population into two categories and privileges one over the other. She disagrees with feminists, such as MacKinnon, who believe that heterosexuality creates gender. She argues that without gender, heterosexuality would not exist as it creates the idea of ‘opposite’ sexes who join together in heterosexuality. Gender also defines those who are lesbian or gay as these are the unions of ‘same’ sexes. Jackson argues heterosexuality is far more pervasive than simply sexual intercourseSexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
between a man and a woman. She argues it is institutionalised in society and that heterosexuality is considered so normal many individuals do not even know the meaning of the word.
Jackson highlights how monogamous, heterosexual relationships are privileged above others. Non-monogamous
Forms of nonmonogamy
Non-monogamy is a blanket term which covers several types of interpersonal relationships in which an individual forms multiple and simultaneous sexual and/or romantic bonds. This can be contrasted with its opposite, monogamy, and yet may arise from the same psychology...
relationships are treated as dangerous and damaging to women, particularly in popular culture. In the television show Mistresses, a married couple who have agreed to an open relationship
Open relationship
An open relationship is an interpersonal relationship in which the parties want to be together but agree to a form of a non-monogamous relationship. This means that they agree that a romantic or sexual relationship with another person is accepted, permitted, or tolerated...
split up over the husband’s desire to sleep with other women. The wife is damaged by the fact that she is ‘not enough’ for him even though she has agreed to a non-monogamous relationship. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reports on Islamic women in polygamous marriages and how they have been damaged. One states: "you feel worthless...A failure as a wife, a failure as a person". This upholds the idea of monogamous, heterosexual relationships as natural and privileged. Jackson says that the idea of coupledom troubles her in that it downgrades other relationships, such as friendships, which she argues are just as important. She says: “investing everything in your romantic and family relationships impoverishes other relationships”.
Jackson criticises the gay movement for trying to fit into these heterosexual structures, rather than dismantling them. She thinks gay marriages
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
uphold heterosexuality as the norm. It is clear that gay couples attempt to fit into heterosexual molds in order to benefit from society. The media regularly tells of gay couples who are disadvantaged by their inability to marry. People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine tells of an unmarried lesbian couple who had to pretend to be sisters in order to gain adequate visiting rights when one was ill in hospital. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
comments on photographer Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
’s financial problems because of the tax she had to pay on her late lesbian partner’s estate. Stevi argues that instead of trying to buy into privileged heterosexual structures, the gay movement should attempt to destroy gender which would then entitle everyone to equal rights.
Examining Everyday Sexuality
Jackson wants to fundamentally question our ‘normal’ everyday sex livesHuman sexual behavior
Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
in which we uphold heterosexuality. She says that is she is most interested in “the ongoing negotiation of everyday, mundane, conventional sexual lives”. In her book Heterosexuality in Question, she compiles numerous articles which examine the way the majority of the population live: in heterosexual couples. The topics covered range from how romantic love
Romantic love
Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....
is constructed to a critique of male oriented sex but all are aimed at questioning the accepted nature of heterosexuality.
Stevi argues that sexuality should not be treated as a special area of life or a force beyond the social. She contends that there are many other aspects of society which must be examined in order to truly understand and combat women’s oppression and criticises academics and the media for falling prey to the idea of sexuality as central and ‘special’. This is seen in news stories such as moral outrage at a girl selling her virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
for £50 000. Or in Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
’s hit song ‘Not Fair
Not Fair
"Not Fair" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You. Written by Allen and produced by Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 19 February 2009 by Regal Recordings. The song incorporates country music as...
’ which highlights bad sex with a partner as a reason to end a relationship. Only occasionally is this idea challenged, such as the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
advising that sex is a great form of exercise similar to running. Jackson argues that sexuality should be just one part of life and should not be overemphasised.
Future Work: An Alternative to Psychoanalysis
Jackson has consistently criticised Freudian psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
for its failure to account for many elements of sexuality, such as lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ism. Jackson says: “I have always been implacably opposed to psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
and I remain unconvinced. It seems to me that more and more feminists are turning to psychoanalysis... I think it has quite a strong depoliticising effect …it loses touch with the wider political questions".
She says she has “running friendly battles” with feminists who advocate psychoanalysis. Her recent work focuses on creating an alternative to psychoanalysis. Based on the work of George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead was an American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology and the American sociological tradition in general.-...
, she is currently developing a theory of subjectivity
Subject (philosophy)
In philosophy, a subject is a being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness or a relationship with another entity . A subject is an observer and an object is a thing observed...
which thinks of the self as social. The self comes into being through our relationships with others and the self continues to change and evolve throughout our lives. Stevi hopes her recent and future work on this topic will help to counter the pervasiveness of psychoanalysis in feminist theory.