Catholic Feminist Ethics Reconsidered

Abstract

Taking Catholic sexual ethics and liberal feminist ethics as points of departure, this essay argues that both frameworks are ill-prepared to deal with the moral problems raised by sex trafficking: while Catholic sexual ethics is grounded in a normative understanding of sexuality, liberal feminist ethics argues for women's sexual autonomy, resting upon freedom of action and consent. From a perspective that attends both to the phenomenological interpretation of embodied selves and the Kantian normative interpretation of dignity, it becomes possible to critique both the Catholic and the liberal feminist frameworks of ethics. I argue that Catholic sexual ethics requires a reconceptualization as social ethics in order to meet the challenges of our present time, but that the shift is possible without giving up the moral imperatives of both Catholic and feminist ethics to protect human dignity and women's rights.

Rethinking Dignity and Exploitation in Human Trafficking and Sex Workers’ Rights Cases

“…. In other words, it requires her to make the sexual service appear to be a personal encounter rather than the mere use of her body parts in exchange for money" ( [51], p. 235).…”

Reflecting and Advancing the Transformation: Catholic Theological Ethics and the Journal of Religious Ethics, 1973–2023

“…Over the years, the JRE has been an important venue for feminist reconstructions of the moral subject and for the delineation of its implications for theological and religious ethics. Essays of feminist scholars working in and on the Catholic tradition, focusing on different aspects of moral subjectivity, include Weaver (2013), Christine Gudorf (2011), Christine Firer Hinze (1993), Elizabeth Bucar (2010), Hille Haker (2015), and Kalbian (2018). In addition, focus issues on feminist ethics (2015), Catholic sexual ethics (2018), and reproductive ethics (2021) capture the state‐of‐the‐art and indicate that the revolution anticipated by Farley in 1975 is well and truly underway.…”

“…For example, Grimes holds fast to critical realism while arguing that Aquinas's moral epistemology is better illuminated by the work of philosopher Judith Butler than by the Catholic magisterium (2014). Moreover, the 2015 special issue on feminist ethics, in which feminists from multiple religious traditions reflect on critical aspects of their tradition, highlights this Catholic commitment to realist gender justice ethics, which is foregrounded in the essays of both Cahill (2015) and Haker (2015).…”

Sex trafficking and sex tourism in a globalised world

“…While it is beyond the scope of this paper to address this field, one possible area of development would be the feminist ethics of care literature which might provide an opportunity for further interdisciplinary research and open up new policy areas for consideration. Some examples of this area include; Haker (2015), Hoglund (2003), Lowe (2015), Nussbaum (2006), Park and Herr (2017) and Robinson (1999). This would provide scope for a broader based theoretical framing of the issues and for a consideration of moral, ethical and social justice considerations.…”