Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

Journal of Social Philosophy, EarlyView.

In this article, I explore concerns that have been raised regarding the relation between love and uptake of reproductive technologies, embryo selection and enhancement. Objections to (certain) uses of these technologies in terms of fractures in love, either parental or between partners, come from a variety of directions, from the conservative to the liberal. I examine two claims: (1) that the separation of procreation from sex and intimacy is a threat to love, and (2) that intervention on the traits of (...) one’s future offspring betrays inadequate parental love. I will place these concerns in a broader context of (a) technologically facilitated threats to – or aids towards maintaining – love and (b) irreversible changes to parent-child relationships that arise at the moment a prospective parent acts on the choice to select or shape the essence of their future child. (shrink)

In this paper, we explore how taboos act as drivers for reproducing countercultures. We define taboo utterances as those that either constitute socially prohibited acts (e.g., slurs), express elements of a prohibited ideology (e.g., claims advocating the subjugation of women), or promote socially prohibited actions (e.g., violence against women). We show how in certain communities, taboo utterances are not only tolerated but become highly rewarded in that they function as mechanisms of resistance and identity formation. We examine this dynamic in (...) incel communities (involuntary celibates) as a case-study. We show how by embracing taboos, incels not only signal their rejection of mainstream norms and values, but primarily seek to forge a shared ideology and a group identity. This requires an explanation of how and why taboos can be repurposed to gain value within incel counterculture. We propose that one such explanation is the driver for social status. We argue that exploiting taboos becomes a currency of status for incels: they gain acceptance and approval within the community, and this in turn creates an arms race to become more and more transgressive and extreme. We explain this via the creation of ideological roles that serve to justify and rationalise overt extreme misogyny. We conclude with brief ethical considerations about normalizing misogyny in incel communities and spilling over into mainstream culture. (shrink)