Title: 'Gender Fictionalism'

ABSTRACT:

"This paper addresses the question of what it is to be a woman. In section 1, I argue that theories of womanhood face a dilemma. If a theory of womanhood does not regard believing that one is a woman as sufficient for being one (the belief condition), then it excludes some women. On the other hand, the belief condition faces serious objections. I argue that these objections can be overcome if we adopt fictionalism about gender discourse. In section 2, I sketch gender fictionalism and compare it to other relevant views. In section 3, I flesh out the details of gender fictionalism and how it rescues the belief condition. In section 4, I respond to two important objections to the view".