Assistant Professor, Ophelia Vedder, has received the 2026 Best Dissertation Award from the Women, Gender, and Politics section of the American Political Science Association. Vedder received the award for her dissertation, "Gender Abolition".
In her dissertation, Vedder discusses the elimination of gender distinction as a requirement for the full realization of gender justice. Vedder defines "gender abolition," argues why gender should be abolished, and how society can transition toward a "gender-free future." A section of Vedder's dissertation was published this year in the journal, Ethics.
The Best Dissertation award is given each year for the best dissertation on women and politics completed and accepted in the previous year. Vedder shares the award this year with Ana Sofia Elverdin (Washington and Lee University) and their dissertation, “The Cost of Success: Disenchantment After Partidization. Evidence from Contemporary Feminist Movements in Argentina.” In the announcement of the award, the award committee stated, "The committee was very impressed with the innovative nature of [Vedder's] work and the scope of [her] contributions to our understanding of important questions in the field of gender and politics."
Read the abstract for Vedder's dissertation below and the full paper here: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp013484zm40s
Abstract:
Does the full realization of gender justice require the elimination of the gender distinction itself? Many feminist thinkers and activists have claimed precisely that. Yet explicit conceptualizations, let alone systematic defenses, of gender abolition are few and far between. My dissertation addresses this omission in three parts. First, I put forward an account of what I mean by “gender abolition.” Second, I argue that gender should indeed be abolished. And third, I explore how we might begin to transition toward a gender-free future. I begin by recovering what gender abolition has historically meant, turning to 1970s and 1980s feminist texts to construct what I call the “second wave gender abolitionist position.” This view holds that gender is a hierarchical social structure that is produced and maintained through various pernicious “engines” of gender. These engines are: forced reproduction; compulsory heterosexuality; patriarchal kinship structures; the gendered division of labor; and compulsory sex-marking. To abolish gender, on this account, is to dismantle each of these engines. But while the first three engines of gender are incontrovertibly pernicious, the final two are highly controversial and require further exploration. Ultimately, I argue that at least within the US context, both the gendered division of labor and compulsory sex-marking ought to be eliminated, as they affront our civic equality, and personal autonomy, respectively. Having defended the elimination of the five engines of gender—with a specific focus on the two most controversial ones—I consider a set of policy proposals for moving toward gender abolition, and argue that the state will have an important role in bringing forth a society in which gender is abolished. Finally, I explore the role that individuals must play in bringing about gender abolition, and argue that we have duties to advance the end of a future absent gender.
