Abstract
This article examines the origins of the contemporary iteration of gender ideology pervasive in the western world today. To accomplish this, the article is broken into three main components. The first component examines the source of where the current trend in picking pronouns, genders, and sexual orientations emanates from. This is attributed to an ideology called, “the ethics of authenticity.” The tenets of the ethics of authenticity are delineated in the article. Another component of the article attributes the origin of authenticity to the work and thought of Jean Rousseau. Specifically, four of his works are examined as fundamentally important to this ideology. The four works examined are The discourse on the arts and sciences, The discourse on the origin of inequality, Emile, or on education, and Confessions. These four works explain what authenticity is, and the process of how we lost it. Finally, an explanation of how contemporary gender ideological adherents are best viewed using the lens of Rousseau and authenticity to understand the rationale behind the ideological movement occurs.
Recommended Citation
Kessler, Steven
(2022)
"My Authentic Self: Rousseau and the Ethics of Authenticity in the Age of Gender Ideology,"
Journal of Ideology: Vol. 41:
No.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ji/vol41/iss1/3