Biography:Heather Widdows
Heather Widdows | |
---|---|
Born | 29 August 1972 |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh (BD, PhD) |
Notable work | Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal |
Spouse(s) | Professor Matthew Hilton, Vice-Principal for Humanities and Social Sciences, Queen Mary University of London |
Awards | Charles Beale Award for Policy Advancement (2013) |
Institutions | University of Edinburgh Imperial College, London University of Birmingham University of Warwick |
Main interests | Ethics, Policy and governance issues in particular: • Beauty, Everyday Lookism, Public health Crises • Global Ethics, Moral Theory • Feminist Theory, Women's rights • Bioethics, Reproductive Technologies, Medical Tourism, Genetic Ethics and Governance • War on Terror, Global Justice |
Website | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/people/summaries/widdows/ https://everydaylookism.bham.ac.uk |
Heather Widdows (born 29 August 1972) is a British philosopher, specialising in applied ethics. She was at the University of Birmingham for 22 years, beginning as research fellow and finishing as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer).[1] She is currently a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick.[2] Her research is in the areas of global ethics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of health and bioethics. In 2005, she was awarded a visiting fellowship at Harvard University.
Her most recent book, Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal (Princeton University Press, 2018), explores how the nature of the beauty ideal is changing - becoming more dominant, demanding and global than ever before.[3] Widdows argues that to address the harms caused by the beauty ideal, we must first understand its ethical nature. Vogue described the book as "groundbreaking",[4] and writer and journalist Bri Lee included Perfect Me in her article Books That Changed Me.[5]
Education and career
Widdows did her undergraduate degree Systematic Theology first class[6] and PhD at the University of Edinburgh. She completed her PhD thesis in 1999 on "The relationship of morality and religion : an investigation of the issue in modern anglophone philosophy". She was supervised by Professor James P. Mackey and Ronald Hepburn. Following the completion of her PhD, spent a year as a post-doctoral research fellow at Imperial College London. She became part of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham as a research fellow in the Centre for the Study of Global Ethics in 2001. Widdows continued to work there until 2022, becoming a lecturer in 2003, senior lecturer in 2005, and professor of global ethics in 2009. She became the deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research Impact in 2017, and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge transfer in 2021. In 2022 became a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick.
Widdows is currently the deputy chair of the REF2021 Philosophy sub-panel. Previously she was a member of the REF2014 Philosophy sub-panel.
Policy Work
Heather served as a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2014 to 2020 and previously on the UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council from 2007 to 2013,[7] and a member of Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Party on Cosmetic Procedures from 2015 to 2016.[8]
Heather's work on appearance-based discrimination, or lookism, was also cited in the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into 'Changing the perfect picture: an inquiry into body image'.[9]
Research
She has published four sole-authored books: The Moral Vision of Iris Murdoch (Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2006); Global Ethics: An Introduction (Acumen, 2011); The Connected Self: The Ethics and Governance of the Genetic Individual (Cambridge University Press , 2013) and most recently Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal (Princeton University Press, 2018).
Perfect Me
Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal (Princeton University Press) was published in 2018. Widdows was supported in writing this book by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship. In Perfect Me Widdows argues that beauty is functioning as ethical ideal, transforming our understandings of the world, our judgements of others and ourselves.[10] Perfect Me was also voted one of the 19 best books of 2018 by The Atlantic,[11] and one of the 100 best books to read in a lifetime by Edarabia.[12] Perfect Me has also been mentioned in Vogue[13] and Paper Magazine.[14][15]
Beauty Demands Network
Widdows is a co-founder of the Beauty Demands Network.[16] The project began with an AHRC Network Grant on 'The Changing Requirements of Beauty' which finished in June 2016. Beauty Demands publishes a blog every two weeks (co-run by Widdows and Dr Fiona MacCallum, University of Warwick),[17] and in 2016 published a Briefing Paper. The briefing paper contains key findings of the network in ethics, psychology and law, and makes policy recommendations based upon these.[18] The briefing paper was launched at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in June 2016.[19]
#everydaylookism
Widdows launched a social media campaign to end body shaming at the Annual Global Ethics Conference at the University of Birmingham in June 2019.[20] Widdows argues that lookism is a prejudice that is more prevalent and more damaging in a virtual culture where our bodies are ourselves. Body shaming is shaming people. Lookism has become so common that we have come to accept it, and even worse, expect it.[21] The campaign asks people to share their lookism stories on social media using the hashtag or anonymously via the website. #everydaylookism has been mentioned by The Telegraph,[22] Birmingham Live.[23] and The Body Cons Podcast.[24]
Media
Heather has been quoted in The Guardian ,[25][26] The New York Times ,[27] Vogue,[28] BBC Newsround,[29] Seventeen.[30] and Le Monde.[31] She has also appeared on BBC Two's Victoria Derbyshire programme, and been interviewed by BBC Radio 4 and ABC Radio (Australia).
Select bibliography
In addition to her books, Widdows has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and chapters in edited collections.
Books
- Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal (Princeton University Press, 2018)
- The Connected Self: The Ethics and Governance of the Genetic Individual (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
- Global Ethics: An Introduction (Acumen, 2011).
- The Moral Vision of Iris Murdoch (Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2006).
Edited collections
- Handbook of Global Ethics, Edited with Darrel Moellendorf (de) (Routledge, 2014)
- Global Social Justice, Edited with Nicola Smith (Routledge, 2011).
- The Governance of Genetic Information: Who Decides?, Edited with Caroline Mullen (Cambridge University Press, 2008).
- Women's Reproductive Rights, Edited with Itziar Alkorta Idiakez and Aitziber Emaldi Cirión (Palgrave, 2006).
References
- ↑ "Who we are - Centre for the Study of Global Ethics". https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/globalethics/members/index.aspx.
- ↑ "Warwick|Philosophy|Academic Staff|Heather Widdows". https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/people/summaries/widdows/.
- ↑ Widdows, Heather (May 2018). Perfect Me. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691160078. https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11281.html.
- ↑ Singer, Maya (7 February 2020). "Do French Women Really Have the Secret to Aging Gracefully?" (in en-us). https://www.vogue.com/article/french-women-aging-gracefully.
- ↑ "Books That Changed Me: Bri Lee" (in en). 4 January 2020. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/books-that-changed-me-bri-lee-20191230-p53nnj.html.
- ↑ "Graduations Edinburgh", The Herald, 14 July 1995, https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12096750.graduations-edinburgh/, retrieved 15 April 2021
- ↑ "Impact case study (REF3b)". https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies2/refservice.svc/GetCaseStudyPDF/38901.
- ↑ "Cosmetic procedures: ethical issues". http://nuffieldbioethics.org/wp-content/uploads/Cosmetic-procedures-full-report.pdf.
- ↑ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmwomeq/274/27402.htm [bare URL]
- ↑ Widdows, Heather (May 2018). Perfect Me. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691160078. https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11281.html.
- ↑ "The 19 Best Books of 2018" (in en-US). 26 December 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/12/the-19-best-books-2018/578134/.
- ↑ "100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (2020)" (in en-US). https://www.edarabia.com/100-books-read-lifetime/.
- ↑ Singer, Maya (7 February 2020). "Do French Women Really Have the Secret to Aging Gracefully?" (in en-us). https://www.vogue.com/article/french-women-aging-gracefully.
- ↑ "What's the Next 'Instagram Face'?" (in en). 21 May 2020. https://www.papermag.com/future-of-beauty-ourian-2646046145.html.
- ↑ "Dr. Ourian on Cosmetic Surgery's 'Holy Grail'" (in en). 21 May 2020. https://www.papermag.com/simon-ourian-plastic-surgery-interview-2646033606.html.
- ↑ "People - Beauty Demands". https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/beauty/people/index.aspx.
- ↑ "Beauty Demands". http://beautydemands.blogspot.co.uk/.
- ↑ "Beauty Demands Briefing Paper". 1 June 2016. http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/beautydemands/beauty-demands-briefing-paper-june-2016.pdf.
- ↑ "About - Beauty Demands". https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/beauty/about/index.aspx.
- ↑ "Everyday Lookism". https://www.everydaylookism.com/.
- ↑ "New campaign to end the effects of lookism by collective social action". 10 June 2019. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2019/06/new-campaign-to-end-the-effects-of-lookism-by-collective-social-action.aspx.
- ↑ Kiek, Tim (9 June 2020). "The dark side of the video call boom" (in en-GB). The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/dark-side-video-call-boom/.
- ↑ Paxton, Charlotte (16 June 2019). "'You'd be gorgeous if you lost weight' - the worst body-shaming taunts". https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/youd-gorgeous-you-lost-weight-16426356.
- ↑ "BONUS EPISODE: Everyday Lookism with Professor Heather Widdows". http://www.bodyconspodcast.com/2020/07/16/bonus-episode-everyday-lookism-with-professor-heather-widdows/.
- ↑ "Is cosmetic surgery the new acceptable face of womanhood?". 27 June 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/28/cosmetic-surgery-normal-acceptable-face-womanhood.
- ↑ "The rise of non-surgical beauty: 'My mum said my lip looked like a rubber dinghy'". 3 April 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/03/non-surgical-cosmetic-procedures-botox-lip-filler-beauty.
- ↑ Hess, Amanda (23 April 2018). "'I Feel Pretty' and the Rise of Beauty-Standard Denialism". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/movies/i-feel-pretty-amy-schumer-beauty.html.
- ↑ "Do French Women Really Have the Secret to Aging Gracefully?". 7 February 2020. https://www.vogue.com/article/french-women-aging-gracefully.
- ↑ "Call to limit body-editing apps for children - CBBC Newsround". https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54352925.
- ↑ "How Isolating in Quarantine Has Been Detrimental to Our Body Image". 17 October 2020. https://www.seventeen.com/health/a34373386/quarantining-tiktok-and-their-effects-on-body-image/.
- ↑ "Construction sociale ou fruit de l'évolution ? Débat intense autour de notre attirance pour le " visage Instagram "". Le Monde.fr. 15 July 2022. https://www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete/article/2022/07/15/construction-sociale-ou-fruit-de-l-evolution-debat-intense-autour-de-notre-attirance-pour-le-visage-instagram_6134970_3451060.html.
External links
Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather Widdows.
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