Beauvoir's Ethics beyond Beauvoir: Mascots, Asexuality, and Gender Eliminativism

This dissertation applies Simone de Beauvoir’s existential ethics to three contemporary moral issues. The first essay is on pseudo-Native-American representations (PNAR) used by sports teams. It argues that the use of PNAR is an instance of oppressive indifference and should no longer be used. The second essay is on asexuality, a sexual orientation defined by little to no sexual attraction to others. Due to their lack of sexual attraction to their partners, it may seem at first that asexual folks cannot have moral sex. On the contrary, this essay argues that asexual folks can have moral sex. Finally, the third essay argues for gender eliminativism, which I understand as the elimination of arbitrary gender norms.