Since she began writing on feminist topics in the early 1970s, Professor Stevi Jackson’s utopian vision of a world without gender has guided her impressive portfolio of work as an academic, author, researcher and activist.

Recently retired from her role as director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at England’s University of York, Prof. Jackson says she now has “more time for my research and my external commitments within the wider academic community.” No better proof of that can be found than her fully embracing being named Trent’s 2017 Ashley Fellow.

“I am honoured to have been chosen for this role and for the opportunity to present my ideas to a new audience,” says Prof. Jackson. “I am also grateful for the hospitality and positive reception I have received from colleagues and students at Trent.”                                                          

As the Ashley Fellow, Prof. Jackson has been involved in a number of events, as a lecturer and panelist.

“I knew I wanted an academic career by the time I was in my final year as an undergraduate,” recounts Prof. Jackson. Decades later, she says violence against women remains “a global problem,” the solution to which lies in “major cultural shifts in attitudes.” Prof. Jackson adds that while violence against woman is widely recognized as a problem, “we are no closer” to a solution.

Still, Prof. Jackson is heartened by the fact that women, in many parts of the world, are now freer and lead better lives. Still, she says “intransigent attitudes” to gender and sexual diversity remain a formidable hurdle to overcome.

“My utopian vision is a world without gender. A world in which people are not defined at birth by their genitals, where it therefore wouldn’t matter who one loves or with whom one has sex. We would all just meet as people, not men or women.”