Gut Feminism is an interesting name for a book, but Elizabeth A. Wilson is literally talking about the gut in relation to depression, focusing on antidepressants, the use of placebo, eating disorders, transference and phantasy, as well as suicidality. Wilson claims that feminist theory has long been antibiological, therefore missing how biological data can be helpful for feminist theory and how biology can help extend feminist thinking. Wilson discusses the importance of the gut in feminist theory: “I want to show how some biological and pharmacological data about depression help us think about minded states as enacted not just by the brain but also by the distributed network of nerves that innervates the periphery (especially the gut). My argument is not that the gut contributes to minded states, but that the gut is an organ of mind: it ruminates, deliberates, comprehends (p. 5)”. To Wilson then, it is not just the brain that is important in adding to feminist theories using biology, but the gut itself, and the connection between the gut and other organs. Wilson believes that feminism has the ability to engage in biology in ways that can extend feminist theory, and she believes that the gut is a good place to start such a discussion.

The book is a fairly challenging read, especially since Wilson employs the work of great thinkers, that are at times difficult to comprehend, such as Ferenczi and the biological unconscious in terms of eating disorders, such as bulimia and the ability to vomit at will. For Wilson, the gag reflex provides a useful start to thinking about the organic character of disordered eating. Wilson does not claim that culture is not important in feminist theory. Rather, Wilson extends such thinking by stating that biology and culture and not separate. Instead, they work together, and greater knowledge about the gut, also leads to greater knowledge about the inner workings of the body in relation to culture. If we take depression and melancholy as an example, depression is often thought of as anger turned inwards, therefore, depression is the “female response” to aggression. Wilson believes the opposite, that it is importance to think of depression as a kind of aggression that is directed outwards, since the depressed person affects those around them as well, claiming that depression materializes in the gut. Wilson extends such thinking when discussing rumination as well. Rumination is fairly common in infants, but the focus has often been on negativity expressed by the mother in the mother-child relationship. Wilson claims that rumination is a way for an infant to express negativity “…performed by the gut, and directed at relations of care (p. 83)”, focusing on the way in which the infant expresses emotions.

Wilson also discusses pharmacokinetics and how medications such as SSRIs metabolize in the gut, focusing on the active role of gut metabolism. Wilson says that transference is an important part of discussing medications, since the pill taken is not independent. Rather, there is a relationship between the pill, the gut, and the way that the medication is metabolized in the system, something that is often overlooked or downplayed when discussing the effects of medication and the workings of a placebo: “The problem seems to be conceptual rather than empirical: it’s not that we lack sufficient data, it’s that we have very few conceptual frameworks for interpreting the numbers we collate…A more comprehensive theory of causality is needed to explain the data – one that doesn’t pitch physiology against suggestion, or divide pharmacological effects from treatment-related effects, but instead understands how ingestion of pills, physiological activity, mood, and therapeutic alliance are systemically aligned (p.138)”. As Wilson asks for an expansion of thought in terms of depression and the gut, she also asks for an expansion of feminist though when it comes to biology. Rather than being hostile towards biology and not engage with it in thought and discussions, we need to develop ways to expand feminist theory by engaging with biology.

Wilson has written an interesting, yet rather difficult and thought demanding book, drawing from feminist theory and asking for a conceptual expansion of thoughts and ideas related to depression and the gut. The book is suited for those interested in feminist theory and the intersection of biology, as Wilson is a Professor of Women’s, gender, and Sexuality Studies. At the same time, the book is an interesting contribution in the classroom in such disciplines, even though it takes some effort to understand the concepts and ideas discussed by Wilson.

© 2016 Hennie Weiss

Hennie Weiss has a Master’s degree in Sociology from California State University, Sacramento. Her academic interests include women’s studies, gender, sexuality and feminism.