McCloskey - mees, naine, majandusteadlane

Saage tuttavaks: Deirdre McCloskey pärast 1996. aastat

Mõni aeg tagasi tegin A Students Guide to Economics'it lugedes (hea ülevaatlik väike raamat) enda jaoks ühe üpriski üllatava avastuse - Deirdre McCloskey oli varem hoopis Donald McCloskey.

Saage tuttavaks: Donald McCluskey enne 1996. aastat

Omal ajal ühte McCloskey raamatut lugedes ei tulnud mul kordagi pähe mõte, et autori sugu mingit tähtsust omab, kuid pean tunnistama, et pärast selle kurioosse fakti avastamist huvitas mind väga, kuidas muidu üpriski konservatiivsed majandusteadlased enda kolleegi soovahetusele reageerisid:

In the staid world of economics, the transformation of one of its well-known members has stunned the profession. At a meeting of the American Economics Association last month, Deirdre McCloskey caused a stir when she appeared on several panels wearing a red dress and a blonde wig. Still, she says, the response she has received from a profession not known for its unconventionality has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I expected to lose my job", says Ms. McCloskey, who has been a professor of economics and history at the University of Iowa since 1980. "I was prepared to move to Spokane and become a secretary in a grain elevator, but I didn't have to."

McCloskey kirjutas enda soovahetus kogemusest ka raamatu Crossing, A Memoir, kus ta lahkas enda muutmise psühholoogilist ja praktilist poolt. Just soovahetuse kohati üpriski piinarikka praktilise poole kohta võib ühest McCloskey raamatu arvustusest lugeda:

I did not know how difficult and how expensive it is to change sex, or that more than 25,000 Americans have done so. Just for starters, the cost of getting rid of a male beard by electrolysis is a minimum of $10,000. Sessions under local anesthesia can run as long as seven or eight hours at a stretch. Since only about 40 percent of the hairs treated are killed at each attempt, retreatments -- strippings" -- are necessary. Only an "active" follicle can be destroyed; there is no way to tell in advance the stage of growth of a treated follicle. At the second treatment, the percentage of regrowth is reduced to 36; the third leaves 21.7, and so it proceeds. McCloskey was still going back for retreatment after two years of womanhood. But before making the commitment to extirpating the beard, McCloskey scheduled removals of hair on the backs of the hands, then arms, then back, legs and stomach. The dedication required for this monumental task is mind-boggling.

After hair removal came a tummy tuck and breast augmentation. Then facial reconstruction: reduction of the eyebrow ridge by grinding down the bones; cheek and jaw surgery, an operation to reduce the nose, move the hairline forward, point the jaw, lift the eyebrows. The first voice operation was not successful, nor were subsequent ones. Retraining the existing voice proved a better solution. "Get a tape recorder," Deirdre was advised. "Place your voice forward. Speak in your head instead of your chest. Articulate more clearly. No harsh onsets."

McCloskey on peamiselt tuntud kui neo-klassikalise majandusteooria toetaja, kes 1985. aastal avaldas Rhetoric of Economics nimelise raamatu, kus tõstis esile retoorika tähtsusest majandusteaduses.

McCloskey oli veendunud, et matemaatika tähtsus majandusteaduses on ületähtsustatud ning majandusteadlased peavad selgitama enda tegevust mitte ainult teistele majandusteadlastele vaid laiemale avalikkusele. Mitmed kriitikud on McCloskey'le ette heitnud tema üpriski post-modernistliku lähenemist, kus tõde on subjektiivne ning ajalugu, filosoofia ja kirjandus olulisemad kui majandusteaduse.

Mitmed naiskriitikud on aga leidnud, et McCloskey lähtub enda uues rollis naisena liigselt naiste stereotüüpidest.