Partner Jan Crites
Queer Places:
University of California, 110 Sproul Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
1314 Mississippi Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63104
Joyce Trebilcot (February 15, 1933 - May 27, 2009) was a pioneer in women's
studies and feminist philosophy. She attended University of California,
Berkeley (B.A., 1955). Trebilcot was the first woman tenured in the Department
of Philosophy and the co-founder of the women's studies program at Washington
University in St. Louis, Missouri. She retired as Professor Emerita of both
Women's Studies and Philosophy in 1995. Trebilcot also wrote and edited
several feminist, lesbian and philosophical publications.
In 1985 she began a partnership with Jan Crites,
which lasted until Trebilcot's death in 2009.
Joyce Trebilcot was born in San Diego, California, in 1933 to William
Earl Trebilcot and Angeline Dameral. She grew up in Oakland, California,
graduated from Fremont High School (1951), and attended University of
California, Berkeley (B.A., 1955). From 1957 to 1961, Trebilcot lived in
Mexico City in an artistic literary expatriate community, eventually moving
back to the United States to study philosophy at University of California,
Santa Barbara (Ph.D., 1970). She joined Washington University in St. Louis in
1970 as assistant professor of philosophy, and became the first woman to
receive tenure in the philosophy department in 1977. Trebilcot played an
integral role in developing the women's studies program at Washington
University. The program started as a special major and later developed into an
interdisciplinary program; Trebilcot served as coordinator from 1980 to 1992.
She retired as Professor Emerita of both Women's Studies and Philosophy
Departments in 1995. Trebilcot also served as visiting professor in Women's
Studies as well as Philosophy at other institutions, including the University
of New Mexico, Wheaton College, and elsewhere. Trebilcot also wrote and edited
for several feminist, lesbian and philosophical publications. She was the
editor for the book Mothering: Essays in Feminist Theory (1980), and in 1994
published Dyke Ideas, Process, Politics, and Daily Life, which was considered
a significant contribution to lesbian philosophy, taking examples from her own
life to illustrate points: craziness, guilt, ethics, competition, sex and
lesbian values, etc. Trebilcot also wrote articles using dialogue between two
fictional characters, "Hortense" and "Gladys," who represented opposing
philosophical viewpoints, with subjects such as sex, money, spirit, couples,
etc. The Hortense and Gladys dialogues were written as articles for
publications as well as chapters in Dyke Ideas. Her interests in philosophy,
women's studies, and lesbian rights led Trebilcot to a variety of professional
organizations; she was a member of the National Women's Studies Association,
the National Lesbian Feminist Organization, and was a founding member of the
Society for Women in Philosophy (SWIP) and Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist
Philosophy, where she also served on the editorial board. She was also a
speaker at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.
My published books:
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