Ortner, taking her lead from the universality of womens subordination in all cultures, suggested a deep investigation into the origins of violence and, in order. Through litigation, campaigns for legal reform and legal education, feminists have engaged explicitly with law and the. To these ends, feminist philosophy of law applies insights from feminist epistemology, relational metaphysics and progressive social ontology, feminist political theory, and other developments in feminist philosophy to understand how legal institutions enforce dominant gendered and masculinist norms. The ashgate research companion to feminist legal theory. It was founded in 1984 by legal theorist martha fineman, a pioneer in feminist legal theory. Thus, whether the issue is feminist law reform or the gendered structure of the legal profession, feminist legal theory cannot be understood apart from practice.
No prior knowledge of feminism will be presupposed. The feminism and legal theory project emory university. Feminism as a theory of law essay 2078 words bartleby. More specifically, the project addresses the intersection of gender with issues relating to age, race, class, ability, and sexuality. Feminist philosophy of law identifies the pervasive influence of patriarchy and masculinist norms on legal structures and demonstrates their effects on the material conditions of women and girls and those who many not conform to cisgender norms. This in a society strongly founded upon a maleorientated legal system, which historically fails to. There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of.
This companion celebrates the strength of feminist legal thought, which is. Providing balanced coverage of abortion, sexual harassment, censorship and pornography, and other timely and controversial subjects, this pathbreaking anthology is the first to offer a comprehensive introduction to. Verchick is not only a sophisticated theoretical exposition of feminist legal theory, but also a vivid analysis of real cases and popular culture and their relationship to womens issues. Developments in feminist legal theory emerged through engagement with problems rooted in inequalities, experienced by individuals and communities, at the hands of people, corporations, or the state. I am able to relook at how i have narrowly been looking at. Rush, autumn grubbswetnam, and christina lane the focus of this chapter is the ways in which communication theory and method can provide a richer, more complex and enlightening canvas of the human condition, when they draw their. Flt workshops became a part of the very first feminist legal theory anthology, at. Since its initial publication in 2006, feminist legal theory. May 19, 2006 legal feminism situates the feminist jurisprudence movement within the larger context of western law and philosophy, focusing first on common problem areas of legal theory and decisionmaking, and then explaining how feminist jurisprudence can analyze and address these issues in new ways. Using the url or doi link below will ensure access to this page indefinitely. The feminism and legal theory project flt fosters interdisciplinary examinations of the ways in which the interaction of law and culture shapes expectations, policies, and practices related to gender. The following is a more accessble plain text extract of the pdf sample above, taken from our legal theory notes. Intimate encounters, uncomfortable conversations, m. Feminist legal theory and practice 9 what social, political and economic systems prop up discriminatory laws and practices that marginalize women.
Fineman, martha albertson, feminist legal theory 2005. In this outstanding primer, the authors introduce the diverse strands of feminist legal theory and the array of substantive legal issues relevant to womens and gender studies. Feminist leadership theory paper 2 feminist theory paper introduction in her introduction to women and leadership. See martha chamallas, introduction to feminist legal theory 10 1999.
Masculinities and feminist legal theory the woman question is comprised of a rich series of questions that has continued to challenge inequality as well as expose the silences and absences of women in law and society. Feminist engagement with law has taken a variety of forms over the years. As an oppressed group, women have been unable to achieve their potential, receive rewards, or gain full participation in society. Legal aid 6 legal aid of cambodia 1 legal education 14 legal ethics 4 legal history 1 legal philosophy 1 legal profession 11 legal structures for environmental and climate risk and impact management 1 legal studies 1 legal technology 2 legal theory 2 leslie zines 4 lethal autonomous maritime systems 1 lgbtiq 1. These questions will be explored through historical and topical discussion.
Pdf this essay is the introduction to feminist and queer legal theory. This in a society strongly founded upon a maleorientated legal system, which historically fails to recognise the social and legal. Corporate law in legal theory and legal scholarship. Feminist legal theory, feminist lawmaking, and the legal. Feminist legal theory by martha albertson fineman ssrn. The project nurtures scholars from around the world, bringing them together to study and debate a wide range of topics related to feminist theory. By the early 1980s, some legal scholars who identified as feminists became attracted to critical legal scholarship, even while faulting it for neglecting women and their experiences and viewpoints.
Legal feminism situates the feminist jurisprudence movement within the larger context of western law and philosophy, focusing first on common problem areas of legal theory and decisionmaking, and then explaining how feminist jurisprudence can analyze and address these issues in new ways. She developed her theory further in works on pornography, rape, and legal theory. At long last, the complex field of feminist legal theory is presented in accessible, teachable form by two of its experts, nancy levit and robert r. As a distinct scholarly contribution to law, feminist legal theory is now well over. Feminist legal theory second edition critical america. It also considers problems at the intersection of sexuality and law and develops reforms to correct. How does feminist legal theory deal with diversity, conflict and contestation among women. Many of the readings point out the backbending necessary by the legal system to award rights to women in comparison to men, and then do similar backbending to justify the rights of women on the basis of them being women, when gender is a social construct. We have enjoyed hosting more visiting scholars than ever before throughout the course of this academic year. The feminist framework also imbeds a commitment to solidarity and movementbuilding within the program. This is the postprint version of the chapter published as feminist legal theory in.
Now, in the completely updated second edition of this outstanding primer, nancy levit and robert r. Feminist legal theory and practice fltp is a part of a broader program called feminist law and practice flp, which focuses on building the capacity of activists and lawyers to analyze and critique laws from a feminist and rightsbased perspective and build campaigns to. It presents a theory of gender and challenges the assertions and assumptions of genderneutrality and objectivity in received disciplinary knowledge. Feminist legal theory produced a new idea of using hedonic jurisprudence to show that womens experiences of assault and rape was a product of laws that treated them. Feminism as a theory of law as a concept, feminism is very much a modern notion within legal circles, which aims to eradicate any prejudice against womens rights.
Feminist legal theory oxford academic oxford university press. Feminist jurisprudence is a philosophy of law based on the political, economic, and social equality of sexes. Ecofeminism is based on the theory that the oppression of women and the oppression of nature are fundamentally linked. Key concepts hegemonic masculinity patriarchal dividend. In ecofeminist literature, ecofeminism is often described as the belief that environmentalism and feminism are intrinsically connected. While a good legal outcome, using international law is a positive outcome. Freedom, power and agency in feminist legal theory download pdf. Although the core of the theory of feminism is essentially the same, examples can show us subtle differences and criticism in each feminist theory.
Students will write response papers analyzing the reading materials. Pdf feminist engagement with law has taken a variety of forms over the years. Bloggish overview of feminist legal theory feminist law. Feminist legal theories and types of it slideshare.
Feminist legal theory spring 2016 professor laura rosenbury. Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of the world. Choose from our range of legal theory notes and revision materials, all prepared by top students during their studies neither our company nor our products are officially affiliated with any of the institutions listed. We are looking forward to further developing these exciting. This seminar will focus on the impact that feminist legal theory is having on legal philosophy. As a field of legal scholarship, feminist jurisprudence began in 1960s. Feminist legal theory, also known as feminist jurisprudence, is based on the belief that the law has been fundamental in womens historical subordination. In this course, we will read feminist theory, queer theory, and other critical theory. It was not so long ago that feminist, legal, and theory simply did not. Feminist legal theory is a set of ideas, an activity engaged in by thinkers in and outside academia, and an intellectual and political movement. As feminist theory has developed, it also has been.
Feminist legal theory feminist legal theory is the study of the philosophical foundations of law and justice. Feminist legal theories there are many strands of feminist thought davies identifies 5. Leadership is not a position or a person but a process of influence, often. While the collection is expansive, the readings are hampered by their limited viewpoints on gender and race. Salter corporate law scholarship is dominated by traditional masculist forms of inquiry that ignore the sources and consequences of corporatism and effectively support the. The course will draw broadly from academic and social commentary, and from case law. How does feminist legal theory explain law and the role law plays in womens systematized inequality. Feminist legal theory an overview sciencedirect topics. We will read major works in feminist legal theory and discuss the practical effects these theoretical formulations have on selected legal issues of importance to men and women. Feminism legal theory project martha albertson fineman, director rachel ezrol, editor g reetings from the vulnerability and the human condition initiative. The feminism and legal theory project is a project aimed at addressing issues relating to women and law.
In this course, we will read feminist theory, queer theory, and other critical theory in order to examine constructions of gender and the roles legal systems play in those constructions. By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. York l aw school, university of york, heslington, y ork, yo10 5dd, uk. First, feminist jurisprudence seeks to explain ways in which the law played a role in womens former subordinate status. Definition of the feminist theory is a vast understanding, as it has more than one meaning. Ultimately, it is the members of our audience that will judge the effectiveness of our individual and collective voices. We will read classics in feminist legal theory and case studies allowing us to examine and compare the ways in which various strands of feminism have engaged law and law reform. Among other things, we will consider the impact feminist legal theory has had on antidiscrimination law and the ways that different interpretations of gender equality. At the same time, the formulation of legal theory has played an integral role in. What follows is a brief though longer than it probably should be overview of this scholarly subject area.
By the early 1980s, some legal scholars who identified as feminists became attracted to critical legal scholarship, even while faulting it for neglecting women. No legal scholar who engages in a decently regular perusal of a wellstocked law library can fail to have noticed the. However, an attention to values is a theme that emerges across many scholars definitions of feminist. This is an extract of our feminist legal theory document, which we sell as part of our legal theory notes collection written by the top tier of griffith university students. We must never forget that good feminist legal theory is rooted in the experience of real women. Indeed, virtually all dimensions of sociological theory have been reevaluated through the lens of feminist theory. Feminists working in law share the convictions that the historical and continuing exclusions of women. Key concepts queer theory heterosexual matrix performativity. Psycholog ical theory and womens development, seemed to demonstrate empirically that the moral develop ment of women was signi. The book serves as a text for courses in family sociology, sociology of gender, gender studies, and feminist theory, and for sociology courses focusing on the use of qualitative methodology. Gordont introduction transgender persons face severe prejudice and discrimination in a wide variety of areasfrom areas of public concern like employment, credit, public accommodations, and law enforcement, to more private areas such as marriage. Transforming visions and diverse voices, jean lau chin posits that there is no singular definition of feminist leadership 2007. Mar 12, 2014 feminist legal theories there are many strands of feminist thought davies identifies 5. Feminist philosophy of law stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
Feminist philosophy of law stanford encyclopedia of. Pdf feminist judging and legal theory researchgate. How adaptable is feminist legal theory to issues that challenge the very notion of what it means to be a woman. Second, feminist legal theory is dedicated to changing womens status through a rework of the law and its approach to gender. Through litigation, campaigns for legal reform and legal. The project nurtures scholars from around the world, bringing them together to study and debate a wide range of topics related to feminist theory and law. It was my hope at the time that it would become a common definition everyone would use. Current disagreement amongst feminist legal scholars is a good thing. Feminist legal theory is one of the most dynamic fields in the law, and it affects issues ranging from child custody to sexual harassment.