The Feminist Legal Theory
How has feminist legal theory contributed to bringing about gender equality and empowering women in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Pakistan and India?
The concept of the feminist legal theory is so diverse that no such generic definition can be applied it , however it is often referred to as a reaction to the jurisprudence of primarily male legal scholars who tend to see law as a process for interpreting and perpetuating a universal, gender-neutral public morality. Feminist jurisprudence is a branch of jurisprudence that examines the relationship between women and law, including the history of legal and social biases against women, the elimination of those biases in modern lawn, and the enhancement of women’s legal
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For the purpose of this essay, four influential views of feminist legal theory, that is, the liberal view, the cultural view, the radical view and the postmodern or poststructuralist view, will be examined to highlight their respective contribution in bringing about gender equality and women empowerment.
The liberal view demands for equality between women and men alike. Arguing in favour of the rule of law, liberal feminists state that every individual is equally accountable before the law. Liberal feminists demand for law to be gender blind and highlight the importance of neutrality and impartiality holding race, colour, gender or any other demographic to be irrelevant for law. The importance of liberal feminist theory is that through the insistence on equal treatment by liberal feminists, several significant gains were achieved especially in the 1960s and the
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Cultural feminist theory is traceable to Carol Gilligan’s research on various groups of males and females. In her book, A Different Voice , Gilligan sets out to correct psychology’s misperceptions and refocus its view of female personality and states that male and females have a differing set of moral code. For males, moral problems are often dealt with an “ethic of justice” whilst for females, moral problems are often dealt with an “ethic of care”. For Gilligan, an “ethic of care” is based on the feminine mode of caring, maintenance of relationships and more so the fact that women are more likely to put the concerns of others before their own needs whilst an “ethic of justice” is based on the masculine mode of remaining impartial and unemotional by focusing on justice, rules and
Primar Daly's Argumentative Analysis
606 Words | 3 PagesThe authors this week all proposed the fundamental issue with current theories as the ignoring of the female gender and how current theories assume motives for crime to be equal across genders. Simpson (1989) and Chesney-Lind (2006) take the biggest stance on how not only gender influences criminal perspectives but race as well. This is an extremely important notion. Colored women do not experience the chivalry that white women are often afforded under the system. While the current belief is that women in general are subjected to less harsher punishments than men, this is simply not the case.
Buck Vs Bell
659 Words | 3 PagesIn 1927, the United State Supreme Court had a case called Buck v Bell who set a legal example that states may sterilize prisoners of public institutions. The court argued that imbecility, epilepsy, and feeblemindedness are heredity, and that the prisoners should be prevented from passing these defects to the next generation. In my opinion if Buck v Bell were to argue in this year I believe that Bell would not win because in today’s society the legal sterilization of the prisoners has been allowed in many cases. (Antonios, Nathalie, and Christina Raup. “The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.”
Snapshot Of Health And Social Care Report
2602 Words | 11 PagesSince, the eighteen century women have been seeing as property, object and goods (Popple, 2015, p.64). However, today the feminist theory represents the perception that the society and the state is still patriarchal were men persist in dominant positions and women are in subordinate positions. Fact is, accordingly to Bryson (1993) cited in Popple (2015), male power get still physical and psychological demonstrated with domestic violence, sexual abuse or other types of control to minimize women. (Popple,2015, p.65.). It can be argued that the feminist theory
Ruth Rosen Women's Rights Movement
605 Words | 3 PagesWomen’s rights should not be divided by liberal or conservative thought, but since the public perceived New Left radicals as essentially the same as feminists, it created another divide between liberal and conservatives. ¬Since the 1960s, the government’s policies on women’s rights have changed slightly, but the downfall of these changes is that much of what feminists worked towards in the 60s and 70s is possible in theory, but had not yet come to fruition. The best example Rosen gave was the new idea of the working mom “superwoman” who did it all (p. 295), but even though more people accepted that idea, men stepping in to assist women at home was still unthinkable. The movement is not only about woman gaining more freedom, but also about men and women being viewed as equals regardless of what they do. While conservatives often view this as an infringement on men’s rights, that is not the purpose of the movement, so the liberal-conservative dichotomy is not an effective way to examine the Women’s Rights
Civil Rights Movement Strategies
1682 Words | 7 PagesSame Objectives, Different Strategies: The Transformation of the Feminist Legal Strategy The fight for women’s rights had never been easy for feminists and at the outset of the 1960s, women’s legal equality seemed momentarily out of reach. The chaotic social and political landscape of 1960’s America was as much a blessing to feminists, as it was a burden. The civil rights movement had picked up momentum from landmark judicial decisions and simultaneously fostered a discussion about the opportunity for women’s legal equality.
The Negative Impact On Women's Rights Of Women
1058 Words | 5 PagesToday, we live in a society that believes women can do anything men can do. Women can vote, work, and were granted all the same rights and freedoms as men. But, our society was not always this way.
Mary Daly's Argumentative Analysis
611 Words | 3 PagesA woman is a human being and she is entitled to the same rights as a man. This should be a reality accepted by virtually anyone anywhere and not a feminist stand. Many still consider that offering women equal opportunities as men is outrageous and out of this world. Popular feminists like Mary Daly have come under fire for her strong views against holding men in higher regard than women. Daly should however be celebrated by many for her philosophical argument for the inclusion of women’s rights and interests in every aspect of life.
Summary Of 1970's Failure To Liberate American Women
307 Words | 2 PagesIn this paper I will be going over issue 17, “Has the Women’s Movement of the 1970’s Failed to Liberate American Women?”. Sara M. Evans and F. Carolyn Graglia each voice their opinions about the issue. They talk about the history of the women’s movement throughout time and the effects it had in our country. F. Carolyn Graglia writes about how she agrees the movement has failed to liberate American women. Her views on feminism concluded that the feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s was a reasonable but a faulty idea, in that it was based on a worthy opinion (that all men and women should be equal).
Feminism In The Progressive Era
1019 Words | 5 PagesSecuring basic rights such as the right to work, vote, and participate in the public sphere were the essential goals of this generation. The early feminist movement ended with the 19th amendment and new issues of equal pay, birth control, and equal treatment were the introduced in the mid-twentieth century. Despite their downfalls, “…this generation of women… led the way in demanding that white women be treated differently than they had in the past” (Burge,
Women's Rights In The Progressive Era
1216 Words | 5 PagesFeminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights, for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, for reproductive rights, for the protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape for workplace rights, including maternity leave, and equal pay, and against other forms of gender-specific discrimination. “This victory is considered the most significant achievement of women in the Progressive Era. It was the single largest extension of democratic voting rights in our nation’s history and it was achieved peacefully through democratic processes” (Click, 8). “The newly formed organization, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), became the most mainstream and nationally visible pro-suffrage group” (Click, 8).
What Is The Women's Rights Movement Still Relevant Today
1501 Words | 7 PagesThe issue of women’s rights and how different societies and cultures deal with it had been on the table for many centuries. In the United States of America during the 1800s, women began to move toward and demand getting equal rights as men, they decided to speak up and fight for their stolen rights. In the 1960s, continued working toward their goal, women broadened their activities through the women’s rights movement which aimed to help them in gaining their right to receive education, occupy the same jobs that were once titled only for men, and get an access to leadership positions. The women’s rights movement has a great impact on women today, although it started a long time ago, but it did not stop and women are reaping their fruit today,
Feminism In The Great Gatsby And Their Eyes Were Watching God
1844 Words | 8 PagesThis will also allow me to better understand the discrepancies between the law and the populous. During the past 200 years women’s rights have progressed exponentially in the United States legal system, but total and absolute gender equality has not yet been achieved. None of the books selected are inherently feminist in order for them to represent an accurate mindset of the American people. All three books are widely read today
Crime And Punishment Feminist Analysis
911 Words | 4 PagesFeminist theory shows the ways of a gender structured life . This culture is also displayed in Crime and Punishment by Sonya and Dunya. Feminist criticism is a type of literary criticism that was well known in the 1970’s. Women would begin taking apart the classics and analyzing how the author portrayed women. The women in Crime and Punishment , especially Sonya and Dunya have a stronger state of mind and are able to handle the pressures and struggles of life better than the men in the novel.
Feminist Theoretical Framework
1752 Words | 8 PagesLiberal feminists were so obsessed with the ‘equality’ that they oppose the protective legislation for women (based on this position they have been severely criticized, it will be discussed later in the paper). Jagger (cited in Acker, 1987) discussed liberal feminism’s opposition to protective legislation, based on its desire to overcome sex based laws and establish formal equality. Liberal feminists seek the repeal of all laws that ascribe different rights, responsibilities and opportunities to women and men. They oppose protective legislation for women, believing that the same standards of health and safety should apply to everyone. Feminists such as Marry Wollstonecraft, Johnstuart Mill, Jagger and Struhl, Eisentein and Scheman rejects the major component of tradional liberalism, and asserted that the value of women as human being is not instrumental to the welfare of men and children and that it is equal to the value of men, and demanded various forms of public and private recognition of it, including respect for women and privacy.
Introduction To Gender Equality
715 Words | 3 PagesThe legal system in most of the countries discriminates particularly against women in the fields of inheritance, family law, land ownership, property, criminal law and citizenship. The prosecution of cases, in most of the countries, involving violence against women is difficult and complex. The discrimination specifically against girls and women- including economic discrimination, gender-based violence, harmful conventional practices and reproductive health inequities- remains the most persistent and pervasive form of inequality. Moreover, girls and women bear extra hardship during, as well as, after conflict and different humanitarian emergencies.
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