NCJ Number
146002
Journal
Judicature Volume: 77 Issue: 3 Dated: (November-December 1993) Pages: 140-143
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This is a journal article examining feminist jurisprudence over the last 20 years.
Abstract
Feminist jurisprudence has been divided into three stages: first stage or conservative feminism which argues for mere gender neutrality in public policy; second stage or liberal feminism which is marked by a concern for the discriminatory impact of public policy; third stage or progressive feminism which argues for the incorporation of women's experiences into public policy. The past two decades have shown that superficial gender neutrality in the law is insufficient as a route to sexual equality in the law. Cases involving pregnancy and other family law issues are discussed in this context. The author concludes that the impact of gender-neutral laws is not always equal and that laws based on the experiences of men's lives do not incorporate effectively women's experiences into public and organizational policy. Feminist jurisprudence, based on real-life experiences of women, may be largely incompatible with the current legal system, which is based on men's lives. The author discusses briefly legal theories presented by feminist scholars including Scales, MacKinnon, Gilligan, Smart, and Bartlett. 33 footnotes.