FEMINISM IS RELEVENT TO THE STUDY OF LAW

To What Extant Feminism is relevant To the Study of Law in The 21st Century.

To what extant feminism is relevant to the study of law in the 21st century

Introduction

Feminist theory provides more than just a discourse on the interactions of the male and female, within the public and private sphere. In fact feminist theory has considered the core problems in the legal and political systems, resulting in a discourse on the inherent inequalities of these systems that favor men over women . Therefore this discussion will consider two key areas of feminist theory which are; equality of rights; and the equality in the law.

Background and Literature

In order to understand the contributions that feminism has made to political and legal theory the inequalities and injustices that feminists are aiming to eliminate must be considered. The main area of feminist theory that this discussion will consider is liberalist and Western feminism; however it is important to note that there are non-liberalist and Eastern theories of feminism but to explore these feminisms is beyond the scope of this essay. This essay will discuss the theory provided by theorists such as MacKinnon , Scales and Stanley . It will consider radical feminism and the concept of rape; and the next section will discuss the use of women's bodies either through rape law or visual norms as a way to control women. It will then consider the case study of feminist theory and the blurred distinction between the public and the private in general and then consider whether the approach taken by radical feminists goes too far and reduces the accountability of feminist theory. The following section will consider an alternative approach within feminist theory to ensure that equality and accountability is brought into the theory and then the approach to legal, social and political problems such as the state's approach to rape as a means of control is taken seriously. Finally this discussion will conclude in answering the title question - does radical feminism theory offer an explanation and solution to women's inherent inequality in the political and legal systems, in areas such as rape?

Methodology

The central area that Scales explores is the notion of stereotypes which illustrate the structural inequalities between men and women. One such set of stereotypes are the images of the breadwinner and the housewife - the breadwinner, traditionally, is the husband who can successfully have a career and a family because he is not the primary carer. On the other hand, the wife stays at home and commits to childrearing and domestic duties, she can be in employment but not have a successful career because of the responsibilities she has at home. Hence this results in a scenario akin to the case of Phillips v Martin Marietta Corp “where the company hired males with preschool-aged children but would not hire women in that category The intellectual location from which debates and arguments are assembled and presented constitutes 'a point of view' ...