The things which differentiate women from each other are more significant than what unites them. These differences undermine the feminist legal project. Discuss

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‘The things which differentiate women from each other are more significant than what unites them. These differences undermine the feminist legal project.’

Discuss.

The concept of feminist legal theory has only recently emerged within our society, it becoming prominent with the growth of the women’s liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. The origins of its construction originates from those women who wanted to find an answer for why as a gender they were treated unequally in comparison to men and questioning what it would take to change. As a general overview the common element within feminism is that women are portrayed as inferior to men and they are oppressed by them in society. It is impossible to give one distinct explanation of feminist legal theory, as the development of academic and political thought has inevitably led to a diverse variety of views in regards to what they believe needs to be done in order to address the current problems. “Feminist jurisprudence is not a single body of thought but rather a family of different perspectives or frameworks used to analyse the actual and the desirable relationship between law and gender”’

 It is this diversity which I will be discussing in the essay, looking at four main schools of thought; liberal, radical, cultural and postmodern identifying the similarities and differences between them. Thereafter I will be then asking the question does the fact that feminism is not a unified set of views, undermine the goals it seeks to achieve?

Liberalism

The key concepts which liberalism places emphasis on include rationality, individuality and equality. They also insist on a public/private divide in society stating that there is a private sphere which is “not the laws business”. For liberal feminists it is this divide which has contributed to their oppression to women as they have been traditionally denied complete involvement in society, instead, they have been relegated to the private sphere which is one of the causes of discrimination occurring against them.

        According to feminists advocating this approach they claim that women also possess the qualities of being rational, autonomous beings with their central claim being that since women are just as rational as men they are equally entitled to have the same opportunities. They follow the general ideal of liberal thought, but want to further it by unveiling and eliminating the inequalities which liberalism in its argument that all individuals are equal disguises. Their task “is to act within the dominant ideology and seek to eliminate gender-based discrimination – to achieve true equality for women-in all walks of life-without challenging the ideology itself and while remaining faithful to the liberal ideal of equality and autonomy.” 

        So for liberals in achieving reform in providing equality for women all that is the removal of inequality in law and society is necessary. The fact that “women are like men and accorded equality on that basis, reflects the notion that they do not criticise the law for being inherently gendered bias, rather law had evolved in a way which represents male norms. By adjusting these norms, it is argued that this would allow the inclusion of women in society with the positive result of the legal system becoming fair for both men and women.

        This approach has achieved a lot in terms of significant reform especially in family and employment law, “by working within the framework rather than challenging the underlying political philosophy, liberal legal feminism has achieved much by unearthing the inequalities and pressing successfully for legal change.  However it is this method which has been criticised by other feminists stating that this concept assumes that women have the same qualities as men without giving any explanation as to how we account for the differences that men and women have. It also poses the question on what values women should take on and by taking on male goals are liberal feminists merely repeating masculine thought? The focus on equality has been damned by radical feminists stating that “to argue on the basis of women’s similarity to men merely assimilates women into an unchanged male sphere in sense the result is to make women men.” Furthermore some feminists assert that even though some accomplishments have been achieved in the legal system, in regards to equal rights, this approach is still wrong in that it could be biased in only representing the rights of the dominant white women who are able to have their voice heard. Consequently this has a negative effect in the elimination of oppression as it neglects those voices in the minority.

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Radical Feminism

According to O’Donovan liberalism conceals the concept of power in society. It is this aspect which radical feminists focus on with its main proponent Catharine Mackinnon. For without any understanding on the gendered nature of state power she argues that “women can only accept and use state power (in the form of law) in order to improve women’s formal position.”

        Radical feminism is an extreme theory which like liberals acknowledges that there is oppression in society and law plays a part. However they advocate that instead of applying pre-existing male standards we need to go the root ...

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