Legal Feminism

Book excerpt: The living experience of practice imparts a special vitality toLegal Feminism, as does the personal voice. . . . Offers readers a kind of you-are-there viewpoint that law students hunger for and that any legal audience appreciates.-Elizabeth Rapaport, Dickason Professor of Law, University of New MexicoôA significant and unique contribution to the field of jurisprudence. . . . Links feminist jurisprudence to the central debates and approaches of the jurisprudential field in general, and shows how it can serve as a general set of jurisprudential principles that transcend what are usually thought to be its gendered boundaries.ö-Lucinda M. Finley, University of Buffalo Law School, State University of New YorkIn the late 1970s, feminist scholars and activists joined together to build a movement aimed at bringing feminist theory and experiences to the practice and teaching of American law. Three decades later, the feminist jurisprudence movement has taken root, with courts and legislatures addressing matters of sex and gender inequality, and law schools employing feminist and post-feminist theory in the classroom. The time is ripe to reflect on the past, present, and future directions of feminist jurisprudence, and there is no better person to do this than Ann Scales.Written by a founding contributor to feminist jurisprudence,Legal Feminismsituates that movement within the larger context of Western law and philosophy, focusing first on common problem areas of legal theory and decision-making, and then explaining how feminist jurisprudence can analyze and address these issues in new ways. Throughout, Scales draws on legal disputes to show how feminist theory works in the courtroom and other real-life arenas.Part personal memoir, part primer, and part treatise,Legal Feminismis a de-jargonized, lively account of how feminist jurisprudence can solve traditional legal conflicts, and why it matters to anyone committed to building an equitable and progressive society.