"In the completely updated second edition of this outstanding primer, Nancy Levit and Robert R.M. Verchick introduce the diverse strands of feminist legal theory and discuss an array of substantive legal topics, pulling in recent court decisions, new laws, and important shifts in culture and technology. The book centers on feminist legal theories, including equal treatment theory, cultural feminism, dominance theory, critical race feminism, lesbian feminism, postmodern feminism, and ecofeminism. Readers will find new material on women in politics, gender and globalization, and the promise and danger of expanding social media. Updated statistics and empirical analysis appear throughout. At its core, Feminist Legal Theory shows the importance of the roles of law and feminist legal theory in shaping contemporary gender issues"--Unedited summary from book cover.

This book offers powerful analyses of the relationship between law and gender and new understandings of the limits of, and opportunities for, legal reform drawn from the experiences of women and from critical perspectives developed within other disciplines.

Multidisciplinary focus Surveying many disciplines, this anthology brings together an outstanding selection of scholarly articles that examine the profound impact of law on the lives of women in the United States. The themes addressed include the historical, political, and social contexts of legal issues that have affected women's struggles to obtain equal treatment under the law. The articles are drawn from journals in law, political science, history, women's studies, philosophy, and education and represent some of the most interesting writing on the subject. The law in theory and practice Many of the articles bring race, social, and economic factors into their analyses, observing, for example, that black women, poor women, and single mothers are treated by the wielders of the power of the law differently than middle class white women. Other topics covered include the evolution of women's legal status, reproduction rights, sexuality and family issues, equal employment and educational opportunities, domestic violence, pornography and sexual exploitation, hate speech, and feminist legal thought. A valuable research and classroom aid, this series provides in-depth coverage of specific legal issues and takes into account the major legal changes and policies that have had an impact on the lives of American women.

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.

Feminist Legal Theory is a groundbreaking collection of feminist work proceeding from the core assumption that the differences among women are essential to feminist analysis. Rather than presenting feminist legal theory sequentially, with “African American feminism” or “critical race feminism” added on at the end, the volume thoroughly integrates key readings from non-white, non-middle class, and non-mainstream writers throughout. The volume explores the intersections of race, class, and gender in such areas as theory, family, work and economic issues, and violence against women. Each section of the book begins with an introduction providing context and insights into how the particular pieces included challenge norms and create new paradigms. This vibrant, challenging collection of work by a broad range of authors represents the cutting edge of feminist theory in concrete applications essential to gender equality. Contributors include: Patricia Hill Collins, Bonnie Thornton Dill, Angela P. Harris, Sylvia A. Law, Mari Matsuda, Martha Minow, Esther Ngan-Ling Chow, john a. powell, Jenny Rivera, and Maxine Baca Zinn.

An updated edition of the praised primer for feminist legal theory and how it shapes contemporary gender issues At long last, the complex field of feminist legal theory is presented in accessible, teachable form by two of its experts, Nancy Levit and Robert R. M. Verchick. In this outstanding primer, the authors introduce the diverse strands of feminist legal theory and the array of substantive legal issues relevant to women's and gender studies. The book centers on feminist legal theories—including equal treatment theory, cultural feminism, dominance theory, critical race feminism, lesbian feminism, postmodern feminism, and ecofeminism. The authors also address feminist legal methods, such as consciousness raising and storytelling. The primer demonstrates the ways feminist legal theory operates in real-life contexts, including domestic violence, reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, education, sports, pornography, and global issues of gender. Levit and Verchick highlight a sweeping range of cutting edge topics at the intersection of law and gender, such as single sex schools, women in the military, abortion, same sex marriage, date rape, and the international trafficking in women and girls. At its core, Feminist Legal Theory shows the importance of the role of law and feminist legal theory in shaping contemporary gender issues.

As a distinct scholarly contribution to law, feminist legal theory is now well over three decades old. Those three decades have seen consolidation and renewal of its central concerns as well as remarkable growth, dynamism and change. This Companion celebrates the strength of feminist legal thought, which is manifested in this dynamic combination of stability and change, as well as in the diversity of perspectives and methodologies, and the extensive range of subject-matters, which are now included within its ambit. Bringing together contributors from across a range of jurisdictions and legal traditions, the book provides a concise but critical review of existing theory in relation to the core issues or concepts that have animated, and continue to animate, feminism. It provides an authoritative and scholarly review of contemporary feminist legal thought, and seeks to contribute to the ongoing development of some of its new approaches, perspectives, and subject-matters. The Companion is divided into three parts, dealing with 'Theory', 'Concepts' and 'Issues'. The first part addresses theoretical questions which are of significance to law, but which also connect to feminist theory at the broadest and most interdisciplinary level. The second part also draws on general feminist theory, but with a more specific focus on debates about equality and difference, race, culture, religion, and sexuality. The 'Issues' section considers in detail more specific areas of substantive legal controversy.

The Research Handbook on Feminist Jurisprudence surveys feminist theoretical understandings of law, including liberal and radical feminism, as well as socialist, relational, intersectional, post-modern, and pro-sex and queer feminist legal theories.

This book, the second of two volumes, examines the pressing issues that affect women--pornography, prostitution, battery, rape, pay equity, sexual harassment, motherhood, abortion, adoption, new reproductive technologies--and considers them through the lens of feminist legal theory. It features more than sixty articles by well-known legal scholars and feminists. The contributions are arranged thematically and include an introduction and comprehensive literature review by the editor. Applications of Feminist Legal Theory to Women's Lives will be a valuable text for students, a resource for scholars and policy makers, and a useful introduction for general readers.