Women and Legal Hierarchy

Catharine MacKinnon mentioned that there were a number of conditions which would have to be met before feminism in legal education had been achieved. She mentioned, for example, the representation of women’s point of view, proportionality between male and female professors and between female and mal...

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Main Author: Margaret Thornton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bond University 1989-01-01
Series:Legal Education Review
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5976
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author Margaret Thornton
author_facet Margaret Thornton
author_sort Margaret Thornton
collection DOAJ
description Catharine MacKinnon mentioned that there were a number of conditions which would have to be met before feminism in legal education had been achieved. She mentioned, for example, the representation of women’s point of view, proportionality between male and female professors and between female and male secretaries. I am not very optimistic about the achievement of those conditions. I am not hopeful because I believe that the idea of feminism and law is an oxymoron. Women’s association with affectivity and desire prevents our acceptance as equals within the academy which is perceived as the quintessential locus of reason. Australian legal education has accepted this assignation of men and women to separate spheres and, even though the proportion of women students is now around 50 per cent, which is indeed characteristic of legal education throughout the English-speaking world, I think that this has made relatively little difference, either in terms of substance or process.
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spelling doaj-art-95aa393e07b14cd9801dd43f0374612e2025-08-20T02:37:14ZengBond UniversityLegal Education Review1033-28391839-37131989-01-011110.53300/001c.5976Women and Legal HierarchyMargaret ThorntonCatharine MacKinnon mentioned that there were a number of conditions which would have to be met before feminism in legal education had been achieved. She mentioned, for example, the representation of women’s point of view, proportionality between male and female professors and between female and male secretaries. I am not very optimistic about the achievement of those conditions. I am not hopeful because I believe that the idea of feminism and law is an oxymoron. Women’s association with affectivity and desire prevents our acceptance as equals within the academy which is perceived as the quintessential locus of reason. Australian legal education has accepted this assignation of men and women to separate spheres and, even though the proportion of women students is now around 50 per cent, which is indeed characteristic of legal education throughout the English-speaking world, I think that this has made relatively little difference, either in terms of substance or process.https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5976
spellingShingle Margaret Thornton
Women and Legal Hierarchy
Legal Education Review
title Women and Legal Hierarchy
title_full Women and Legal Hierarchy
title_fullStr Women and Legal Hierarchy
title_full_unstemmed Women and Legal Hierarchy
title_short Women and Legal Hierarchy
title_sort women and legal hierarchy
url https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5976
work_keys_str_mv AT margaretthornton womenandlegalhierarchy