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Student No. ________

Gender & Justice
Answer Key 1999

I. Feminist movement splintered, fractured or divided from within, coopted or dismissed from without Internal splintering

___ 5 NWSA v. AWSA (single-minded drive to enfranchise women v. conservatism but collectivism)
___ 10 race splintering ("woman" movement monolithic, focusing on white, upper class educated women; early interests of black women concerned slave labor and rape, Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman"; white women urged female suffrage to counter black male vote, forcing choices between race and gender)
___ 5 opposition to ERA (NOW v. League of Women Voters, some women feared equality)
___ 5 exclusion of lesbian feminists (the "lavender menace," according to Freidan) Patricia Cain
___ 5 exclusion of men (e.g., CR for women only, men defined as oppressors)
___ 5 original split between liberal and socialist feminists (individualist v. social focus)
___ 10 radical/dominance feminism challenged male norms Dworkin, MacKinnon, focused on oppression and power relations between the sexes, institutional solutions
___ 10 cultural feminists/difference theorists celebrated, emphasized and accommodated differences (ex. Mommy track, maternal preferences, reas. woman std.); hedonic fem. sources differences in biology
___ 10 equal treatment theorists accepted male norms, denied differences, and worked to abolish gender classifications
___ 5 essentialism of feminism treats concerns as monolithic and ignores race and class Angela Harris
___ 5 contemporary feminist divides: single issue focus (e.g., pornography and rape), generational disputes, small, personal agendas
Coopted or dismissed from without
___ 5 women’s movement a threat to the status quo; men who were threatened dismissed feminism
___ 5 popular view of feminists as disunified. sexist, whiny, lesbian manhaters causes many folks to disavow label
___ 5 confusion of labels and goals: some dismiss an entire movement because they disagree with a single element of it (such as abortion rights)
___ 5 definition from without (Buchanan, Limbaugh, Robertson) and conservative political attack
___ 5 media influential (the complete source of info for ¾ of Americans) in shaping cultural views of feminism; media has one-sided concern with players and extreme issues, rather than balanced presentation
___ 5 influence of religion (e.g., Southern Baptist dictates)
___ 5 cycle of internal schisms, media depiction and popular reception


II. Legislation or legal decisions contributing to opposition to feminism

___ 5 early laws of coverture, chastisement, marital rape, lack of civil and political rights, Minor: Framers did not intend to enfranchise women
___ 5 reasonable man standard to contemporary reasonable woman standard Ellison v. Brady (both are gender specific) perpetuate the view that women are not reasonable
___ 10 protectionist legislation (e.g., Married Women's Property Acts, Bradwell v. Illinois, Muller v. Oregon, statutory rape laws, aff. action, pornography Hudnut, International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls) suggests women are not capable of making decisions for themselves or need special treatment
___ 10 the limited protections of law permit injustices to continue and make women's subordinated status seem normal and accepted: in sexual harassment law, Jones v. Clinton, Hill v. Thomas indicate disbelief of women; requirement of unwelcomeness contains supposition that sexual approaches are welcome until proven not to be; Hynson v. City of Chester refusal to find an equal protection violation in inequitable domestic violence arrests
___ 10 some feminist victories (such as Roe v. Wade, affirmative action, and sexual harassment) united opposition from without, angering men and employers; sexual harassment laws (viewed as chilling free speech, used as leverage), Title VII and the Equal Pay Act, while progressive, may have promoted backlash
___ 5 legal decisions promote the separate spheres idea and contribute to the domestication of women (e.g., Bradwell, Frontiero, Geduldig); custody decisions and standards imply that raising children is the province of women, Garska v. McCoy
___ 10 employment decisions keep women from full workforce participation, Omaha Girls Club, allow occupational channeling (the challenged policy in MUW v. Hogan, the district court decision in United States v. Virginia), and permit gender stereotypes to disallow gender characteristics atypical for one's sex, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins
___ 5 expert testimony in EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. promoted gender stereotypes of women as less aggressive workers who would choose underpaid positions for comfort and flexibility
___ 10 a lack of consistent jurisprudence on how to treat physical sex differences: VMI's focus on biological differences; Craig v. Boren and Michael H. promoted focuses on physical differences and gender stereotypes of men and encouraged sex segregation
___ 10 myths of rape and domestic violence are embedded in legal decisions (e.g., Goldberg's requirement of resistance because we aren't sure what women mean when they say "no" or corroboration requirement because women will cry rape falsely), but solutions such as no drop policies may deprive women of choice; battered woman syndrome may foster beliefs that woman act irrationally State v. Kelly (although its purpose was quite the opposite)
___ 10 reproduction jurisprudence suggests that women cannot think for themselves, e.g., the 24 hour waiting period of Casey, the RU-486 ban, and should not have individual choices, e.g., legislative proposals regarding Norplant, and TANF legislation
___ 10 negative images in statutes and judicial opinions deny equality and society does not listen to the theorizing of those whom it believes are subordinate or in need of protection or special treatment; link to feminism and feminist theory

 
III. Rehabilitation of feminist legal theory

Inclusion and Unification
___ 5 move away from essentialism and toward common theoretical grounds, by adopting the idea of "multiple consciousness" Angela Harris
___ 10 rediscovering inclusiveness and drawing in those previously alienated: actively include and reach out to lesbian feminists, feminists of color and non-middle class
___ 10 networking among subgroups of feminists; opening the conversation to men
___ 5 international collaboration
___10 find common political goals and points of agreement, focus on the big picture (such as continuing lack of equality, relentless discrimination, disadvantage of women, lack of choices, particularly reproductive choices)
 
Feminist Legal Theory

___ 5 recognize the difference between attacking or trashing and constructive critique
___ 10 accept differences in viewpoint (e.g., pro-life feminists); recognize that some conflict (although perhaps not alienation) is good
___ 10 confront the challenge of resurrecting equality theory (e.g., focus on similarities between the sexes and among the camps of feminism), while acknowledging and respecting real physical differences, but recognizing that many social differences are constructed and relational; different theories for each issue?
___ 10 reclaim the label and meaning of feminism v. movement toward humanism

Information

___ 10 adapt to media disinformation by focusing on mainstream points of agreement; popularize feminism; critique pop culture images of males and females
___ 10 collective consciousness raising through storytelling (e.g., Voices Brief) and with larger groups
___ 10 focus on empirical evidence, and subtle forms of discrimination (e.g., "choice" or preference theory in Sears)
 
Redefine gender

___ 5 avoid portrayal of women as victims; recognize that men can hurt too
___ 5 create gender-neutral laws to avoid backlash and promote unification; include men in domestic sphere
___ 5 move away from gendering in all its social aspects (attire, toys, books, etc.) and demonstrate the social construction of gender
 
Institutional responsibility
 
___ 10 focus on shared personal problems with institutional solutions (the personal is political), such as parenthood, national health insurance and child care (e.g., paid family leave as an entitlement)
___ 5 a continual refusal to accept what is as what ought to be (e.g., rejection of the market argument in employment cases)
___ 5 preventative education (e.g., sexual harassment awareness) and explosion of myths, rather than post facto lawyering
___ 10 Use of specific examples
___ 10 Innovative arguments and examples
___ 10 Organization and following directions (word count)
___ 10 Originality of thought and language, rather than sheer repetition of words and ideas from class or books
___ 10 Analytical depth and use of or citation to authority; avoiding the general "women have it bad" and answering the specific question, tying the points to feminism and feminist theory
___ 10 Writing style, grammar, use of complete sentences, spelling, polish, typos