Feminist Critical Theories [1990]

Critical feminism, like other critical approaches, builds on recent currents in social theory that have made theorizing increasingly problematic. Post-modern and post-structural traditions that have influenced left legal critics presuppose the social construction of knowledge. From both a philosophical and pragmatic standpoint, feminist legal critics have less stake in the assault on liberalism than critical legal studies (CLS). One central difference between critical feminism and other critical legal theory involves the role of rights. Although both bodies of work have challenged liberal legalism's reliance on formal entitlements, feminist accounts, like those of minority scholars, have tended more toward contextual analysis than categorical critique. One final issue on which critical feminism often parts company with other critical theory involves the construction of alternative visions of the good society. Feminist legal critics have been less interested in predicting the precise role that gender would play in the good society than in undermining its role in this one.