ABSTRACT
The absolute power of pater familias in the Ancient Roman family was replaced by a different relationship in modern—bourgeois—family. De facto , society and family are strictly intertwined, and they condition each other by virtue of their dialectic relation. The family as a natural institution was turned into a social construction changing over time. The category of “sexual difference” became central within this framework, and feminists’ efforts reversed the discriminatory use of sex by employing that category to develop a broader concept of justice. A brilliant example of this new understanding of justice was perfectly remarked by the United States (US) Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in a 1985 landmark case regarding the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The history of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) is a brilliant example of this theoretical trend. Feminist thinkers developed more and more an independent point of view, calling into question their alliance with socialist and Marxist groups.
