I find it interesting that feminism has no unified theory of
the State. While the word “state” is often used almost interchangeably with “government”,
the umbrella term covers all public institutions that structure and maintain social
relations. As such, the state has a great bearing on the dynamics of power in
the social, political and economic spheres.
Feminism is closely associated with
the exercise of power with regards to gender, and the state has an evidently pronounced
role in determining the hierarchies of societal power. By definition, feminism
should therefore take into account how the state views, shapes and maintains
the power of either of the two established genders.
It is hence surprising that very little feminist literature
exists on the theory of the state. While feminism is a school of thought that basically
advocates for the status of women to be on par with that of men, some people
don’t view it as such. When it comes to the layman, feminism is essentially-
and wrongly- viewed as an “us-against-them” movement. In such an ideological framework,
it is important to know which side of the fence the feminists consider the
state to be.
The oscillation between liberal and radical viewpoints means that, for
the purpose of its argument, feminism, as a school of thought, has yet to decide
whether the state is “male”.
2 comments:
Feminism has not confronted, on its own terms, the relation between state and society within a theory of social determination specific to sex. As a result, it lacks a jurisprudence, that is, a theory of the substance of law, its relation to society, and the relationship between the two. I'd agree that feminism has no such theory of the state. Feminism does have a theory of power but lacks a specific theory of its state form. So arguably, the state is male in the feminist sense, as the law sees and treats women the way men see and treat women.
Feminism cannot be reduced to a singularity, i.e. it is not a homogeneous concept. That being said, some feminist scholars have attempted to theorize about the nature of the state, hence why you have the theory or a "patriarchal state."
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