Starting from equality. A path on the feminist thought about law

Abstract

The field of law and rights has always been controversial when it comes to feminist thought. Full access to fundamental rights and legal equality were the main objectives of historical feminism, but their conquest immediately revealed their insufficiency and inadequacy. Ever since the last few decades of the 20th century, with the new gender perspective, the main legal categories and liberal policies – starting with the principle of equality and the idea of personal autonomy – have undergone strong criticism. This paper aims at building a path through the intense debate within English-speaking feminism, expounding the most significant positions between the two opposite poles of rejection of law and rights and faith in them, though deconstructed and reconstructed in form and content according to a feminist perspective.

Key words: Feminism, Law, Rights, Equality.