Martha Albertson Fineman
Autore di The Autonomy Myth: A Theory of Dependency
Sull'Autore
Martha Albertson Fineman, is a Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University
Opere di Martha Albertson Fineman
Vulnerability: Reflections on a New Ethical Foundation for Law and Politics (Gender in Law, Culture, and Society) (2013) 4 copie
Feminist Perspectives on Transitional Justice: From International and Criminal to Alternative Forms of Justice (Series… (2013) 3 copie
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Nome canonico
- Fineman, Martha Albertson
- Nome legale
- Fineman, Martha Albertson
- Data di nascita
- 1943-05-27
- Sesso
- female
- Nazionalità
- USA
- Luogo di residenza
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Istruzione
- Temple University (BA|1971)
University of Chicago (J.D.|1975) - Attività lavorative
- professor (Law)
legal scholar - Organizzazioni
- Columbia University
Cornell University (first endowed chair of Feminist Jurisprudence)
Emory University
Feminism and Legal Theory Project
Utenti
Recensioni
Statistiche
- Opere
- 17
- Utenti
- 149
- Popolarità
- #139,413
- Voto
- 4.0
- Recensioni
- 1
- ISBN
- 60
- Preferito da
- 1
Fineman's case is certainly compelling, at least to me. I am afraid of oversimplifying her arguments in an attempt to sum them up, so instead I will only briefly review the facets that were the most compelling to me: that the functional reality of families has changed significantly in past decades, and legal structures defining and affectin them have not yet caught up; that what should be privileged by the law is not relationships between equals, but the caretaker-dependent relationship, which can take many forms and is radically undervalued in today's society; that the definition of autonomy as being able to support one's self or family without government assistance stands in the way of a more robust, progressive definition of equality.
My only notable complaint about this book is very pragmatic. How, exactly, would one go about privileging the caretaking relationship instead of the marital? Marriage is, after all, something licensed and recorded by the state. And while the caretaking relationship is also formalized by the state in the case of children -- through birth records, adoption, and custody arrangements, Fineman argues privileging not just this caretaking relationship, but also caring for aging parents, disabled adults, etc. Perhaps there is already some simple mechanism for this in place that I am just not familiar with, but I often wondered about it, while reading. After all, if the state is going to privilege a relationship, it can be expected to gatekeep it -- just look at the ongoing gay marriage battle.
But don't let this (small) complaint dissuade you. Anyone interested in family policy should have this on their to-read list.… (altro)