On Catharine A.MacKinnon’s Radical Feminist Jurisprudence

Feminist jurisprudence is an emerging discipline that emerged from the feminist movements and theories that impacted the field of jurisprudence in the 1960 s and 70 s.Professor Catharine A.Mac Kinnon,a representative figure of radical feminist jurisprudence,has developed a feminist perspective on the law by launching a profound critique of the law from a feminist perspective.This thesis develops the study of Mackinnon’s feminist jurisprudence through the following three sections.The first part focuses on the social background and theoretical origins of Mac Kinnon’s feminist jurisprudence.The triumph of African-American Civil Rights Movement and the second wave of feminism provided practical experience for the development of affirmative action law in the United States,and the development of feminist theory,critical jurisprudence and Marxism provided new theoretical directions for feminist jurisprudence,which has undoubtedly developed as a discipline and has developed liberal feminism,radical feminism,socialist feminism and many other schools of thought.The second part is devoted to the main elements of Mac Kinnon’s feminist jurisprudence:firstly,the methodological "consciousness raising" of Mac Kinnon’s feminist jurisprudence is explained,i.e.the collective and critical reconstruction of the meaning of women’s social experience as women experience it,and the recognition of discrimination as a structural oppression of social groups through consciousness-awakening.In the context of this theory,Mac Kinnon critiques the masculinity of the law and analyses how the state institutionalises male power through the law;he then concretises how the law reflects the male position and constructs gender power domination through a discussion of three specific legal issues: sexual harassment,pornography and sexual assault law.This is followed by a discussion of three specific legal issues: sexual harassment,pornography and sexual assault law.In the third part,we evaluate and reflect on Mac Kinnon’s feminist jurisprudence.Mac Kinnon’s jurisprudence is purely feminist,and is clearly critical,and her theory has made certain contributions to legislation and justice in the United States and the world,but at the same time,we can also see that,due to the background of the times,her theory is thin in the context of pluralism,too much emphasis is placed on male domination instead of consolidating gender classes in society,and there is no specific goal of legal construction.We need to make a rational understanding of the theory.In the Chinese context,the focus is on the methodology of "consciousness raising" and the criteria for examining substantive equality,so as to promote the legal guarantee of gender equality in China.