Charlesworth, Hilary --- "Foreword" [2019] ELECD 339; in Harris Rimmer, Susan; Ogg, Kate (eds), "Research Handbook on Feminist Engagement with International Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) xxiv

Book Title: Research Handbook on Feminist Engagement with International Law

Editor(s): Harris Rimmer, Susan; Ogg, Kate

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781785363917

Section Title: Foreword

Author(s): Charlesworth, Hilary

Number of pages: 3

Extract:

Foreword Hilary Charlesworth
This collection is a rich tapestry of ideas about what feminist thought offers to international law. It not only explores feminist histories in the discipline, but also takes feminist ideas into new fields in imaginative ways. The book's pages capture the energy, optimism and inquisitive spirit of feminism, as well as its doubts and fears. Many of the chapters use the terms `feminist' and `feminism' as if there were agreement on what they mean. Indeed, part of the force of these words rests on their capaciousness and symbolism. It is, however, worth considering some of the meanings that jostle under the umbrella of feminism, many of which emerge in the contributions. As the description of this volume indicates, feminism is animated by bold ambitions for the future. A common expression of a feminist utopia is that of a world in which there is equality between women and men. But such a pithy formulation papers over important questions such as whether equality requires identical treatment of women and men, whether it entails that both sexes end up with comparable opportunities or social goods, whether it requires recognition of a distinctive women's voice or women's qualities, or whether it means the eradication of relationships of domination and subordination between the sexes and transformation of society. The notion of equality between women and men also assumes a male comparator. This version of the central feminist goal similarly sidesteps questions of equality between women, and the roles of ...