Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article argues that there is a socially constructed women-centered reality that is shared by most women and some men. The characteristics of women-centered reality are discussed as are the ways of discovering it in time and in varied discourses. The invisibility of women-centered reality within traditional and liberal thought, and its diminution and reconsignment to a position relative to the male referent is discussed, using judicial and constitutional canon within the context of women ` position in the military and pornography. The same diminution and invisibility with regard to rational-legal settings, that is, organizations, is explained. Finally, the EEOC's Guidelines on Sexual Harassment are used to illustrate the dilemma for attaining women-centered reality within a rational-legal setting. Throughout, an argument is made for the positive contribution of women-centered reality.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bernard, J. (1990). Women. In S. Ruth (Ed.), Issues in feminism: An introduction to women's studies. Mountain view, CA: Mayfield.

Chodorow, N. (1978). The reproduction of mothering. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Daly, M. (1978). Gynlecology: The metaethics of radical feminism. Boston: Beacon.

Eisenstein, Z. (1988). The female body and the law. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Eisler, R. (1988). The chalice and the blade. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d 872 (9th Cir. 1990).

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . (1980, March 11). Interpretive guidelines on sexual harassment. Federal Register.

Ferguson, K. (1984). The feminist case against bureaucracy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 682 (1973).

10.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

11.

Gimbutas, M. (1982). The goddesses and gods of old Europe: 7000-3500. Berkeley: University of California Press.

12.

Hendricks, J. (1987). On Thayer and miewald on miewald. Dialogue: The Public Theory Administration Theory Network 9, 8.

13.

Hendricks, J. (1989, November). Women-centered reality: Contextual ethics. Paper presented at the Conference on Ethics in Government: An Intricate Web, Washington, DC.

14.

Jarrett, S. (1988). The first sophists and feminism: Discourses of the "other. " Unpublished paper, English Department, Miami University, Oxford, OH.

15.

Kanter, R. M. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.

16.

MacKinnon, K. (1987). Feminism unmodified: Discourses on life and law. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

17.

Mellart, J. (1967). Catal Hukuk. New York: McGraw-Hill.

18.

Mitchell, P. (1990). Women in war: Voices from the front lines (M. Muldoon, Producer; P. Mitchell & D. Mechan, Directors) [Television documentary]. Pat Mitchell and Garyindiana Productions.

19.

Noddings, N. (1986). Caring: A feminine approach to moral education. Berkeley: University of California Press.

20.

Richards, M. C. (1989). Centering in pottery, poetry, and the person. Middleton, C(T: Wesleyan University Press.

21.

Rostker, Director of Civil Service v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 74, 77 (1981).

22.

Rubin, G. (1984). The traffic in women: Notes on the political economy of sex. In A. Jaggar , & P. Rosenberg (Eds.), Feminist frameworks: Alternative accounts of the relations among men and women. New York: McGraw-Hill.

23.

Stivers, C. (1989). A wild patience: A feminist view of ameliorative public administration. Olympia, WA: Evergreen State University.

24.

Swedborg, D. (1989). What do we see when we see woman/woman sex in pornographic movies? National Women's Studies Association, l(Summer), 602-616.

25.

Weedon, C. (1987). Feminist practice and poststructural theory. Oxford: Basic Blackwell.

26.

Witt, S. H. (1984). Native women today: Sexism and the Indian woman. In A. Jaggar & P. Rothenberg (Eds.), Feminist frameworks: Alternative theoretical accounts of the relations among men and women. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Women-Centered Reality and Rational Legalism

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References