On the False Myth of Legal Neutrality: Some Remarks

Studies on gender, legal feminist theories, women’s studies, and, in general, feminism provide fundamental and indispensable contributions to a critical discussion of the field of law and to the contemporary philosophical debate of legality. They are characterised by a considerable expansion of the thematic area. This paper does not claim to be an introduction to the feminist analysis of the law in general or of specific theories of law, but it arises at the halfway point between some criticisms and the proposal of alternative elements. One of the aims of this study is to analyse how sovereignty is connected to the patriarchal view of society and especially to a particular concept of law. For this reason, the study will address the issue raised by some criticisms of law based on arguments developed by a feminist legal theory that underlines the false neutrality of law. My interest is to discuss the patriarchal nature of the law and some of its specific legal categories (such as sovereignty) and to highlight the need to rethink and redefine them. It starts from the premise, as underlined, that the traditional discourse on law is a discourse of power, even camouflaged at times as cognitive discourse. Then, it analyses how legal feminist theory could contribute to overruling the patriarchal structure of society and redefining traditional legal concepts (such as sovereignty). To conclude, this study tries to highlight tensions and raise constructive reflections on the issue.