Law, Justice and Society: Chapter Eleven

This chapter was really interesting to me because I have never focused on nr really studied feminism before. What made the chapter was that the lecture was actually given by a true, modern day feminist. There is so much from this chapter that I completely disagree with as far as what women used to be seen as and how they were portrayed in society. During the history of women, women were defined as three things in “Tudor Age of England” and they were silent, obedient and chase. It amazing me how much time has changed the meaning of what women really are. I completely disagree with a lot of the history of women and what they meant to society. Besides sexual organs, we are and should be treated completely equal to men. I understand how men can be seen as protectors of the home and family, but that does not mean that women have to be such that of a child in the home with no say or sense of decision. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were getting closer to how it really should have been. They gave women some rights, but then again still believed that women were subordinate to men.
I had no idea that Brownmiller’s theory of rape meant there was no such thing as rape if you are married. If your husband wanted to have intercourse with you even if you didn’t want to, then he had the right to force you, because you are his property. I could not be more against anything else in my life as far as believing the utter opposite. I know that today the law states that you can be married and still be considered raped if you do not want to have sexual intercourse. In Ancient Hebrew, if someone was raped outside of marriage the victim and offender were both stoned to death for it. Also, during the Code of Hammurabi both the victim and offender are both drowned to death for the offense of rape. I couldn’t help but laugh when Marianne spoke about the “Rule of Thumb” and what it meant. It baffles my mind to think that it was actually accepted to physically beat your wife. The rule was that the stick used could not be any bigger than the circumference of the husbands thumb. To briefly read into the origin and meaning of the “Rule of Thumb” look into http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html. This chapter really opened my eyes to appreciate how far we have come as a country and for the laws we have now. I sometimes wonder if I could be classified as a modern feminist just because I am very much for the equality of woman and man. Considering the field in which I am studying is majority male, I am curious as to how it will be when I do finally get my degree and look for job.