Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values

by Yuracko, Kimberly A.

• ISBN13: 9780253215802
• ISBN10: 0253215803
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Although formal barriers to women's social and political participation have crumbled, society remains, to a significant degree, gendered in the roles that women and men play. Women's and men's choices regarding work and family are largely responsible for maintaining and reinforcing the differences. While feminists recognize the need to criticize women's choices, too often they focus on restrictive conditions rather than the choices themselves. Kimberly A. Yuracko argues instead that encouraging women to make choices in accordance with a grounded and well-defined conception of perfectionism -- a philosopy concerned with human flourishing -- is the most effective way to redress persistent gender inequality. To this end, Yuracko seeks not only to expose the perfectionism underlying current choice critiques, but to articulate a concrete set of feminist perfectionist principles that would improve the quality of individual women's lives and improve the social standing of women as a whole.

Author Biography

Kimberly A. Yuracko received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University and her J.D. from Stanford Law School. She has written several articles on feminist political theory, antidiscrimination law, and gender equity in college athletics. She is currently Assistant Professor of Law at Northwestern Law School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
Feminism and Perfectionism
Three Hard Choiccs	p. 11
An Introduction to Perfectionism	p. 27
The Inadequacy Of Nonperfectionist Choice Critiques
Coercion Critiques	p. 51
Socialization Critiques	p. 76
Equality Arguments	p. 88
Vulnerability-Based Choice Critiques	p. 103
Toward A Pragmatic Feminist Perfectionism
Four Perfectionist Principles	p. 111
Conclusion	p. 129
Notes	p. 137
Index	p. 165
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