Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values [Paperback]

Although formal barriers to womens social and political participation have crumbled, society remains, to a significant degree, gendered in the roles that women and men play. Womens and mens choices regarding work and family are largely responsible for maintaining and reinforcing the differences. While feminists recognize the need to criticize womens 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 perfectionisma philosopy concerned with human flourishingis 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 womens lives and improve the social standing of women as a whole.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

1. Introduction

Part I: Feminism and Perfectionism
2. Three Hard Choices
3. An Introduction to Perfectionism

Part II: The Inadequacy of Nonperfectionist Choice Critiques
4. Coercion Critiques
5. Socialization Critiques
6. Equality Arguments
7. Vulnerability?Based Choice Critiques

Part III: Toward a Pragmatic Feminist Perfectionism
8. Four Perfectionist Principles

Conclusion

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.