Ann Genovese

Feminist Jurisography: Woman's Estate, Australia, 1970

Introduction

Feminist jurisography: woman's estate, australia, 1970. Explore Feminist Jurisography, an experimental practice examining feminist traditions and their inheritance. Focuses on the 1970s Women's Liberation Movement in Australia and the feminist intellectual persona, analyzing Juliet Mitchell's Woman's Estate.

Abstract

This essay offers some observations on jurisography, an experimental practice named by the author. It draws from Feminist Jurisography: Law, History, Writing (2022) to make an argument about feminist traditions, and how they are inherited. The essay argues that feminist traditions – feminist foundations – are not necessarily forgotten, although they may not always be explicitly acknowledged. It begins with a provocation made by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex (1949):  that to respond adequately to one’s situation in time and place as woman requires self-creation of a persona and methodological transformation of disciplinary writing.  It then examines how that provocation was adapted in the 1970s by writers in the Women’s Liberation Movement; and describes how popular books, written on the periphery of institutional life, introduced a new public persona: the feminist intellectual. Through a reading of Juliet Mitchell’s Woman’s Estate (1971) and its reception in Australia, the essay argues that  regardless of whether one separates from or aligns with a textual inheritance, understanding  the methodological innovations of feminist antecedents for projects in the here and now is a political act of acknowledgment.

Review

This essay introduces and elaborates on the concept of "Feminist Jurisography," an experimental practice aiming to illuminate how feminist traditions are inherited and sustained, even when not explicitly acknowledged. Drawing from the author's prior work, the paper articulates a compelling argument that feminist foundations persist and influence contemporary thought, challenging the notion of historical amnesia. The central thesis — that understanding the methodological innovations of feminist antecedents is a crucial political act of acknowledgment — resonates as a significant contribution to feminist theory and intellectual history, offering a robust framework for re-evaluating the lineage of feminist thought. The conceptualization of "jurisography" as a tool for tracing these often-subtle inheritances is both original and timely. The essay develops its argument through a focused intellectual genealogy, commencing with Simone de Beauvoir’s foundational provocation regarding self-creation and methodological transformation for women responding to their specific temporal and spatial circumstances. It then deftly traces how this provocation was adapted and enacted within the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s, particularly through the emergence of popular books that fostered a new public persona: the feminist intellectual. The specific examination of Juliet Mitchell’s *Woman’s Estate* and its reception within Australia provides a concrete and insightful case study, demonstrating how theoretical texts are engaged with, adapted, and contribute to a broader intellectual current, regardless of alignment or separation from the original text. This approach effectively bridges high theory with socio-intellectual history. Overall, this essay offers a valuable intervention into discussions concerning feminist intellectual history and the politics of knowledge production. Its strength lies in its ability to articulate a nuanced understanding of intellectual inheritance, emphasizing the active and political nature of acknowledging one’s theoretical predecessors. By highlighting the methodological innovations of past feminist thinkers, the paper encourages contemporary scholars to critically engage with their own foundations. This work is highly recommended for its theoretical originality, rigorous historical analysis, and its capacity to stimulate essential conversations about the ongoing vitality and evolution of feminist thought.

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