Reassessing the feminist theoretical project in law

This article seeks to address the current state of theoretical debate withi n feminist legal studies in the United Kingdom and beyond. It is part map, part critique of dominant theoretical trends - an attempt to identify and e xplore a range of questions about feminist scholarly engagement in law incl uding the relationship between academic feminism and political activism, th e distinction (if any) between 'feminist' analyses and broader engagements with law and gender, and the normative underpinnings of feminist legal scho larship. The author makes no pretence to neutrality on these issues, questi oning the perceived 'drift' between political and academic feminism, and ar guing strongly for the recognition and realization of feminism's normative and transformative aspirations. Similarly, she challenges the emergence of an 'anti-essentialist' norm in feminist discourse, and reaffirms the value of 'women-centred' feminist approaches. Finally, this article is also a per sonal venture, a 'stock-taking' exercise which seeks to interrogate the aut hor's own understanding of what feminist legal work entails.