Some Postmodernist Challenges to Feminist Analyses of Law, Family and State: Ideology and Discourse in Child Custody Law

The author raises questions about how postmodernist work relates to her analysis of child custody law, which has been informed by socialist feminist theories of law, state and family. She has explored how ideologies such as the ideology of motherhood and the liberal ideology of equality have, at different historical moments, operated separately and in combination to reinforce women's oppression. In particular, insight has been gained concerning the ways in which women's primary care-giving labour continues to be undervalued. Postmodernist work questions the explanatory power of concepts such as "capitalism" and "the family" and displaces the concept of "ideology" by "discourse." The author argues that feminist work on the family can still benefit from an analysis drawing on theories of ideology which have responded to criticisms of Marxist theory. Some insights of postmodernism are of crucial importance, and may assist in overcoming some limitations of theories of ideology. Researchers should not, however, dismiss entirely the utility of more universalistic concepts such as gender, class or race. An appreciation of the ways ii which dominant ideological frameworks can diminish the effectiveness of discourses of resistance requires an understanding of the place of law in the liberal state.