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Because I Said So: Toward a Feminist Theory of Authority

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

Abstract

Feminism is an antiauthoritarian movement that has sought to unmask many traditional “authorities” as ungrounded. Given this, it might seem as if feminists are required to abandon the concept of authority altogether. But, we argue, the exercise of authority enables us to coordinate our efforts to achieve larger social goods and, hence, should be preserved. Instead, what is needed and what we provide for here is a way to distinguish legitimate authority from objectionable authoritarianism.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by Hypatia, Inc.

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