The Politics of Paradox: A Response to Wendy Brown

What role should rights play in feminist efforts to end sexual oppression? The quest for legal rights has been central to feminist political movements in the U.S., as in other countries. It has also been controversial, because it is not clear that the language of rights is adequate to feminist objectives, or how far legal rights improve the lives of women. As Wendy Brown suggests, scepticism about rights is especially appropriate in light of the undesirable, unintended, but seemingly inescapable, consequences of feminist efforts either to use liberal rights on behalf of women, or to embody feminist criticisms of liberalism in rights. Still...is that all there is to the story?