As a criminal defense attorney, I find popular conceptions of the law a bit frustrating. Many imagine a universe based entirely on logic and reason and insulated from emotion and bias (despite human conflict being at the heart of all legal disputes). Thankfully, books like The New Jim Crow and documentaries like 13th have begun to shed light on the widespread racial injustices in our legal system, but fewer have recognized the patriarchal underpinnings upon which the law rests.
In law school, we are taught that an idea only has value if it comes from a court of law. Then we spend three years reading cases in which women are denied access to rights. (See, e.g., Minor v. Happersett (1875), upholding a Missouri law against female suffrage; Goesaert v. Cleary (1948), upholding a Michigan law prohibiting women from bartending; Geduldig v. Aiello (1974), sustaining a California disability insurance program excluding normal pregnancy.) We are all tested on a case, which has since been overruled but floats into my mind regularly, deeming women “unfit” to practice law due to the “natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex” (Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)).
While the law has made strides since Bradwell, harmful female stereotypes continue to infiltrate the courtroom. A more recent example is how sex…
