Routledge Revivals Women-in-Law First published in 1985, Women-in-Law is a collection of essays examining the complex interactions of law, sexuality, and the family. It explores the ways in which legal ideology and practice affect women and looks at issues such as child custody, domestic violence, and prostitution in the light of new research. The contributors review the history of feminist involvement with the law and analyse the law’s fundamental failure to improve the status of women. They also assess strategies for change in view of the current backlash against women’s rights and the traditional role of law in the subjugation of women. This book will be of interest to students of law, political science, sociology, gender studies, and sexuality studies. Women-in-Law Explorations in Law, Family, and Sexuality Edited by Julia Brophy and Carol Smart Firstpublishedin1985 ByRoutledge&KeganPaul Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2022byRoutledge 4ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN andbyRoutledge 605ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness Chapter 1, selection and editorial material © Carol Smart and Julia Brophy 1985; Chapter3©CarolSmart1985;Chapter5©JuliaBrophy1985;allothermaterial© Routledge&KeganPaul1985 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedin any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Publisher’sNote Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbutpoints outthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact. ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderISBN:0710202598 ISBN:978-1-032-35900-7(hbk) ISBN:978-1-003-32928-2(ebk) ISBN:978-1-032-35906-9(pbk) BookDOI10.4324/9781003329282 WOMEIM-IN-LAW Explorations in law, family and sexuality edited by Julia Brophy and Carol Smart Routledge & Kegan Paul London, Boston, Melbourne and Henley First published in 1985 by Routledge & Kegan Paul pic 14 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7PH, England 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, £/&4 464 Si Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia and Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley on Thames, Oxon RG9 1EN, England Set in Linotron Times, 10/12pt by Input Typesetting Ltd, London and printed in Great Britain by T. J. Press (Padstow) Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Chapter 1, selection and editorial material © Carol Smart and Julia Brophy 1985; Chapter 3 © Carol Smart 1985; Chapter 5 © Julia Brophy 1985; all other material © Routledge & Kegan Paul 1985 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Women-in-law. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Women—Legal status, laws, etc.—Great Britain— Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Brophy, Julia. II. Smart, Carol. KD734.A75W65 1985 346.410V34 84-22846 British Library CIP data also available ISBN 0-7102-0259-8 344.106134 Even the disabilities, which the wife lies under, are for the most part intended for her protection and benefit. So great a favourite is the female sex of the laws of England. Blackstone’s Commentaries