Revisiting Susan Moller Okin’s Justice, Gender, and the Family (1989): Intersectionality, Social Ethos, and Critical Praxis of Gender Justice

Abstract

: In her influential work Justice, Gender, and the Family (1989), the late feminist and political philosopher Susan Moller Okin writes that “a just future would be one without gender.” She argues that the society’s veering away from gender renders the family a practical avenue where a sense of egalitarian-humanist justice can be developed. This article revisits her work and appraises the viability of her thesis in the context of women’s diverse experiences in underserved societies. By employing the concept of intersectionality, the article reflects on how Okin’s argument could be rethought to account for the substantively layered and distinct experiences of women in marginalized communities, and how achieving gender justice should go beyond dismantling gender roles within the family. This can be done by fostering an ethos of gender justice that guides members of the society into thinking about the intersections, complexities, and dynamic processes of individual experiences, and adopting a critical gender praxis to apply meaningful ideas for the creation of viable and holistic strategies in fully addressing gender inequalities.