The Search for Authenticity and the Manipulation of Tradition: Restrictions on Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States and Egypt

Authors

Sarah M. Stephens, University of Georgia School of Law

Abstract

The article argues that restrictions on women's reproductive rights in both the U.S. and Egypt are rooted in the use of authenticity and cultural essentialism to maintain patriarchal control. These restrictions, though justified through differing cultural and legal frameworks, reflect a common goal of silencing women and preserving traditional social hierarchies. The analysis highlights how law and politics are employed as tools to construct cultural otherness, furthering political agendas at the expense of women's reproductive autonomy and dignity.

Disciplines

Jurisprudence | Law | Law and Gender | Law and Politics

Recommended Citation

Sarah M. Stephens, The Search for Authenticity and the Manipulation of Tradition: Restrictions on Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States and Egypt, 19 Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just. 325 (2013).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol19/iss2/2