Is Culture Taboo?: Feminism, Intersectionality, and Culture Talk in Law

This article explores different theories addressing the tension, both real and perceived, of cultural claims and gender equality in the legal system. The author presents two opposing theories, Universalist and Post-Colonial, the former relying on an Enlightenment influenced cultural ranking, and the latter using a nuanced post-colonial approach to culture as a basis for analysis. Although divergent in approach, the author finds that the two theories reach the same conclusion with respect to gender: cultural equality and gender equality are diametrically opposed. The author presents a third option, arguing for a differentiated recognition of cultural claims for only those that do not marginalize internally disadvantaged groups, and describes criteria on how to identify such claims. [Descriptors: Race and Gender, International]