Feminist Regulatory Relationships with 'the Usefulness' of the Law and Sex

活动家、研究人员和政策界正在讨论哪些法律的制度能够限制甚至废除与性行为类型相关的伤害。这一点在当代规范性工作者、其客户和国家行为者之间互动的法律的努力中尤为明显。尽管这些讨论的广泛和经常有争议的性质，相对有限的注意力已经支付给如何“法律”成为最重要的反应性行为的问题，或者是否这种固定已阻止其他类型的政治organising.My博士研究调查如何法律来举行这样一个关键的位置作为一个“有用的工具”当代女权主义者的反应性行为的问题。女权主义者的反应是特别迷人的研究，因为在其他时间点，它的许多支持者和倡导者对待法律深表怀疑，甚至拒绝了它可能有助于实现女权主义目标的想法。我的博士研究表明，法律如何在女权主义活动家思想中变得有用的故事不仅是一个有趣的，往往被遗忘的历史，但也提供了法律在塑造当代活动家的决定中所扮演的角色的见解。我的研究揭示了对法律有用性的态度如何影响谁应该在女权主义组织中进行复印，活动家应该如何相互交谈，以及当警察引入宵禁等措施时，到底是什么错了。它还表明，法律与女权主义者身份的确立、与"做女权主义"相关的活动以及对女权主义者应努力实现的目标的理解密切相关。这个项目的总体目标是在这些研究成果的基础上，创造对话，鼓励对法律的权力有细微的理解。它希望扩大非学术观众对法律的“有用性”及其影响的看法，超越法庭和警察突袭的想象。该项目将鼓励其受益者参与对我们如何处理法律的后果进行战略思考。这些对话可能对维权组织、学者和政策制定者的工作产生很大影响。它提供了一个新的机会，认识到我们对法律的态度是如何塑造我们的活动，身份和共同生活的方式。

There are ongoing discussions in activist, research, and policy circles about which legal regimes are able to limit or even abolish harms perceived to be associated with types of sexual conduct. This is particularly noticeable in contemporary legal efforts to regulate interactions between sex workers, their clients, and state actors. Despite the widespread and often contentious nature of these discussions, relatively limited attention has been paid to how 'the law' became the paramount response to problems of sexual conduct or whether this fixation has prevented other types of political organising.My doctoral research investigated how the law came to hold such a critical position as a 'useful tool' for contemporary feminist responses to problems of sexual conduct. Feminist responses are particularly fascinating to study because at other points of time many of its supporters and advocates treated the law with deep suspicion and were even repulsed by the idea it might be useful for achieving feminist objectives. My doctoral research revealed that the story of how the law became useful in feminist activist thinking is not only an interesting and often forgotten history, but also provides insights into the role law plays in shaping contemporary activist decisions. My research revealed how attitudes towards the usefulness of law impact who should do the photocopying at a feminist organisation, how activists should speak to one another, and what exactly is wrong when police introduce measures such as curfews. It also demonstrated that the law is intimately linked to how feminist identities are established, what activities become associated with 'doing feminism', and understandings of what objectives feminists should strive to achieve.Through the production of academic publications, accessible materials, and workshops with stakeholders, this project's overall objective is to build on these research findings to create conversations that encourage nuanced understandings of legal power. It hopes to expand non-academic audiences' perceptions of the 'usefulness' of law and its affects, moving beyond imaginations from court rooms and police raids. The project will encourage its beneficiaries to participate in strategic thinking about the consequences of what we do with the law. These conversations are potentially highly impactful on the work of activist organisations, academics and policy makers. It provides a new opportunity to recognise how our attitudes towards the law as useful shape our activities, identities and ways of living together.