Confronting the Myth of 'I Think Really He Was Always Hers': A Gynocritical Analysis of Relinquishment Laws in the United States

Abstract

This paper applies Elaine Showalter's theory of Gynocritics to laws governing how and when birth mothers may consent to the adoption of their children. Elaine Showalter is a leading feminist literary critic. She coined the term Gynocritics to describe literary criticism that emanates from a uniquely female perspective. In her groundbreaking essay, Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness, Showalter argued that Gynocritics could enable us to learn something solid, enduring, and real about the relation of women to literary culture.This paper argues that the Gynocritical project can be applied not only to literature, but also to the law. Specifically, Gynocritics may provide a useful tool for evaluating laws that primarily affect women - laws which are written from a male or otherwise empowered point of view, and which often victimize the women they should protect. The paper applies Gynocritics to relinquishment laws by way of example. It argues that, currently, such relinquishment laws reflect a patriarchal view of adoption - one that ensconces adoptive parents in a position of power relative to birth mothers. It then demonstrates how, by applying Showalter's theory of Gynocritics, the legal community can and should engage in a feminist re-writing of these statutes.