Title
Commentary on In re Will of Moses, 227 So.2d 829 (Miss. 1969)
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
9-2020
Publication Title
Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Trusts and Estates Opinions
Abstract
In formulating a feminist judgment that would have allowed Moses and future testators outside of the societal mainstream their agency, Belian weaves together teachings from each of feminism’s three dominant waves. She recalls that the right of women to hold and convey property pushed against the prevailing notion that women had no economic interests or agency of their own and were subordinate to their husbands in all such matters. She identifies and rejects the sex stereotyping that would recast Moses as one easily swayed and in need of paternalistic oversight, and she calls out the forces that would punish Moses for not playing her culturally expected feminine role in life. Finally, by acknowledging the intersectionality at play in Moses’ experience, Belian draws from the third wave of feminist activism and theory, recognizing that multiple identities may constitute one’s individual experience of living in society as a woman. Her opinion, had it been published in 1969 Mississippi, likely would have caused a stir in judicial circles seemingly insulated from the rising tide of the women’s rights movement. Or it might have stirred a revolution, moving toward a less subjective jurisprudence of undue influence, to the considerable benefit of the many “others” to follow.
ISBN
9781108816953
Repository Citation
May, Claire C. Robinson, "Commentary on In re Will of Moses, 227 So.2d 829 (Miss. 1969)" (2020). Law Faculty Contributions to Books. 276.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/fac_book_contributions/276
Comments
Also contains commentary by Justice Julia Belian, Delivering the Opinion of the Court