The Second Coming of Care

In this Commentary on White's article, Abrams examines the differences between two incarnations of the feminist conversation about care: an early version, that viewed care as a characteristic of, or emanation from, women; and a more contemporary version, that focuses on caregiving as an often undervalued social practice, central to the lives of many women but also performed by others. Abrams examines the ways in which White's article forms a bridge between these two moments, and also offers a new conception of law's relation to caregiving and other feminist goals: a view of law as enabling, rather than producing those social arrangements that are part of progressive change.