Catharine MacKinnon
Also recorded as Catharine Alice MacKinnon · Catherine A. MacKinnon
Catharine MacKinnon
File:MacKinnon.8May.CambridgeMA.png · Public domain
- Born
- 1946 · Minneapolis.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- lawyer · writer · jurist · university teacher · feminist
- Fields
- political science · gender studies · gender equality · genocide studies
- Education
- Smith College · Yale Law School · Yale University
- Teachers
- Robert A. Dahl
- Known for
- Feminism Unmodified · Toward a Feminist Theory of the State · Only Words
- Honours
- Wilbur Cross Medal · The Smith College Medal · Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
- Languages
- English
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Catharine MacKinnon. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q528159
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Catharine MacKinnon studied at Smith College, Yale Law School and Yale University. Training under Robert A. Dahl is recorded. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is political science, gender studies and gender equality. Andrea Dworkin and Martha Nussbaum are recorded as an influence. Employment is recorded with Harvard University, University of Michigan and University of Michigan Law School. Works named in the authority record are Feminism Unmodified, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State and Only Words. Distinctions recorded are Wilbur Cross Medal, The Smith College Medal and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
Documentary record
Catharine MacKinnon (born 7 October 1946) is recorded as a jurist and feminist. The birth of Catharine MacKinnon is recorded on 7 October 1946 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Catharine MacKinnon speaking at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA. 8 May, 2006.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1946–2024
The full dated record · 6 entries
1946
Born at Minneapolis.
1982
Recorded as employer: University of Minnesota.
1988
Recorded as employer: York University.
1991
Receives The Smith College Medal.
1995
Receives Wilbur Cross Medal.
2024
Receives Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
Catalogued output
Works
These are texts written by the subject, distinct both from writings about the subject and from printed editions of other people's work. 4 works carry dates between 1987 and 2006. The run opens with Feminism Unmodified and closes with Are Women Human? The 1980s are the densest part of the run, with 2 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
Documentary record
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek records Ann Arbor, Michigan. as a place of activity.
Feminism Unmodified
1987
Toward a Feminist Theory of the State
1989
Only Words
1993
Are Women Human?
2006
Where the work is held
Honours and awards
They run from 1991 to 2024.
3 honours stand against the name
The Smith College Medal
1991
Wilbur Cross Medal
1995
Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
2024
Literature
Further cited scholarship
14 scholarly and reference publications are cited here, each one identified by title and by the publication, publisher or institution that carried it, with its year where the register states one. The cited literature runs from 1989 to 2023, which is a measure of how long MacKinnon has been a subject of scholarship rather than of how much has been written. Catharine MacKinnon, Feminism, and Continental Philosophy: Comments on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State—Twenty-Five Years Later, Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, 2017.
Only Words, by Catharine MacKinnon, London Review of Books (1994), Essays and Reviews, 2014
Catharine MacKinnon and Questions of Feminist Strategy, Feminist Legal Studies, 2008
Idols and icons: Catharine MacKinnon and freedom of expression in North America, Feminist Legal Studies, 1998
From Theory to Practice: Catharine MacKinnon, Pornography, and Canadian Law, Modern Language Studies, 1997
Discourses on Life and Law
Catharine MacKinnon, American Journal of Sociology, 1989
Authority records
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Harvard Law School. Catharine A. MacKinnon.
- 2.University of Michigan Law School. MacKinnon, Catharine A.
- 3.Bellafante, Gillia. Before #MeToo, There Was Catharine A. MacKinnon and Her Book 'Sexual Harassment of Working Women'. The New York Times. March 19, 2018.
- 4.Biography.com. Catharine A. MacKinnon biography.
- 5.Smith, Dinitia. Love is Strange. New York Magazine. 43. March 22, 1993.
- 6.University of Michigan faculty biography; accessed September 7, 2026
- 7.Catharine MacKinnon. Harvard Law School.
- 8.Highly Cited Research 2011 - Name: "M". Thomson Reuters Research Analytics. 2012-01-01.
- 9.Stanford University. Toward a Humanist Justice: A Conference Honoring and Examining the Work of Susan Moller Okin: Speakers.
- 10.McGrath, Charles (February 9, 2005). "Academic look at 'Deep Throat'", The New York Times.
- 11.Profile, The New York Times. Accessed February 10, 2015.
- 12.Brown, Tina (February 10, 2005). "'Deep Throat': When Naughty Was Nice", The Washington Post.
- 13."Is It Wrong To Pay For Sex?", npr.org, April 29, 2009; accessed February 10, 2015.
- 14.MacKinnon, Catharine A. (2000). "Points Against Postmodernism", 75, Chi.-Kent L. Rev., pp. 687–688.
- 15.Alexander v. Yale Univ., 631 F.2d 178, 181 n.1 (2d Cir. 1980).
- 16.Catharine A. MacKinnon, "The Logic of Experience: Reflections on the Development of Sexual Harassment Law", 90 Geo. L.J. 813, 824 (2002).
- 17.MacKinnon, Catharine. Sexual Harassment of Working Women: A Case of Sex Discrimination. Yale University Press. 1. 1979. 9780300022995.
- 18.Mackinnon, Catharine. Toward A Feminist Theory of The State. Harvard. 1989. 0674896467.
- 19.Miller, Dan J. Pornography use and sexism among heterosexual men. Communication Research Reports. 37. 3. 110–121. 2020-05-26. 0882-4096.
- 20.Kohut, Taylor. Is Pornography Really about "Making Hate to Women"? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample. Journal of Sex Research. 53. 1. 1–11. 2016. 1559-8519.
- 21.Does Pornography Promote Sexism? Psychology Today. www.psychologytoday.com.
- 22.Wiley. The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. 2015-04-10. 978-1-4051-9006-0.
- 23.Brownmiller, Susan. In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution. Dial Press. 337. 1999. 9780385314862.
- 24.Catharine A. MacKinnon, "Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech", 20 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 1 (1985). As support for the existence of snuff films, MacKinnon wrote in footnote 61, "In the movies known as snuff films, victims sometimes are actually murdered."' 130 Cong. Rec. S13192 (daily ed. October 3, 1984; statement of Senator Arlen Specter introducing the Pornography Victims Protection Act). See People v. Douglas, Felony Complaint No. NF 8300382 (Municipal Court, Orange County, Cal. August 5, 1983); "'Slain Teens Needed Jobs, Tried Porn"' and "Two Accused of Murder in 'Snuff' Films", Oakland Tribune, August 6, 1983 (on file with Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review); L. Smith, The Chicken Hawks (1975)(unpublished manuscript; on file with Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review).
- 25.Dworkin, Ronald. "Women and Pornography", New York Review of Books 40, no. 17 (October 21, 1993): 299. "no reputable study has concluded that pornography is a significant cause of sexual crime: many of them conclude, on the contrary, that the causes of violent personality lie mainly in childhood"
- 26.Waltman, Max. Rethinking Democracy: Legal Challenges to Pornography and Sex Inequality in Canada and the United States. Political Research Quarterly. 63. 218–237. March 2010. 10.1177/1065912909349627.
- 27.Williams, Cristan. Sex, Gender, and Sexuality: The TransAdvocate interviews Catharine A. MacKinnon. The TransAdvocate. 7 April 2015.
- 28.Catharine A. MacKinnon. Exploring Transgender Law and Politics. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. November 28, 2022.
- 29.A Feminist Defense of Transgender Sex Equality Rights. Yale Journal of Law & Feminism. 2023.
- 30.Margulis, Zachary. Canada's Thought Police. Wired. Electronic Frontier Canada. 1995.
- 31.Canadian Customs and Legal Approaches to Pornography.
- 32.Benedet, Janine. THE PAPER TIGRESS: CANADIAN OBSCENITY LAW 20 YEARS AFTER R V BUTLER. The Canadian Bar Review. 91. 1. 2. 2015.
- 33.Abstract Principle v. Contextual Conceptions of Harm: A Comment on R. v. Butler. McGill Law Journal.
- 34.Davies, Cristyn. Cultural Studies of Law. Routledge. 118, 126–128. 2015. 978-1-317-69727-5.
- 35.Wilson, Steven Harmon. The U.S. Justice System: Law and constitution in early America. ABC-CLIO. 605–606. 2012. 978-1-59884-304-0.
- 36.Waltman, Max. Prohibiting Sex Purchasing and Ending Trafficking: The Swedish Prostitution Law. Michigan Journal of International Law. 33. 1. 137–138. 1 October 2011. 1052-2867.
- 37.Nordic Model. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia.
- 38.Science, London School of Economics and Political. Policy-makers must not look to the "Nordic model" for sex trade legislation. London School of Economics and Political Science. 2022-12-09.
- 39.Admin. The Nordic Model of Prostitution Legislation: Health, Violence and Spillover Effects • FREE NETWORK. FREE NETWORK. 2019-04-21.
- 40.Nordic Model in Northern Ireland a total failure: no decrease in sex work, but increases in violence and stigma. SWARM Collective. 2019-09-20.
- 41.admin. Analysis. Brothel Keepers.
- 42.Prostitution Reform Bill 2002 (66-2) (select committee report) (N.Z.).
- 43.New Zealand Parliament. Prostitution Reform Bill — Second Reading. New Zealand Parliament Pāremata Aotearoa.
- 44.Q&A: Policy to protect the human rights of sex workers. Amnesty International. 31 May 2016.
- 45.The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. gaatw.org. 16 December 2013.
- 46.Fred R. Shapiro, "The Most-Cited Law Review Articles Revisited," 71 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 751 (1996)
- 47.Carole Vance. "More Pleasure, More Danger: A Decade after the Barnard Sexuality Conference", Pleasure and Danger: Towards a Politics of Sexuality (Carole Vance, ed., 1984).
- 48.Brown, Wendy. States of Injury book description. Princeton University Press. 23 July 1995. 9780691029894.
- 49.Brown, Wendy. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. The Nation. 250. 2. January 9, 1990.
- 50.Butler, Judith. Against Proper Objects. Differences. 6. 2–3. 1–26. 1994-07-01. 1040-7391.
- 51.Smith, Dinitia. Love is Strange. New York Magazine. 36–43. March 22, 1993.
- 52.Smith College Awards and Medals. www.smith.edu.
- 53.Haverford College - Recipients of honorary degrees.
- 54.Wilbur Cross Medalists by Year Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. gsas.yale.edu.
- 55.Law School Hosts Symposium on Sexual Harassment Yale News. news.yale.edu. 1998-02-19.
- 56.Catharine Alice MacKinnon American Academy of Arts and Sciences. www.amacad.org. 2025-12-12.
- 57.Fellows Awards: Outstanding Scholar Award. ABF.
- 58.WALS Pioneer of Justice and Equality Award. Pace University New York.
- 59.Staff, Harvard Law News. MacKinnon receives Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award from AALS. Harvard Law School.
- 60.nomassuperuser. Alice Paul Awards For Women Who Have Worked To Confront Men's Violence Against Women. National Organization for Men Against Sexism. 2017-03-26.
- 61.Yale Law School. Award of Merit. Alumni Weekend.
- 62.2022 Henry M. Phillips Prize. www.amphilsoc.org.
- 63.MacKinnon Receives British Academy International Fellowship University of Michigan Law School. michigan.law.umich.edu. 2024-07-23.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- University of Chicago Law School. Catharine MacKinnon, 'Trafficking, Prostitution, and Inequality'. 14 November 2011.
- Waltman, Max. Appraising the Impact of Toward a Feminist Theory of the State: Consciousness-Raising, Hierarchy Theory, and Substantive Equality Laws. Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice. Social Science Research Network. 35. 2. 28 June 2017.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Catharina QuestiersAuthor
- Catharina Regina von GreiffenbergAuthor
- Catharine H. WatermanAuthor
- Catharine MacaulayAuthor
- Catharine Parr TraillAuthor
- Catharine SedgwickAuthor
- Catharine StolbergAuthor
- Catharine TrotterAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Catharine MacKinnon?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.