This book argues for a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the language of judges with respect to the issue of gender discrimination. Drawing its inspiration from Dell Hymes' socially constituted linguistics, the author examines the language of the judicial opinions of four U.S. Supreme Court cases addressing social and legal discrimination against women. Through a linguistic analysis that is informed by a Foucauldian and feminist perspective, this book addresses the complex issues of the power of judges and ideologies, the politics of language use, and feminist contributions to the subject of discrimination and women's rights. This book is most suitable for researchers and students in cultural studies, ethnography, feminist legal studies, forensic linguistics, gender studies, ideology research, pragmatics, semiotics, and social studies.

Prof Joel Sherzer, UT-Austin:
This book brings together many issues that are situated at the crossroads of discourse, gender discrimination, law, and ideology. Working from the perspective of discourse analysis and gender studies, this work argues for and demonstrates the importance of multidisciplinarity in contemporary scholarship when addressing issues as complex as women’s rights, judicial discourse and power.