Instrumentalisation of Freedom of Expression in Postmodern Legal Discourses

Abstract

This paper rationalizes in the transatlantic perspective the instrumentalisation strategies of the right to free speech in postmodern legal discourses, stemming from the recent twenty years of American critical studies (rethinking Marxism, liberalism, nationalism, and post-structuralism). Race, gender, and sexual orientation are, consequently, the deconstructionist markers of the three legal movements discussed, namely: (1) critical race theory, (2) feminist jurisprudence, and (3) LGBT legal discourse. The respective scholars ruin a comfortable myth of the law-neutrality and deconstruct the oppressive nature of legal settings. They challenge the value of pure l'expression pour l'expression and balance freedom of expression against the yardsticks of non-discrimination, providing an account of the victim-stories, usually disregarded and silenced in the traditional juridical discourses.