Category Archives: Feminism and Law

Postcockism

What is the difference between being pro-male and pro-men’s rights?   Where is the line between “love of the cock” (in Janet Halley’s phrase) and making cocks the standard against which all are measured?   If we take a post-modern, … Continue reading

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WSJ on the Pathology of Equality Projects

The left is obsessed with inequality, according to Professor Arthur Brooks of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Public Administration. Writing for the Wall Street Journal (link here requires registration) on July 19, 2007, Brooks says: The general view among liberals … Continue reading

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Fear And Loathing In the Judicial Clerkship Hiring Process: Avery, Jolls, Posner and Roth, “The New Market for Federal Juicial Law Clerks”

Article with survey data about misbehaving judges here, with an overview of same at the WSJ Law Blog. Here is the abstract: In the past, judges have often hired applicants for judicial clerkships as early as the beginning of the … Continue reading

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Update in Genarlow Wilson Case

Yesterday the Georgia Supreme Court heard an appeal in the case of Genarlow Wilson, previously blogged here, here and here. From the NYTimes: Originally, the Supreme Court declined to expedite the case and was set to hear the appeals in … Continue reading

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What the Federal Bureau of Prisons Doesn’t Trust Us to Interpret

From the New York Times: Experts have often wondered what proportion of men who download explicit sexual images of children also molest them. A new government study of convicted Internet offenders suggests that the number may be startlingly high: 85 … Continue reading

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More on the Income Tax Deductibility of Sex-Change Operations

Professor Katherine Pratt of Loyola Law School – Los Angeles posted to the TaxProf listserv the following analysis of the income tax deductibility of sex change operations, previously blogged here.    She makes an argument for tax deductibility based on … Continue reading

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Income Tax Deductibility of Sex-Change Operations

The Associated Press reports this story, under the headline “Mass. Woman Sues IRS Over Sex-Change Tax Deduction:” After a tormented existence as a father, a husband, a Coast Guardsman and a construction worker, a 57-year-old suburban Boston man underwent a … Continue reading

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UPS and”Marriage”by Any Other Name

Many people:both gay and straight:think that same-sex couples should settle for civil unions or domestic partnerships and shouldn’t bother fighting for marriage.   After all, if you already have all of the rights and obligations of marriage, what’s so important … Continue reading

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Equal Benefits for Same-Sex Partners It appears from an editorial in my hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that faculty at state universities in Pennsylvania will soon be getting access to domestic partner benefits. This is great news, but not as … Continue reading

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Equal Benefits for Same-Sex Partners It appears from an editorial in my hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that faculty at state universities in Pennsylvania will soon be getting access to domestic partner benefits. This is great news, but not as … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Law, LGBT Rights | 5 Comments

Equal Benefits for Same-Sex Partners It appears from an editorial in my hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that faculty at state universities in Pennsylvania will soon be getting access to domestic partner benefits. This is great news, but not as … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Law, LGBT Rights | 5 Comments

Exploring Key Concepts in Feminist Legal Theory: The Family

September 7-8, 2007 – Emory University School of Law To view the original call for papers, click here. This is the final workshop in a five part series co-sponsored by the Centre for Law, Ethics and Society (Keele University) and … Continue reading

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Forced Electroshock as a Feminist Issue

Read Dr. Violet Socks’   account at Reclusive Leftist.

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Update on Genarlow Wilson Case

From the AP: Georgia’s top court said Monday it will move up by three months a hearing for a man serving a 10-year sentence on a child molestation charge for having consensual oral sex with a fellow teenager. The state … Continue reading

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Still Relevant – Frontline’s “American Porn”

Watch it here. Below is an excerpt from a review: … the real success of the program lies in its ability to provide tangible examples of the increasingly closer connection between pornography and community-sanctioned corporations. While not as visually enticing, … Continue reading

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“A former Fresno State volleyball coach was awarded $5.85 million Monday by a jury that ruled the school discriminated against her for speaking up on behalf of female athletes.”

Story here.

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Interview With Catharine MacKinnon

Listen here.

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Express Yourself at Work!

The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly  have approved a  bill that would provide certain protections for women who wish to express breast milk while at work.   The bill is now awaiting Govenor Spitzer’s signature. … Continue reading

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A Third-Wave Feminist Perspective on Mandatory Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases

One question underlying much of my recent research and writing is whether (and how) the law can respond to changes in cultural expresions of feminism.   Many young women  have embraced the “third-wave feminism” label, intending to signal an feminist … Continue reading

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Failed Massachusetts bar applicant sues bar examiners over test question on gay marriage

From the National Law Journal: A Massachusetts bar examination applicant who claims he failed the test because he didn’t answer a question about homosexual marriage and parenting is suing the test administration agency, the state Supreme Judicial Court and four … Continue reading

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Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

It’s good to see Congress acting to reverse one of the (far too many) horrible precedents from the first full year of the Roberts Court. On June 27, the House Education and Labor Committee voted out of committee the Lilly … Continue reading

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Carissa Byrne Hessick “Violence between Lovers, Strangers, and Friends”

The abstract: The conventional wisdom in criminal law is that violence between strangers is a more serious crime than violence between individuals who know one another. When asked about their crime concerns, most people respond that they fear becoming the … Continue reading

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CFP: Woman and Violence

The Institute for Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia is organizing an annual conference on the status and concerns of Women and Girls in Georgia. The theme of the inaugural conference, to be held in Athens October 12-14, 2007, … Continue reading

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Sunstein on Gender Equality & Freedom of Religion

Here is the abstract: When, if ever, is it legitimate for law to ban sex discrimination by religious institutions? It is best to approach this question by noticing that most of the time, ordinary civil and criminal law are legitimately … Continue reading

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Copyright Law and Pornography

Until 1979, copyright protection was effectively unavailable for “obscene” pornography. Then in Mitchell Bros. Film Group v. Cinema Adult Theater, 604 F.2d 852 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 917 (1979) and Jartech, Inc. v. Clancy, 666 F.2d 403 (9th … Continue reading

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Update on Genarlow Wilson Case

From abcnews.com: Genarlow Wilson, whose 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old when he was 17 was voided by a judge earlier this month, is not eligible to be released on bail while the state appeals … Continue reading

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Predicting Supreme Court Justices

I’m doing some research into the 1986 abortion case of Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and read a few comments published soon after the decision that should be a warning to those of us predicting Justices long-term. … Continue reading

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Two Posts Elsewhere To Read Congruently

“Why ‘Hey Baby!’ Is A Big Deal” by Ann Friedman at Feministing, and “Precis of the Day: Vicki Schultz, The Sanitized Workplace” by Belle Lettre at Law and Letters.

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$29,000 Walk Around the City

 A woman arrested two years ago for topless while  walking in New York City has  settled her civil rights case against the city for  $29,000.   The plaintiff, Jill Coccarro, was arrested and held in jail for 12 hours despite … Continue reading

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Stripping Permit?

Democratic NY Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced a bill that would require the Labor Department to develop a “dance performer” permit and registry.   Under the bill, “exotic dancers” would need to apply for employment permits using their real names … Continue reading

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Elizabeth Edwards Comes Out In Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting here  that Elizabeth Edwards has broken with her husband (and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) on the issue of same-sex marriage. The paper reportsher as saying,”I don’t know why somebody else’s marriage has anything … Continue reading

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“A Nebraska judge bans the word rape from his courtroom.”

Read Dahlia Lithwick’s article, “Gag Order” at Slate for the details. Twisty has some related commentary at IBTP. And, see also.

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Scottsboro and Duke

This WJS op-ed analogizes the Duke Lacrosse rape allegations to the “Scottsboro Boys” case in Depression era Alabama. Corey Rayburn Yung has a reaction here, at Sex Crimes.

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Who Needs Anti-Discrimination Laws?

That seems to be the message that opponents are taking away from Maine’s experience with the addition of sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination law 18 months ago. A story in the Portland Press-Herald reports that, since December 28, 2005, the … Continue reading

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Same-Sex Marriage Debate in New York

Yesterday, the New York State Assembly passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a wide margin (i.e., 85-61).   That bill is now expected by all to go off to the New York State Senate to die. Nonetheless, the … Continue reading

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“Fired Wal-Mart pharmacist awarded $2M”

From Yahoo News: A pharmacist who claimed she was fired by Wal-Mart after asking to be paid the same as her male colleagues has won a nearly $2 million award against the retail giant. A Berkshire Superior Court jury concluded … Continue reading

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Brenda V. Smith, “Sexual Abuse of Women in United States Prisons: A Modern Corollary of Slavery”

Here is the abstract: This paper addresses the sexual abuse of women in custody as a more contemporary manifestation of slavery and discusses the congruencies and the differences that exist between the sexual abuse of women in custody and slavery. … Continue reading

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Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, Volume 15, No 3

Here is the TOC: Articles The Parentage Puzzle: The Interplay Between Genetics, Procreative Intent, and Parental Conduct in Determining Legal Parentage Deborah H. Wald, Esq. “Not Quite One Gender or the Other”: Marriage Law and the Containment of Gender Trouble … Continue reading

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Interview With Jill Morrison of the National Women’s Law Center

Read it here, at the Center for New Words.

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Victoria Springer, “Reason, Resources, and Wrongful Life: Using Social Psychological Models of Health and Evolutionary Theory to Assess Behavioral Claims in Wrongful Life Litigation”

Here is the abstract: The central behavioral claim in Wrongful Life actions is that a mother would have chosen to have a therapeutic abortion rather than given birth to a severely impaired child. Wrongful Life actions are brought by or … Continue reading

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Is This Advocacy for Women or Punishment of Black Male Sexuality? Genarlow Wilson’s Case

  Writing for the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, staff writer Maureen Downey expresses outrage here at the appeal taken by the Georgia AG in the case of Genarlow Wilson (pictured above left): A decade or two ago, … Continue reading

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Studies: Having daughters changes men

The USA Today article of this title is available here. Below is an excerpt: … In a study completed last month, a Yale researcher found that male congressmen with daughters are more likely to support women’s issues than those without … Continue reading

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“Victory” in Massachusetts?

In the words of Governor Deval Patrick,”[i]n Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure.”(Click here  for the NY Times story.) The Massachusetts legislature today rejected, by a margin of only five votes, a proposal to place a constitutional amendment … Continue reading

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The New Supreme Court – A Feminist (and Progressive) Nigthmare?

Early indications are that this Court, with Roberts and Alito replacing Rehnquist and O’Connor, is what we have feared for a long time.   It’s obviously still very early, but the first year is not encouraging at all.   Read … Continue reading

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Case To Watch Regarding Online Harassment and Defamation Law

See this WSJ.com article, concerning a suit filed against people involved with AutoAdmit/XOXOHTH, via Brian Leiter. Many of us who blog under our own names will be watching this case with a lot of interest, particularly with respect to harassment … Continue reading

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Loving v. Virginia Was Decided 40 Years Ago Today

More at IntLawGrrls.

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Coke Reversed: Justices uphold regulation precluding home care employees from OT pay

It was unanimous. Ugh. Paul Secunda has an account at Workplace Prof Blog. Previous FLP post about the case here. Update: NYT coverage here. An excerpt: … The Labor Department did not exceed its authority when it excluded home care … Continue reading

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Wrong But Entirely Predictable

From cnet news dot com: Editors’ note: Since this story was published, CNET News.com has reviewed some of the documents relevant to the case. For more information, see “MPAA accuses TorrentSpy of concealing evidence.” A court decision reached last month … Continue reading

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Carys Craig, “Reconstructing the Author-Self: Some Feminist Lessons for Copyright Law”

Here is the abstract: Copyright law currently forces all intellectual production into a doctrinal model shaped by individualistic assumptions about the authorial ideal. To the extent that the truly original author-owner is conceptualized as an individual (and not a function … Continue reading

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Adrien Katherine Wing, “Critical Race Feminism, A Reader”

From the publisher’s webpage: Now in its second edition, the acclaimed anthology Critical Race Feminism presents over 40 readings on the legal status of women of color by leading authors and scholars such as Anita Hill, Lani Guinier, Kathleen Neal … Continue reading

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