Category Archives: Feminism and Law

Women generally have better credit scores than men, but pay considerably more for mortgages than men

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) reports: Women are more likely to receive subprime home mortgage than men and these higher rates of subprime lending make it harder for households headed by women to build wealth through homeownership. In 2005, … Continue reading

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On Jailing Philanderers

A Yahoo News article entitled “Cheat on your spouse in Michigan and spend life in prison?” reports: Philanderers beware: spouses caught cheating in Michigan could end up spending the rest of their life in prison. And not the emotional kind. … Continue reading

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Ellen Goodman, “Roadblock to abortion compromise”

Here is an excerpt from Goodman’s recent column: It’s not an accident that one of the first bills in the Senate with a new Democratic majority was the Prevention First Act, a wide-ranging family-planning initiative. Rep. Louise Slaughter will follow … Continue reading

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A Rape Story

The Miami Herald posted a story about a man accused of raping and torturing his wife to make porn video. Another account, from CNN, is here. It reports: A man kidnapped his wife, raped and tortured her and then hung … Continue reading

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Meredith Render, “The Man, the State and You: The Role of the State in Regulating Gender Hierarchies”

The abstract: This paper begins with the thesis that an andocentric-assimilation model of women’s liberation both has affected workplace outcomes for women and has desensitized us to those outcomes. The paper then applies that thesis to understandings of “equality” within … Continue reading

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Interview with Martha Nussbaum in Eurozine

Available here. Below is an excerpt: SV: And one final question about feminism, a more philosophical question. I have always felt that you have a critical attitude towards the more extreme feminist views. I think of people like Andrea Dworkin … Continue reading

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The Legality of Wiki Linking In Dispute

On 12.21.06 the NYT reported: For at least a year, Eli Lilly provided information to doctors about the blood-sugar risks of its drug Zyprexa that did not match data that the company circulated internally when it first reviewed its clinical … Continue reading

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Cheerleaders

An article entitled “Equal Cheers for Boys and Girls Draw Some Boos” in today’s NYT reports: Thirty girls signed up for the cheerleading squad this winter at Whitney Point High School in upstate New York. But upon learning they would … Continue reading

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Amicus Brief in Support of a Grant of Certiorari in the Tamoxifen Citrate Case

There are serious public health consequences related to the Tamoxifen Citrate case (Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation, 429 F.3d 370 (2d Cir. 2005)), particularly for women’s health. The maneuvering to keep the Zeneca monopoly deprived women of generic competition for nearly … Continue reading

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Bar’s “Ladies Night” Challenged Under Civil Rights Laws in Colorado

According to this article: It may be a last call for Ladies Night. A state civil rights agency is reportedly backing a man’s claims that he was discrimated against at a Denver night club hosting a “Ladies Night.” Ladies Night … Continue reading

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“Virtual Women – Emerging Issues in Gender and Intellectual Property Law”

Thomas Jefferson School of Law announces its Seventh Annual Women and the Law Conference,  Virtual Women – Emerging Issues in Gender and Intellectual Property Law, to be held at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, on Friday, … Continue reading

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Revisions

Here is the text of a post from the blog “Life, Law and Gender” that was entitled: “A tremendous honor”: In a completely unexpected email, Catharine MacKinnon just asked me if I would consider working for her for a few … Continue reading

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New DOJ Statistics Re: Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S.

Available here. Via Feministing.

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The FTC v. “Word of Mouth” Astroturfers

According to this WaPo article: The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships. In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer … Continue reading

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Want to Appear Before a Judge Who Calls You A Femifascist?

Me neither. Robert H. Dierker Jr. is a circuit judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit of Missouri who authored a book called: The Tyranny of Tolerance. According to Random House, Dierker “shows how the courts enable left-wing activists to ram … Continue reading

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Why Now?

As this NYT article discussed back in August, Internet sites featuring fully clothed children in erotic poses are currently the focus of legal actors. That article observed: While many of the recently created sites are veering into new territory, the … Continue reading

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Not A Child

The Babcock Center describes itself as: …a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1970, serving men and women with mental retardation, autism, head and spinal cord injury and related lifelong disabilities. We believe that all persons have the right to choose … Continue reading

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Carol Sanger, “Seasoned to the Use”

Here is the abstract: In this essay I argue that through the powerful coincidence of popularity, genre, and theme, Presumed Innocent and The Good Mother reinforce notions about the relation between good sex and bad mothering, and advance serious, nonfiction … Continue reading

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Douglas M. Branson, “No Seat at the Table: How Corporate Governance and Law Keep Women Out of the Boardroom”

From the NYU Press site: Women are completing MBA and Law degrees in record high numbers, but their struggle to attain director positions in corporate America continues. Although explanations for this disconnect abound, neither career counselors nor scholars have paid … Continue reading

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The Project for Attorney Retention

Website here: “PAR seeks to improve recruiting and retention of talented attorneys through the use of work schedules that allow attorneys to better balance the competing demands of their work and their lives outside the office.”

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CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LAW & CULTURE FELLOWSHIP

The Center for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia University invites applications for residential fellowships for the 2007-2008 academic year to undertake research, writing and discussion in ways that span traditional academic disciplines. The CSLC welcomes scholars from … Continue reading

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Ever Attended a Same-Sex Commitment Ceremony? Now You Too Can Be a Federal Judge!

Before yesterday, that wasn’t the case, thanks to Senator Sam Brownback blocking the nomination of a federal court judge solely because she attended the commitment ceremony of her neighbors’ daughter. But, even after Senator Brownback removed his block, you’ll still … Continue reading

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Ellen Sekreta, “Sexual Harrassment, Misconduct, and the Atmopshere of the Laboratory: The Legal and Professional Challenges Faced by Women Physical Science Researchers at Educational Institutions”

Here is the introduction: Former Harvard University President, Larry Summers, once made public remarks correlating women’s intrinsic academic abilities to their scarcity in high-powered science jobs. These controversial comments sparked a debate about the advancement of women scientists at research … Continue reading

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Civil Unionization?

The progressive media group bluejersey.com has a series of ads criticizing the NJ legislature’s endorsement of  civil unions and not marriage for same-sex couples.   The funniest one is available here. -Bridget Crawford

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If Porn is Involved, It Must be News, Right?

Via Siva, “news” from the BBC entitled “Carey battles porn star over name.” The entire article is below in bold text, with my descontructing comments interspersed in italics: Singer Mariah Carey has threatened legal action against porn star Mary Carey … Continue reading

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Jennifer Wriggins, “Toward A Feminist Revision Of Torts”

A pdf of this article, which appeared in Vol. 13:1 (2005) of the J. of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, is available here. Below is an excerpt: “… Tort law has dealt, at times, in a more nuanced way … Continue reading

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Film Categorization and Censorship in the UK

While doing some research on censorship I came across a 2002 essay by Jan Chambers, someone who resigned from the British Board of Film Categorization. Below is an excerpt: I resigned as an examiner in June after six months, wearied … Continue reading

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Joan Heminway, “Martha Stewart Saved! Insider Violations of Rule 10b-5 for Misrepresented or Undisclosed Personal Facts”

Here is the abstract: This article analyses the criminal securities fraud charges brought against Martha Stewart. Stewart was acquitted of these charges by a federal district court judge in February 2004. Specifically, the article initially focuses on whether the securities … Continue reading

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Jennifer Hendricks, “Essentially a Mother”

Here’s the abstract: This article connects the constitutional jurisprudence of the family to debates over reproductive technology and surrogacy. Despite the outpouring of literature on reproductive technologies, courts and scholars have paid little attention to the constitutional foundation of parental … Continue reading

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The Stark Report on Internet Filters

The Child Online Protection Act has never been enforced, but has been the subject of one federal trial after the other since its passage in 1998. Last May Prof. Philip Stark submitted an expert report in ACLU v. Gonzales. The … Continue reading

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The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking public comments about the Family and Medical Leave Act

The official “request for comments” here says in pertinent part: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) (the “FMLA” or the “Act”) was enacted on February 5, 1993 … Continue reading

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The United States is the only industrial nation not to require employers to provide paid sick days when workers are ill.

Some Democrats are going to try to change that. The linked article notes: The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that 77 percent of workers in the lowest quarter by wages did not have paid sick days, while 43 percent … Continue reading

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Garceau v. Yale University

The Complaint is here. It alleges some fairly astounding acts of sexual harassment by a Yale faculty member. Via Absinthe.

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Pornographers Trying To Muck Up Copyright Law

Lawsuits brought by porn puveyor Perfect 10 against assorted credit card companies assert a secondary liability theory for processing payments to websites that allegedly infringe the copyrights in pornographic works. If the Ninth Circuit finds the credit card companies liable … Continue reading

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Russell K. Robinson, “Casting and Caste-ing: Reconciling Artistic Freedom and Antidiscrimination Norms”

Here is the abstract: This article examines the legality of race and sex classifications in casting announcements for actors, which are common in the film industry and have profound social consequences, yet have been entirely overlooked by legal scholars. Such … Continue reading

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Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

As a result of this post, Rep. Kucinich’s office asked to have the following posted here: I stand with every Member of the House in defense of the rights of individuals to be free of bodily harm or injury under … Continue reading

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Supreme Court Tackles the “Last Taboo”

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on a pay equity case brought by a former Goodyear manager, Lilly Ledbetter. You can read about the case here, but the basic question was whether a woman who found out about … Continue reading

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NPR Report: “Pennsylvania Moms Fight Hiring Bias”

Pennylvania mothers rally against a form of job discrimination. Their state is one of many where it’s not illegal to refuse ask about marital or family status during a job interview. Joel Rose of member station WHYY reports. Via kickass … Continue reading

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Make Sure Your Breasts Are Securely Stowed

 Last week the Associated Press  reported that a women was removed from a Delta Airlines flight for breastfeeding her child: A commuter airline has disciplined a flight attendant who ordered a passenger off a plane for refusing to cover herself … Continue reading

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Women Sold Out For Political Gain in Nicaragua

Nicaragua Eliminates Last Exception to Strict Anti-Abortion Law: … Abortion has been illegal in Nicaragua for more than a century, and most women who decide to end unwanted pregnancies seek procedures at underground clinics. But the new law strikes out … Continue reading

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Bloggish Overview of Feminist Legal Theory

Introduction: A while back Larry Solum asked me to write a short post about feminist legal theory for his excellent Legal Theory Blog. What follows is a brief (though longer than it probably should be) overview of this scholarly subject … Continue reading

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The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

A recent article by Diane E. Dees at the Mojoblog pointed out that in response to steps being taken to stop institutionalized animal abuse, espcially “factory farming,” the farming industry was lobbying for the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which, she … Continue reading

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The “Plan B” Contraceptive Can Be Purchased Online at Drugstore.com

See this site. Via Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon. Educational information about Plan B is available here. The Barr Pharmaceuticals (makers of Plan B) site is here. Prevous posts about Plan B here and here.

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Thin Air

When I was in college in the early 1980s, one of my work-study jobs was in the Labor-Management Documentation Center at Cornell University’s Martin P. Catherwood Library. I often summarized and filed union arbitration materials, and I remember reading a … Continue reading

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“Women still account for only 17 percent of law firm partners, 20 percent of federal judges and 14 percent of Fortune 500 general counsels. And, at the current rate, the number of women partners won’t reach parity with the number of male partners until 2088.”

That’s a quote from this Harvard Law School Alumni Bulletin entitled: “Women are still second-class citizens in the legal profession. What can be done about it?”

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The Legal Profession Blog Asks: “Are the Low Numbers of Female Supreme Court Law Clerks a Statistical Blip?”

See full post by Alan Childress here. Below is a short excerpt: David Kaye (Ariz. State, Law) and Joseph Gastwirth (GW, Arts & Sci. [Stats Dept.]) have just posted on SSRN Law & Soc’y: Legal Prof., their new article, “Where … Continue reading

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CFP: Human Rights in Child Welfare

CALL FOR PAPERS Special Issue: Human Rights in Child Welfare Journal of Intergroup Relations Journal of the National Association of Human Rights Workers Guest editors: Laura Dreuth Zeman and Julie A. Steen, School of Social Work, Southern Illinois University – … Continue reading

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“Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood” Before The Supreme Court Today

Good overview with links at Our Bodies, Our Blog. Background and legal documents are available here or here. In related and very happy news, y’all no doubt already know that that South Dakota voters voted to overturn that state’s abortion … Continue reading

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Women We Owe

Via Sinister Girl. Via here.

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I’m the one wearing the yellow shirt!

This is a picture of the March For Women’s Lives that took place on April 25, 2004 in Washington DC. I attended with a wonderful group of feminist law students. I found this photo at a website called “I’m Not … Continue reading

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