Law Commons^™

Women's Exclusion From The Constitutional Canon, Jill Elaine Hasday

Jill Elaine Hasday

This Essay asks why sex equality is outside the constitutional canon. While race discrimination is a canonical concern of constitutional law, the story of America’s struggles over and against sex discrimination is not widely taken to be a central, organizing part of our constitutional tradition — a defining narrative that exemplifies and expresses the nation’s foundational values and commitments. I offer three potential explanations for the exclusion of sex equality from the constitutional canon. First, the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence developed in ways that suggested that sex discrimination was not a core constitutional problem and concern, especially when compared to race …

Protecting Them From Themselves: The Persistence Of Mutual Benefits Arguments For Sex And Race Inequality, Jill Elaine Hasday

Jill Elaine Hasday

No abstract provided.

The Principle And Practice Of Women's 'Full Citizenship': A Case Study Of Sex-Segregated Public Education, Jill Elaine Hasday

Jill Elaine Hasday

For more than a quarter century, the Supreme Court has repeatedly declared that sex-based state action is subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. But the Court has always been much less clear about what that standard allows and what it prohibits. For this reason, it is especially noteworthy that one of the Court's most recent sex discrimination opinions, United States v. Virginia, purports to provide more coherent guidance.

Virginia suggests that the constitutionality of sex-based state action turns on whether the practice at issue denies women "full citizenship stature" or "create[s] or perpetuate[s] the legal, social, and …