Law Commons^™

Sexuality And Sovereignty: The Global Limits And Possibilities Of Lawrence Symposium: Legal Rights In Historical Perspective: From The Margins To The Mainstream, Sonia K. Katyal

Sonia Katyal

In the summer of 2003, the Supreme Court handed gay and lesbian activists a stunning victory in the decision of Lawrence v. Texas, which summarily overruled Bowers v. Hardwick. At issue was whether Texas' prohibition of same-sex sexual conduct violated the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In a powerful, poetic, and strident opinion, Justice Kennedy, writing for a six-member majority, reversed Bowers, observing that individual decisions regarding physical intimacy between consenting adults, either of the same or opposite sex, are constitutionally protected, and thus fall outside of the reach of state intervention. Volumes can be written about the …

Dissident Citizen, The Symposium: Sexuality & Gender Law: Assessing The Field, Envisioning The Future, Sonia K. Katyal

Sonia Katyal

We have arrived at a crossroads in terms of the intersection between law, sexuality, and globalization. Historically, and even today, the majority of accounts of GLBT migration tend to remain focused on “a narrative of movement from repression to freedom, or a heroic journey undertaken in search of liberation.” Within this narrative, the United States is usually cast as a land of opportunity and liberation, a place that represents freedom from discrimination and economic opportunity. But this narrative also elides the complexity that erupts from grappling with the reality that many other jurisdictions outside of the United States can be …

The Future Of Polyamorous Marriage: Lessons From The Marriage Equality Struggle, Hadar Aviram, Gwendolyn Manriquez Leachman

Hadar Aviram

Amidst the recent legal victories and growing public support for same-sex marriage, numerous polyamorous individuals have expressed interest in pursuing legal recognition for marriages between more than two consenting adults. This Article explores the possibilities that exist for such a polyamorous marriage equality campaign, in light of the theoretical literature on law and social movements, as well as our own original and secondary research on polyamorous and LGBT communities. Among other issues, we examine the prospect of prioritizing the marriage struggle over other forms of nonmarital relationship recognition; pragmatic regulative challenges, like taxation, healthcare, and immigration; and how law and …

On Law And Chastity, Robert E. Rodes

Robert Rodes

No abstract provided.

Gun Control, Mental Illness, And Black Trans And Lesbian Survival, Gabriel Arkles

Gabriel Arkles

Those concerned with racial, gender, sexual, economic, or disability justice should be concerned about the direction and focus of national conversations in the wake of Newtown. Controversies over gun control and mental health treatment have a profound impact on those marginalized based on race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability. Gun control laws endanger trans people of color and queer women of color, as well as those labeled mentally ill, by failing to reduce interpersonal violence while increasing the violence of the criminal legal system. Instead of increasing incarceration of people in marginalized communities who choose to carry guns, we should …

Gay Rights And Lefts: Rights Critique And Distributive Analysis For Real Law Reform, Libby Adler

Libby S. Adler

For the last decade and more, the law reform agenda on behalf of sexual minorities in the United States has been dominated by the same-sex marriage campaign and, to a lesser extent, the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Gay rights advocates for both equality-seeking efforts, while locked in battle with culture warriors from the right, also have been subject to protest and criticism from the left for their powerful normalizing impulses and identitarian rights-orientation. Gay rights advocates nonetheless have persevered in their quest for equality, scarcely acknowledging the criticism from queer and other non-mainstreaming or dissident voices, perhaps unable to …

Drawing Bisexuality Back Into The Picture: How Bisexuality Fits Into Lgbt Legal Strategy 10 Years After Bisexual Erasure, Heron Greenesmith

Heron Greenesmith

In 2000, Kenji Yoshino published a paper exploring the social erasure of bisexuality. He introduces the paper by empirically proving that bisexuality was invisible through a quick survey of popular news sources that featured volumes more articles about homosexuality than bisexuality. Once he shows that bisexuality is invisible, he makes sure to distinguish between the incidental invisibility of bisexuality, perhaps because of the low number of bisexuals, and its deliberate erasure. Erasure is a deliberate act that involves the participation of people who seek to erase. Yoshino theorizes that monosexuals (heterosexuals and homosexuals) created an epistemic contract to erase bisexuality …

It's Really About Sex: Same-Sex Marriage, Lesbigay Parenting, And The Psychology Of Disgust, Richard E. Redding

Richard E. Redding

The effect of gay and lesbian parenting on children has been the touchstone issue in much of the recent state litigation on same sex marriage, with opponents of same sex marriage arguing that there is a rational basis for denying marriage rights to gays and lesbians because the central purpose of marriage is procreation and childrearing, but that children are harmed or disadvantaged when raised by gay or lesbian parents. To interrogate this claim, I critique the social science research that informs the concerns frequently expressed about the possible negative effects of lesbigay parenting on children's emotional, psychosocial, and sexual …

Eyes Wide Shut: Erasing Women's Experience, From The Clinic To The Courtroom, Marybeth Herald, Ellen Waldman

Marybeth Herald

n his decade long exploration of female sexuality, Sigmund Freud professed to be on a mission to answer the elusive question, what do women want. Unfortunately, the 19th century psychiatrist was unable to separate that question from the one he ultimately answered, What do men want women to want? In some sense, Freud's inquiries provide an apt metaphor for the medical professions' stance toward female experience. When confronted with the difference presented by the female body as well as women's unique life experience, the medical field has responded with approaches that range from bemusement to hostility to intense indifference.

Although …

Sexually Expressive Materials For Gay Men: Sex Discrimination Or Subversive Potential?, Donn Short

Donn Short

This article reviews Christopher N. Kendall's book Gay Male Pornography: An Issue of Sex Discrimination. In particular, this article focuses on the analysis of the Little Sisters case and the harms-based test articulated in the Butler decision. Kendall's book explains his position that gay male pornography is a problem of sex discrimination, and the harm of gay pronography is not propertly understood under current theoretical models. Short challenges Kendall's assessment of gay male pornography.