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Full-Text Articles in Law

A Quest For Acceptance: The Real Id Act And The Need For Comprehensive Gender Recognition Legislation In The United States, Jason Allen Jan 2008

A Quest For Acceptance: The Real Id Act And The Need For Comprehensive Gender Recognition Legislation In The United States, Jason Allen

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article maintains that the Real ID Act highlights the need for U.S. federal gender recognition legislation in the mold of the GRA. Part II offers background into the psychology of transgender people, explaining how the medical community views and treats this "condition." Part III illustrates the fundamental value of gender recognition rights and examines the inadequacy of U.S. statutory and case law. This discussion then traces the evolution of the GRA in the United Kingdom as the culmination of a mandate from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Part IV argues that the United States should adopt a …


The Failure Of Breast Cancer Informed Consent Statuses, Rachael Anderson-Watts Jan 2008

The Failure Of Breast Cancer Informed Consent Statuses, Rachael Anderson-Watts

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Breast cancer informed consent legislation was introduced in response to breast cancer patient discontent with doctor-patient relationships. Physicians do not always believe that explaining treatment alternatives is important, and in this respect, legislation promoting the discussion of alternative treatment could be positive for breast cancer patients, many of whom do in fact have several viable medical options. Studies have found, however, that these statutes have no lasting impact on patient decision-making. Why aren't these patient-driven statutes affecting patient decision-making? And why is medical advice coming from the law at all? This Article argues that this legislation is a poor tool …


"Please Write 'E' In This Box" Toward Self-Identification And Recognition Of A Third Gender: Approaches In The United States And India, Jennifer Rellis Jan 2008

"Please Write 'E' In This Box" Toward Self-Identification And Recognition Of A Third Gender: Approaches In The United States And India, Jennifer Rellis

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Part I of this Article defines intersexuality and highlights the legal and societal complications that occur when the concept of the fixed male-female gender binary is challenged. Part II describes the unique role of the hijras in India, who are both revered and discriminated against, and suggests that India is beginning to legally recognize a third gender through the grassroots advocacy of the hijras. Part III contrasts the experience of intersexed individuals in the United States by describing the current protocol to deal with the "medical emergency" of the birth of an intersexed child. This section forecasts legal issues facing …


The Lactating Angel Or Activist? Public Breatsfeeding As Symbolic Speech, Elizabeth Hildebrand Matherne Jan 2008

The Lactating Angel Or Activist? Public Breatsfeeding As Symbolic Speech, Elizabeth Hildebrand Matherne

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The only way to combat this stigma against public breastfeeding is through the act of breastfeeding in public. The author proposes that breastfeeding is a powerful act of symbolic speech vital for discarding one of the lingering shackles of women's inequality that triggers first amendment protection. Breastfeeding in public addresses this stigma by treating two ills at once: 1) greater public exposure to the practice decreases the severity of society's reactions, and 2) the less stares and confrontation that publicly nursing mothers receive, the more likely they will be to breastfeed, whenever or wherever their baby is hungry. This will …


Taking Safety Seriously: Using Liberalism To Fight Pornography, John M. Kang Jan 2008

Taking Safety Seriously: Using Liberalism To Fight Pornography, John M. Kang

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Liberalism, as a jurisprudential principle, need not be pornography's indifferent observer or spineless sycophant; liberalism can be used to fight pornography. In this Article, the author proposes to illuminate what appears to be the most essential aspect of liberalism in its inviolable dedication to peace and safety. By drawing upon the work of the early liberals, the author argues that liberalism's most basic ethos is conceptually incompatible with pornography, as the latter celebrates an unjustified form of violence as its own end.


Unusual Suspects: Recognizing And Responding To Female Staff Perpetrators Of Sexual Misconduct In U.S. Prisons, Lauren A. Teichner Jan 2008

Unusual Suspects: Recognizing And Responding To Female Staff Perpetrators Of Sexual Misconduct In U.S. Prisons, Lauren A. Teichner

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Despite the general public's ignorance of this issue of sexual misconduct perpetrated by female prison staff against male inmates, such stories are remarkably familiar to those who study or work in the world of prisons. The Prison Rape Elimination Act ("PREA") of 2003 mandated that the Bureau of Justice Statistics ("the Bureau") undertake new studies of sexual violence in prisons. Accordingly, the Bureau released a report in July 2006 revealing some groundbreaking data. Of the 344 substantiated allegations of staff-on-inmate sexual violence made in federal, state, and private prisons in 2005, 67% of the overall victims were male inmates and …


Chaos, Law, And God: The Religious Meanings Of Homosexuality, Jay Michaelson Jan 2008

Chaos, Law, And God: The Religious Meanings Of Homosexuality, Jay Michaelson

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article argues that the religious meaning of homosexuality cannot be explained merely in terms of homophobia, "church and state," or traditional values versus progressive ones. Rather, the regulation of sexuality has a particular religious meaning: sexuality is a primary site in which religious law is engendered, where the lawfulness of religion meets the chaos beyond it. Whether in Biblical times or today, changing the way sexuality is regulated is a threat to the notion of order itself, as construed by Jewish and Christian religion. Arguments about gay rights, same-sex marriage, and related issues are not merely arguments informed by …


The Evolution Of Same-Sex Marriage In Canada: Lessons The U.S. Can Learn From Their Northern Neighbor Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Rights, Christy M. Glass, Nancy Kubasek Jan 2008

The Evolution Of Same-Sex Marriage In Canada: Lessons The U.S. Can Learn From Their Northern Neighbor Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Rights, Christy M. Glass, Nancy Kubasek

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The broad differences between the United States and Canadian cases raise important questions about the social, political and legal factors that have promoted the extension of marriage rights in Canada while retarding similar efforts in the U.S. This article will compare the recent history of same-sex marriage laws in the United States and Canada. We argue that proponents of same-sex marriage as well as lawmakers could learn important lessons from the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada. Section II develops a framework for comparing the U.S. and Canadian experience with same-sex marriage law. The next section traces Canada's recent …