Law Commons^™

The Constitution And Societal Norms: A Modern Case For Female Breast Equality, Brenna Helppie-Schmieder

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

“The Constitution and Societal Norms: A Modern Case for Female Breast Equality” argues that laws prohibiting the public display of the female breast, but not the male breast, are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. That these laws discriminate against women is obvious, yet courts have historically refused to recognize an Equal Protection Clause violation. However, the primary reasons courts rely upon are ripe for review. Most significantly, courts typically justify female breast censorship laws based on the government interest in protecting public sensibilities, without recognizing that public sensibilities change. Indeed, perceptions of the public female breast have …

All Is Not Fair In Love And War: An Exploration Of The Military Masculinity Myth, Meghan O'Malley

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Sexual assault has become pandemic and even a common occurrence among the ranks of all branches of the U.S. military. The Department of Defense estimates that in the year 2012 alone, 26,000 active duty soldiers were sexually assaulted. The military rape culture was thrust to the forefront of the media in 1991 as a result of the Tailhook Scandal. The military and Congress have not sat idly by, but twenty-three years and hundreds of thousands of assaults later, nothing has successfully alleviated the rates of sexual violence.

This paper explores why such efforts have failed to produce the desired results …

Covernance: Feminist Theory, The Islamic Veil, And The Strasbourg Court's Jurisprudence On Religious Dress-Appearance Restrictions, Amina Haleem

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

This paper explores how the human right of religious freedom has been conceptually and pragmatically developed under international law within the European Court of Human Rights as applied to veiled Muslim women. This paper analyzes the application of human rights guarantees as established in the European Convention on Human Rights and case law established by the European Court that has interpreted international documents to determine the religious freedoms of veiled Muslim women in the public sphere. The analytical framework identifies the divergence between liberal and third wave feminist approaches to the Islamic veil, and identifies the feminist approaches to international …

Mothers Behind Bars: Breaking The Paradigm Of Prisoners, Anna Mangia

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Prison is an oppressive institution created for men, by men. While some may argue that oppression is the point of prison, this oppression is still created for and directed toward men. Because the paradigm of a prisoner is a violent male, the needs and concerns of women are often not considered. Female prisoners, therefore, experience layers of oppression: intended oppression inherent in the prison system, as well as gender-based oppression inherent in our society. Furthermore, incarcerated mothers experience a third layer of oppression due to their roles and expectations in society. “The mother” is glorified, but when a woman breaks …

Divorcing Gender From Marriage: A Feminist Perspective On The Jurisprudence Of Transgendered Marriage, Michelle Cass

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Sex is an immutable characteristic; says who? As transgendered people and LGBTQQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning) issues gain more traction and recognition, the clear contours of sex and gender are fading, and a more fluid concept of gender is emerging. However, the American legal system lags behind the mutability of gender in an environment where the conceptualization and understanding of gender is becoming ever more nuanced and complex. This is most apparent in the law’s treatment of transgendered marriage: a marriage involving at least one person who identifies as transgendered. A transgendered person can be defined as a …

Fifty Shades Of Oppression: Sadomasochism, Feminism, And The Law, Jacqueline Horn

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Can sadomasochism (S/M) be reconciled with feminism? When pain is pleasure and humiliation is empowerment, how should the law respond? This article investigates S/M under the legal gaze, particularly the manner in which legal theory and legal practice have constructed female masochism. This article argues that the jurisprudence of S/M is formed by the perception of the “sexual other” as a threat to the normative sexual behavior the law has worked tirelessly to maintain. Historically, society – and by extension the law – has been intolerant of behavior that transgresses sexual norms. As Laura A. Rosenbury and Jennifer E. Rothman …

We Are Family? Examining Parental Leave And Non-Normative Parents In The United States, Samantha Odyniec

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

This article will examine parental leave and the non-normative parent. Parental leave in the United States is currently a hot-button issue. With so much focus on the “Opt-Out” Generation, “Leaning In,” and whether women can in fact “have it all,” the issues faced by parents who are not educated, upper class, and in a heterosexual marriage relationship with the biological father are often ignored in the discussion of how the law is lacking. Instead, the discussion has focused on women at the top echelon of employment. In doing this, a large segment of the population is being completely left out …