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Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons™
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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Civil Rights and Discrimination
Real Men, Luke A. Boso
Real Men, Luke A. Boso
Luke A. Boso
Men experience discrimination every day at work and at school because they fail to look or behave like real men. Most courts now hold that men can prove sex discrimination by presenting evidence that the defendant harassed or bullied the plaintiff because he fails to conform to sex stereotypes. But judges in these cases are reluctant to find that defendants intended to discriminate “because of sex,” which is required to state a valid claim under statutory anti-discrimination law. Instead, judges routinely grant defendants’ motions for summary judgment and to dismiss based on little more than their own ideas about what …
Policing Masculinity In Small-Town America, Luke A. Boso
Policing Masculinity In Small-Town America, Luke A. Boso
Luke A. Boso
This Article explores masculinity in rural areas, and it addresses bullying and harassment of gay, bisexual, transgender, and otherwise gender non-conforming boys and men. While all men are under constant pressure to perform masculinity correctly and act like a "real" man, rural boys and men experience unique forms and degrees of gender policing and victimization. The confluence of geographic, social, religious, and economic characteristics common in many rural areas results in few available options for exhibiting acceptable masculinity; even benign and seemingly gender neutral traits quickly become proxies for effeminacy. Moreover, the cultural salience of rurality in the construction of …
Urban Bias, Rural Sexual Minorities, And The Courts, Luke Boso
Urban Bias, Rural Sexual Minorities, And The Courts, Luke Boso
Luke A. Boso
Urban bias shapes social perceptions about sexual minorities. Predominant cultural narratives geographically situate sexual minorities in urban gay communities, dictate the contours of how to be a modern gay person, and urge sexual minorities to “come out” and assimilate into gay communities and culture. This Article contests the urban presumption commonly applied to all sexual minorities and focuses specifically on how it affects rural sexual minorities, who remain largely invisible in the public discourse about sexuality and equality.
This Article makes two important contributions. First, by exposing urban bias, it contributes to a broader discussion about how law and society …
Disrupting Sexual Categories Of Intimate Preference, Luke A. Boso
Disrupting Sexual Categories Of Intimate Preference, Luke A. Boso
Luke A. Boso
Society tends to treat a person's sexual orientation and intimate preferences as if those concepts are static and immutable. People regularly divide themselves into binary gay and straight categories, and similarly seek masculine or feminine qualities in an appropriately sexed person. These intimate preferences occupy a uniquely private position in society, and the characteristics to which people claim attraction are thought so personal as to be sacred. In turn, we resist characterizing our intimate preferences as discrimination despite the tangible harms that befall those who are disproportionately excluded from romantic opportunities. But individual discriminatory intimate practices do not necessarily imply …