Law and Gender Commons^™

The Current State Of Abortion Law In Virginia Leaves Victims Of Domestic And Sexual Violence Vulnerable To Abuse: Why Virginia Should Codify The Right To Abortion In The State Constitution†, Courtenay Schwartz

University of Richmond Law Review

All people must have access to safe and legal reproductive health care—especially victims of sexual and domestic violence who can and do become pregnant because of the violence they experience. This year, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In doing so, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. Though abortion access is currently protected in Virginia, this could change with each new General Assembly session. To guard against the danger that this poses to …

Prison Housing Policies For Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender-Non-Conforming, And Intersex People: Restorative Ways To Address The Gender Binary In The United States Prison System, John G. Sims

University of Richmond Law Review

“[I]t was the end of the last quarter of 2019 where I was able to drop the lawsuit against the correctional officer who had sexually harmed me when I knew . . . that the carceral state is not the way for me to find healing . . . . I was not going to seek my transformation and restoration through this system.”

Each year, rhetoric and legislation attacking transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex individuals seemingly grows louder. Many political institutions in the United States perpetuate and enable the oppression of these individuals, one of which is the United …

More Money, Fewer Problems: A Post-Alston V. Ncaa Approach To Reducing Gender Inequities In Sports, Kelley L. Flint

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In 2021 over the span of a few months, amateurism, the foundation of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association was challenged and redefined. Following

the passage of “name, image, and likeness” laws at the state level

and an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling, the NCAA’s structure has been

forced to evolve. These changes have opened up possibilities for college athletes

to monetize their playing in a model that is not based on viewership or

revenue sharing. Serious equity gaps between men’s and women’s sports

continue to exist, predicated on which sports generate the most money. While

not a holistic solution, name, image …

This Is Not New: Addressing America's Maternal Mortality Crisis, Emily Siron

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This article utilizes an intersectional approach to examine the causes and

realities of the dismal state of pregnancy-related healthcare in the United

States, highlighting the disparate impact on Black pregnant people. The

enslavementand brutalization of Black women in the U.S. demonstrates how

American society systematically devalues Black health, especially reproductive

health. The impacts of this horrific history persist today, resulting in the

American healthcare system utterly failing Black mothers and pregnant people

of all gender identities. This article surveys this history and presents policy

solutions to improve maternal health outcomes for all, but especially

Black individuals, including proposed pieces …

Dead Hand Vogue, Anthony Michael Kreis

University of Richmond Law Review

For decades, courts read employment antidiscrimination laws’ prohibition of sex discrimination to exclude gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender workers’ sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination claims—purportedly because the claims were not linked to employees’ status as a man or a woman. And while significant doctrinal developments have afforded some gender-nonconforming persons critical workplace safeguards under sex antidiscrimination laws, many older decisions that deemed sexual orientation and transgender discrimination claims to be outside the ambit of sex discrimination still control. These decades-old precedents all suffer from the same analytical error: a failure to adhere to the principle that antidiscrimination law does …

Lgbt Rights In The Fields Of Criminal Law And Law Enforcement, Carrie L. Buist

University of Richmond Law Review

In couching this discussion within the theoretical and practical application of queer criminology, this Essay will highlight the marginalization of LGBTQ+ folks and explore the impact that intersectionality has on the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community with special attention on law enforcement. For example, queer criminology studies the persistent distrust that the LGBTQ+ community has of police as well as the experiences of LGBTQ+ identified police officers and other agents within the criminal legal system. Further, as the current Administration continues to roll back the rights and liberties of the LGBTQ+ community, there must be a focus on how past …

Building Queer Families And The Ethics Of Gestational Surrogacy, Kimberly Mutcherson

University of Richmond Law Review

Throughout American history, government has used the law to deny some citizens the right to create or sustain families with children to show contempt for those citizens. As LGBT people fought for dignity, equality, and justice from Stonewall to the present, one of the greatest success stories of that fight is the change in how the law defines and protects families. Into the 1990s, people in samesex relationships had cause to fear that their sexual orientation could be used to deprive them of custody of their children. Now, many states, through statute or case law, routinely recognize two parents of …

Transitional Equality, Suzanne A. Kim

University of Richmond Law Review

Legal discussions of inequality often focus on the virtues of one legal status or regulatory structure over another, but a guarantee of the right to a particular legal status does not ensure a lived experience of equality in that status. In moments of legal change, when a person or class of persons obtain a new status or gain rights that had previously been denied to them, the path from one legal status to another becomes critically important and may itself be impacted by race, gender, age, and other factors. The process of transitioning to a new status can be complex …

The Unconstitutional Tampon Tax, Bridget J. Crawford, Emily Gold Waldman

University of Richmond Law Review

Thirty-five states impose a sales tax on menstrual hygiene products, while products like spermicidal condoms and erectile dysfunction medications are tax-free. This sales tax—commonly called the “tampon tax”—represents an expense that girls and women must bear on top of the cost of biologically necessary items that they need in order to attend school, work, and otherwise participate in public life. This article explores the constitutionality of the tampon tax and argues that it is an impermissible form of gender discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. First, menstrual hygiene products are a unique proxy for female sex, and therefore any disadvantageous …

The Invisible Minority: Discrimination Against Bisexuals In The Workplace, Elizabeth Childress Burneson

University of Richmond Law Review

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (“LGBTQ+”) community has won major legal victories in the last twenty years, but at least one group remains left behind in those victories. The bisexual population is often ignored, erased, and discriminated against by both homosexual and heterosexual individuals and communities. This is true despite the fact that bisexuals outnumber both lesbian women and gay men. This erasure and discrimination affects bisexuals in different areas of life and the law, including the employment context. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), which protects against employment discrimination on the basis …

The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie R. Abrams

University of Richmond Law Review

This article invites feminists to leverage the #MeToo Movement as a critical analytical tool to explore the longevity of the enduring rape crisis framing of victim services. Long before the #MeToo Movement, victim services in communities nationwide were framed around a crisis model. For nearly half a century, victims have visited rape crisis centers, called rape crisis hotlines, and mobilized rape crisis response teams to provide services and support. This enduring political and social framing around rape as a crisis is opaque, has prompted a political backlash, and risks distorting hard-fought feminist legal, social, and political battles. It has yielded …

Remarks On Campus Sexual Assault, Alison M. Tinsey

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Uniform Rules: Addressing The Disparate Rules That Deny Student-Athletes The Opportunity To Participate In Sports According To Gender Identity, Chelsea Shrader

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexualization, Sex Discrimination, And Public School Dress Codes, Meredith Johnson Harbach

University of Richmond Law Review

This essay joins the conversation about sexualization, sex discrimination, and public school dress codes to situate current debates within in the broader cultural and legal landscapes in which they exist. My aim is not to answer definitively the questions I pose above. Rather, I ground the controversy in these broader contexts in order to better understand the stakes and to glean insights into how schools, students, and communities might better navigate dress code debates.

Does The Right To Elective Abortion Include The Right To Ensure The Death Of, Stephen G. Gilles

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gender Equity In The 21st Century: Keynote Address, Chai Feldblum

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

You have heard a lot this morning about the need in 1964 for Congress to enact prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of race, national origin and religion. I am going to use my time, therefore, to talk about gender equity: the addition of the sex discrimination prohibition in Title VII, the advances that have occurred since passage of that law, and the miles that we still have to go to achieve full gender equity.

Testing Sex, Rachel Rebouché

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gender Equity In The 21st Century: Keynote Address, Chai Feldblum

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

You have heard a lot this morning about the need in 1964 for Congress to enact prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of race, national origin and religion. I am going to use my time, therefore, to talk about gender equity: the addition of the sex discrimination prohibition in Title VII, the advances that have occurred since passage of that law, and the miles that we still have to go to achieve full gender equity.

Abortion And The Constitutional Right (Not) To Procreate, Mary Ziegler

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Motherhood And The Constitution: (Re)Thinking The Power Of Women To Facilitate Change, Angela Mae Kupenda

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

However, this essay suggests a different, or additional, approach. Rather than focusing on the many barriers to equality originating from others, this essay focuses on women's power to forge equality. Some of this power is cloaked, unharnessed, and underutilized. This essay is intended to challenge women to reconstitute the power of motherhood as a means of transforming not only families, but also law and society. This essay suggests the power of women to be mothering teachers and teaching mothers. Women have a choice, even an affirmative duty, to unharness their power to facilitate change and shape a status quo of …

Motherhood And The Constitution: (Re)Thinking The Power Of Women To Facilitate Change, Angela Mae Kupenda

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

However, this essay suggests a different, or additional, approach. Rather than focusing on the many barriers to equality originating from others, this essay focuses on women's power to forge equality. Some of this power is cloaked, unharnessed, and underutilized. This essay is intended to challenge women to reconstitute the power of motherhood as a means of transforming not only families, but also law and society. This essay suggests the power of women to be mothering teachers and teaching mothers. Women have a choice, even an affirmative duty, to unharness their power to facilitate change and shape a status quo of …

Breastfeeding In Custody Proceedings: A Modern-Day Manifestation Of Liberal And Conservative Family Traditions, Kate Baxter-Kauf

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This Comment contends that cultural and legal representations of breastfeeding in custody determinations highlight contradictory notions of motherhood and family that mirror liberal and conservative family traditions thought to be long dead.

Breastfeeding In Custody Proceedings: A Modern-Day Manifestation Of Liberal And Conservative Family Traditions, Kate Baxter-Kauf

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This Comment contends that cultural and legal representations of breastfeeding in custody determinations highlight contradictory notions of motherhood and family that mirror liberal and conservative family traditions thought to be long dead.

Issue 4: Table Of Contents

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Please Check One--Male Or Female?: Confronting Gender Identity Discrimination In Collegiate Residential Life, Katherine A. Womack

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Common Law Is Not Just About Contracts: How Legal Education Has Been Short-Changing Feminism, Charles E. Rounds Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Uninvited Guest: The Federal Death Penalty And The Massachusetts Prosecution Of Nurse Kristen Gilbert, John P. Cunningham

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Love Doesn't Pay: The Fiction Of Marriage Rights In The Workplace, James A. Sonne

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Untying The Knot: An Analysis Of The English Divorce And Matrimonial Causes Court Records, 1858-1966, Danaya C. Wright

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sex Offender Registration And Community Notification Laws: Will These Laws Survive?, Kimberly B. Wilkins

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.