Law and Gender Commons^™

Sex Matters: Considering Gender In Consumer Contracts, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

We hear about the so-called “War on Women” and persisting salary gaps between men and women in the popular media, but contracts scholars and policymakers rarely discuss gender. Instead, dominant voices in the contracts field often reflect classical and economics-driven theories built on assumptions of gender neutral and economically rational actors. Furthermore, many mistakenly assume that market competition and antidiscrimination legislation address any improper biases in contracting. This Article therefore aims to shed light on gender’s importance by distilling data from my own e-survey of Colorado consumers along with others’ research regarding gender differences in contract outcomes, interests and behaviors. …

2013 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar: Youth At Risk, Part 2, Denise A. Hines, Fern L. Johnson, Donna Haig Friedman, Deborah A. Frank

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

The youth of Massachusetts are of primary concern to legislators and citizens. This briefing report features three essays by experts — Fern Johnson, Deborah Frank, and Donna Haig Friedman — who focus on three aspects of children in need: children in foster care who need adoption, children who are hungry, and children who are homeless. Each report has further and more detailed suggestions for helping these children in need; below is a summary of the problems we face.

That Thing That You Do: Comment On Joseph Massad’S 'Empire Of Sexuality', Lama Abu-Odeh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Massad’s thesis is simple, in fact, perfect in its simplicity. Empire is a terrible force that wants to penetrate, overpower and hegemonize. It has a center, a headquarters if you like, the West. It functions with two arms: capitalism (later neoliberal) and Euro-American hegemony. The first arm represents the objective drive of capital that transforms sites and cultures as it spreads the market in the shape of commodity exchange. It has become a universal system, Massad contends, though with varying effects on the center (West) from the periphery (rest). Whereas its march on the former has been totally transformative, in …

Threats Demand Our Action, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

Those of us who identify as progressive see this as a time when speaking up and engaging on public policy is our duty. I am writing to express my deep concern and dismay about the state of the federal government under Donald Trump. Like others, I have marched, donated, and joined Wednesday’s International Women’s Day protests against the administration of Donald Trump.

Sex Is Less Offensive Than Violence: A Call To Update Obscenity Jurisprudence, Rachel Simon

Rachel Simon

This article addresses the gender bias presented by the disparate treatment of sex and violence under current obscenity jurisprudence. Under the controlling standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Miller v. California, sexual works may readily be regulated as obscenity, while violent works unequivocally may not. This article posits that this disparate treatment is the product of entrenched stereotypes about the way men and women “should” react to sex and violence, and notes the hypocrisy of failing to apply the same reasoning to assessments of violent versus sexual material.

First, reliance on “community standards” to define what material …

Which Is Greater: The Right To Parent Or The Rights Of A Parent? The Legal And Ethical Quandaries When A Minor Child Diagnosed With Cancer Wishes To Utilize Oocyte Cryopreservation And Advanced Reproductive Technology For Future Procreation., Jessica M. Hallgren

Jessica M Hallgren

No abstract provided.

Innocent Spouse Relief - Relief From The Sneaky Spouse, Corinna Marie Cicmanec

Corinna Cicmanec

Innocent Spouse Relief: Relief from the Sneaky Spouse

This article discusses Internal Revenue Code § 6015, also known the as Innocent Spouse provision. This provision offers relief to spouses from the joint and several liability that stems from filing a joint return. Innocent Spouse Relief is available in certain situations when one spouse is “sneaky” in regards to disclosing financial information to the other spouse and the IRS. This article specifically analyzes how §6015 affects women, and the hurdles women face when filing successful claims. This paper explores the current problems with §6015 claims process, and suggests options for the …

Allen V. Totes/Isotoner Corporation: A Cautionary Tale For Breastfeeding Working Mothers, Erin Davenport

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Deadly Dicta: Roe’S “Unwanted Motherhood”, Gonzales’S “Women’S Regret” And The Shifting Narrative Of Abortion Jurisprudence, Stacy A. Scaldo

Stacy A Scaldo

For thirty-four years, the narrative of Supreme Court jurisprudence on the issue of abortion was firmly focused on the pregnant woman. From the initial finding that the right to an abortion stemmed from a constitutional right to privacy[1], through the test applied and refined to determine when that right was abridged[2], to the striking of statutes found to over-regulate that right[3], the conversation from the Court’s perspective maintained a singular focus. Pro-life arguments focusing on the fetus as the equal or greater party of interest were systematically pushed aside by the Court.[4] The consequences of an unwanted pregnancy, or as …

Explaining The Progression Of The Rights Of Same-Sex Couples In South America, Daniel De La Cruz

San Diego International Law Journal

A trend of rights advocacy has recently developed in the international community. Organizations dedicated to the principle of advancing the rights of historically under-represented and oppressed social groups have proliferated around the globe. The growth of the gay rights movement in recent years has resulted in the expansion of civil liberties afforded to same-sex couples. The movement has gained significant success in symbolic expression. Even without much knowledge of the movement, one typically associates a rainbow flag, the Greek letter lambda, and the word “pride” with the effort. Unfortunately, the movement has not achieved comparable substantive success. Same-sex couples continue …

Biological Sex Differences In The Workplace: Reports Of The End Of Men Are Greatly Exaggerated (As Are Claims Of Women’S Continued Inequality), Kingsley R. Browne

Law Faculty Research Publications

Common examples of perceived workplace inequality – the “glass ceiling,” the “gender gap” in compensation, and occupational segregation, among others – cannot be well understood if the explanation proffered for their existence is limited exclusively to social causes such as discrimination and sexist socialization. Males and females have, on average, different sets of talents, tastes, and interests, which cause them to select somewhat different occupations and exhibit somewhat different workplace behaviors. Some of these sex differences have biological roots. Temperamental sex differences are found in competitiveness, dominance seeking, risk taking, and nurturance, with females tending to be more “person oriented” …

Recognizing The Feminization Of Displacement: A Proposal For A Gender-Focused Approach To Local Integration In Ecuador, Johanna L. Gusman

Washington International Law Journal

The feminization of displacement refers to the phenomenon in which women represent an increasingly disproportionate percentage of displaced populations worldwide. The objective of this comment is to raise awareness of this growing problem and recommend that policymakers craft legal responses to better address this reality, using Ecuador as an example. Specifically, this comment outlines how a gender-focused approach to local integration in Ecuador can rectify a refugee policy that never once mentions gender and is silent on the most pressing issues facing refugee women and girls in the area: sexual and gender-based violence. Through the proposal put forth in this …

The Use Of Gender Quotas In America: Are Voluntary Party Quotas The Way To Go?, Anisa A. Somani

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Citizenship for Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas Professor Kristine S. Knaplund Abstract The United States has long followed the English common law view that citizenship can be attained at birth in two ways: by being born in the U.S. (jus soli), or by being born abroad as the child of a U.S. citizen (jus sanguinis). The first, jus soli, is now part of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” …

A Home With Dignity: Domestic Violence And Property Rights, Margaret Johnson

Margaret E Johnson

This Article argues that the legal system should do more to address intimate partner violence and each party’s need for a home for several reasons. First, domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness and family homelessness. Second, the struggle over rights to a shared home can increase the violence to which the woman is subjected. And third, a woman who decides that continuing to share a home with the person who abused her receives little or no system support, despite the evidence that this decision could most effectively reduce the violence. The legal system’s current failings result from its …

Caught In A Trap - Paternity Presumptions In Louisiana, Evelyn L. Wilson

Evelyn L. Wilson

This article takes a critical look at revisions to Louisiana's 2005 law on presumptions of paternity and advocates for a change so that the presumptions more often reflects the reality that a child born during a later marriage is the child of the mother's current husband and not the child of the mother's former husband, as the 2005 law now presumes.

Legislative Regulation Of Surrogacy And Reproductive Technology, Marjorie Maguire Shultz

Marjorie M. Shultz

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Technology And Intent-Based Parenthood: An Opportunity For Gender Neutrality, Marjorie Maguire Shultz

Marjorie M. Shultz

United States. Some emphasis on the Baby M case.

Casa Of Maryland And The Battle Regarding Human Trafficking And Domestic Workers' Rights, Elizabeth Keyes

Elizabeth Keyes

No abstract provided.

"At The Hospital There Are No Human Rights": Reproductive And Sexual Rights Violations Of Women Living With Hiv In Namibia, Aziza Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

This report documents the ongoing stigma and discrimination of women living with HIV in Namibia, building on prior findings and investigations on the subject, such as the 2008 research conducted by the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) and the Namibian Women’s Health Network (NWHN). The report, based upon both desk research and a field mission, examines the human rights situation related to sexual and reproductive health of women living with HIV, including the gravity and ongoing nature of forced and coerced sterilizations in Namibia. The report also provides evidence of violations of informed consent in the context …