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Law and Gender

University of Missouri School of Law

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Tampon Tax: Sales Tax, Menstrual Hygiene Products, And Necessity Exemptions, Jennifer Bennett Aug 2017

The Tampon Tax: Sales Tax, Menstrual Hygiene Products, And Necessity Exemptions, Jennifer Bennett

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Women in the United States face many economic obstacles that their male counterparts do not. Many of these obstacles – including the wage gap, economic issues related to childbearing, and implicit bias in the workplace, among others – are the result of multiple political, social, and cultural factors, making them hard to eliminate. The tampon tax is comparatively simple to take on: if state legislatures decide to remove it, women will no longer have to pay it. The term “tampon tax” refers to how the majority of states impose a general sales tax on tampons, pads, reusable menstrual cups, and …

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Females On The Fringe: Considering Gender In Payday Lending Policy, Amy J. Schmitz Jan 2014

Females On The Fringe: Considering Gender In Payday Lending Policy, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

Payday lending may provide a much-needed safety net for some consumers in need of quick cash for emergencies. However, data suggest that most payday loan borrowers become repeat users caught in a cycle of high-cost debt. Furthermore, empirical evidence indicates consistent overrepresentation of women, including many single mothers, among payday loan borrowers. This takes a toll not only on these women and their families, but also on society as a whole. Indeed, context matters in payday lending debates. It is thus time to think creatively and consider contextualized programs that aim to increase women’s and all consumers’ safe borrowing options, …

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Sex Matters: Considering Gender In Consumer Contracts, Amy J. Schmitz Apr 2013

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. …

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A National Putative Father Registry, Wells Conference On Adoption Law, Mary M. Beck Jan 2007

A National Putative Father Registry, Wells Conference On Adoption Law, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

This Article will discuss the mechanics of putative father registries, review jurisdictional issues, analyze the policies behind their development, and review relevant case law over the last 5 years.

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Spotlight: Response To Violence Against Women At The University Of Missouri At Columbia, Mary M. Beck Jan 2004

Spotlight: Response To Violence Against Women At The University Of Missouri At Columbia, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

The University of Missouri (“MU”) sits in the picturesque college town of Columbia on the largest and oldest campus of the Missouri University system. MU is a land grant institution created with funds and land appropriated by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The University “honors [that public trust] and accepts the associated accountability” by acquiring, creating, transmitting, and preserving knowledge. “MU's primary mission in research and doctoral education . . . provides the basis for service to the people of [Missouri] via outreach programs.” Domestic violence impacts MU's land grant influenced service mission. Its organizational departments, educational units, …

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Towards A National Putative Father Registry Database, Mary M. Beck Jul 2002

Towards A National Putative Father Registry Database, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes putative father registries and proposes federal legislation to create a national database that will enhance and connect the state and local registries. Issues and events leading to the development of registries are reviewed in Part I. Putative father registry mechanics and applicable case law are analyzed in Parts II and III.

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Reinforcing The Myth Of The Crazed Rapist: A Feminist Critique Of Recent Rape Legislation, Christina E. Wells, Erin Elliott Jan 2001

Reinforcing The Myth Of The Crazed Rapist: A Feminist Critique Of Recent Rape Legislation, Christina E. Wells, Erin Elliott

Faculty Publications

Part I of this article reviews these new legislative provisions, discussing their requirements as well as the general impetus behind their enactment. Part II discusses both the history of rape prosecution and feminist efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to eliminate barriers to successful rape prosecutions. This part also elaborates upon the myth of the crazed rapist and its relationship to feminist reform efforts. Part III explains how the current legislation is rooted in and reinforces that myth by encouraging unsupportable distinctions among rape defendants. Finally, Part IV discusses the feminist response to such laws and argues for a more …

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Statutory Rape Law And Enforcement In The Wake Of Welfare Reform, Rigel C. Oliveri Jan 2000

Statutory Rape Law And Enforcement In The Wake Of Welfare Reform, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

The recent national efforts at reforming the welfare system and new research on the connection between teen pregnancy and statutory rape have led many states to enact stricter laws against statutory rape and to increase the enforcement of existing laws. Punitive statutory rape laws are being viewed more and more as a mechanism for shrinking the welfare rolls by reducing teen pregnancy. Rigel Oliveri documents the resurgence of statutory rape law and enforcement and explores the ramifications it will have on teen parents. In particular, Oliveri approaches the issue from several analytical frameworks, discussing arguments for consent-based standards, the privacy …

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Adoption Of Children In Missouri, Mary M. Beck Apr 1998

Adoption Of Children In Missouri, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Article is to investigate the effect of Missouri law on adoption and to determine whether its provisions adequately protect the parties to adoption and whether its degree of clarity properly forestalls litigation.

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Hypocrites And Barking Harlots: The Clinton-Lewinsky Affair And The Attack On Women, Christina E. Wells Jan 1998

Hypocrites And Barking Harlots: The Clinton-Lewinsky Affair And The Attack On Women, Christina E. Wells

Faculty Publications

This essay defends against the wholesale castigation of women who support the President. It reveals that such criticism is wrong and unfair. Specifically, it demonstrates that the critics have unreasonably characterized women's responses to Clinton as hypocritical or extremely naive, rather than as examples of astute political decision-making. The essay further exposes the sexism underlying the critics' arguments, revealing that stereotypes regarding (1) women's role as the keeper of morals and (2) women as non-political or non-rational beings are at the heart of much of the criticism. By reinforcing these stereotypes, the critics pose a greater danger to women than …

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Crossing The Line: The Political And Moral Battle Over Late-Term Abortion, Rigel C. Oliveri Jan 1998

Crossing The Line: The Political And Moral Battle Over Late-Term Abortion, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on the political and moral debate surrounding two pieces of federal legislation which sought to criminalize a particular late term abortion technique scientifically known as "intact dilation and extraction," and popularly known as "partial birth abortion." The Congressional "Partial Birth Abortion" Bans of 1996 and 1997 inflamed the already emotionally charged contest over abortion rights. The intense lobbying and advocacy efforts put pro-choice activists in the uncomfortable position of having to defend one of the most extreme positions on the abortion-rights spectrum. The advocacy was further complicated by the fact that very few women obtain late term …

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Sex Discrimination In Coaching, R. Lawrence Dessem Jan 1980

Sex Discrimination In Coaching, R. Lawrence Dessem

Faculty Publications

This article will attempt to provide a legal framework for analysis of this not uncommon payment of lower salaries or stipends to the teacher-coaches (both male and female) of girls' athletics than to the teacher-coaches of comparable or identical boys' sports.

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Domicile Of A Married Woman, The, James L. Parks Jan 1924

Domicile Of A Married Woman, The, James L. Parks

University of Missouri Bulletin Law Series

Originally the rule was that the domicile of a married woman was that of her husband. It made no difference what the actual facts were, a wife would not be heard to say that she had a separate domicile. This notion was largely due to the law's conception of a married couple as one person, which idea was based on a wife's duty to be with her husband, he in turn being bound to support her.

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