Betwixt and Between Recognition: Migrating Same-Sex Marriages and the Turn Toward the Private

Cossman talks about the battery of arguments at work in doctrinal debates about the recognition of gay and lesbian marriages alongside other images of these migrating marriages in television and film and in wedding announcements in the New York Times. At a most basic level, this cultural analysis reminds people that doctrinal efforts to abstract from the substance of disputes aside, substance and, in particular, cultural and political context continue to matter in ways that are often both crucial and unappreciated in the discipline. Moreover, she shows how the intricate moves of recognition and deference that characterize technical doctrinal maneuvering in the conflict of laws are actually consequential for the political substance of debates

Reform, Revolution, or Retrenchment?: International Human Rights in the Post-Cold War Era

As Europe East and West struggles to come in from the cold, international human rights must confront the implications of profound social, economic, and political change. It is a moment of both opportunity and challenge. The end of the Cold War may signal a renewed possibility for the cooperation so essential for the realization of the normative vision of international human rights. Notwithstanding such hopes, I would argue that fundamental changes in the relationship between East and West may undermine important dimensions of the discourse of international human rights. Moreover, the focus of attention on the changes in. the East may have devastating effects the relationship between North and South, and on the conception of human rights law emerging from developing countries. As the Wall is dismantled ill Europe, new walls may only be going up elsewhere

A Matter of Difference: Domestic Contracts and Gender Equality

This essay explores the feminist debates around gender difference and gender equality in the context of the Supreme Court of Canada\u27s Pelech trilogy. It argues that the Court\u27s approach to the enforcement of separation agreements does not adequately account for gender difference. Based on feminist critiques of difference, the essay then suggests an approach which might allow us to move beyond the dilemmas that difference presents to feminist legal theory and practice, and to the enforcement of separation agreements in particular

Canadian Same Sex Relationship Recognition Struggles and the Contradictory Nature of Legal Victories

I want to pick up on one of the themes running through virtually all of the papers in this symposium-the contradictory nature of law. Legal victories-and defeats-are always fragile, partial and contradictory. The perspective I bring to this theme is a Canadian one, where in the context of gay and lesbian struggles, legal victories now outweigh legal defeats. I will tell a story of these legal victories, which resulted in a much celebrated case in 1999 known as M v. H., in which the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the equality rights of same sex couples, and struck down a law with an opposite sex definition of spouse? This may sound like an unequivocal legal victory for gays and lesbians. But, the story that I want to tell teases out a more complicated understanding of the case, which will illustrate the contradictory nature of legal strategies and legal victories. Legal victories are never only legal victories, just as legal defeats are never only legal defeats

#MeToo and the Corporation in Popular Culture

#MeToo’s initial virtual explosion in the fall of 2017 was very much about Hollywood, with famous actresses speaking out against famous producers, media moguls and celebrities, exposing the ubiquity of sexual harassment and sexual violence in and around the entertainment industry. Since then, #MeToo has made its way into Hollywood representations without much irony. Films and television shows have explicitly taken up the #MeToo themes, exploring issues of sexual harassment and violence and its afterlives. Many television shows, from the relaunched version of Murphy Brown to Brooklyn Nine-Nine to The Good Fight have incorporated #MeToo themes into episodes exploring the prevalence of sexual violence in women’s lives, and the enduring trauma of survivors. Other shows have taken #MeToo and sexual violence as their central theme, from the impact of sexual violence on survivors like I May Destroy You; with others like Unbelievable on the criminal justice system or like Promising Young Woman on revenge. The first section briefly considers the negative representation of corporations in film. The second section turns to a detailed analysis of the #MeToo films and television shows, highlighting the way in which corporate actors are represented. The third section considers the real-life events which inspired the films and television shows. I do so not to point out factual inaccuracies, but rather as a way to think further about how the corporation is represented: What was and wasn’t deemed to be storyworthy can further highlight the narratives of corporate responsibility for sexual harassment and sexual violence. The story that emerges is a more complex one of corporate boards negotiating demands of multiple stakeholders, shareholder lawsuits, and reputational damage. Indeed, the more complex legal structure of the corporation is largely glossed over in the films and television shows. While they do narrate individual power struggles between corporate executives, and between those executives and the board, the multiple stakeholders of the corporate structure remains largely invisible. Shareholder actions and the fiduciary duties of directors of corporations are, not surprisingly, not the stuff of Hollywood dramas