From Jailbird to Jailbait: Age of Consent Law and the Construction of Teenage Sexualities

Age of consent laws provide an obvious example of direct state intervention into the sexual lives of teenagers. But the reach of this body of law extends further than this, operating in complex and contradictory ways that generate a range of distributive effects. For example, the roles that parents and welfare officials play in enforcement decisions have an impact on broader struggles between teenagers, parents, and state officials over teenage sexual activity and sexual values. Further, in those contexts where age of consent laws do not apply or where they are not enforced, teenage sex will be left in the realm of existing power relationships where factors such as age, sex, race, and class come to the forefront. Given the multiple levels upon which they operate, age of consent laws provide an excellent vehicle for exploring the role of law not simply in the repression of teenage sex, but also in the constitution of teenage sexualities

From Jailbird to Jailbait: Age of Consent Laws and the Construction of Teenage Sexualities

Age of consent laws provide an obvious example of direct state intervention into the sexual lives of teenagers. But the reach of this body of law extends further than this, operating in complex and contradictory ways that generate a range of distributive effects. For example, the roles that parents and welfare officials play in enforcement decisions have an impact on broader struggles between teenagers, parents, and state officials over teenage sexual activity and sexual values. Further, in those contexts where age of consent laws do not apply or where they are not enforced, teenage sex will be left in the realm of existing power relationships where factors such as age, sex, race, and class come to the forefront. Given the multiple levels upon which they operate, age of consent laws provide an excellent vehicle for exploring the role of law not simply in the repression of teenage sex, but also in the constitution of teenage sexualities

Legal Rites: Abjection and the Criminal Regulation of Consensual Sex

The application of criminal law to consensual sex is an arena of conflict and contest between conservative and liberal forces in the United States, with occasional feminist interventions. The same arguments tend to recur on each side of the debate. Conservatives assert the appropriateness and necessity of enforcing a particular Judeo-Christian sexual morality through law. Liberals argue for tolerance of private consensual sexual conduct. When the debate shifts from the private to the public arena, conservatives may argue privacy principles, asserting the right of bystanders to be let alone, whereas liberals may shift to freedom of expression arguments. In this paper, I am seeking to find a new way of understanding the criminal regulation of consensual sex that transcends this conservative-liberal debate. In tracking the debate through courts, legislatures, and academic literature, I noted frequent references to disgust or revulsion. These were not incidental, throwaway references. An examination of the theory behind the opposing arguments reveals that disgust plays a central role in determining for each camp which consensual sexual practices should or should not be regulated through criminal law. Disgust is deployed by conservatives to argue for prohibition of various consensual sexual practices. On the other side, one might expect liberals to keep their disgust under wraps in the interest of pluralistic tolerance. This proves not to be the case. Liberals do argue that the generation of disgust by any given practice is not a sufficient basis for criminalizing consensual conduct, but nevertheless frequently invoke disgust to justify confining such conduct to the private realm. Drawing upon literary and psychoanalytic theory, the above references can be characterized as abjection responses and linked to anxiety about the maintenance of boundaries between a variety of cherished classifications, such as human/animal, male/female, adult/child, and citizen/foreigner, the existence of which impose a semblance of order and hierarchy in society. Making this link helps to explain why many are so strongly invested in regulating the private and consensual conduct of others

Marx and Mackinnon: The Promise and Perils of Marxism for Feminist Legal Theory

Catherine MacKinnon, perhaps the dominant voice of North American feminist legal theory over the last two decades, developed her feminist theory of law through an extended metaphor with Marxism. Marxist thought thus became thoroughly intertwined with MacKinnon’s particular brand of radical feminism in the minds of many feminist legal scholars and activists. As MacKinnon’s work has fallen out of favor in recent years, largely as a result of criticisms leveled against it from postmodern and critical race feminist perspectives, so too has the work of Marx. Setting MacKinnon’s Towards a Feminist Theory of the State side by side with Volume I of Capital, and offering a critique of the use she made of Marx’s work, reveals the continued relevance of Marxism to feminist legal scholarship and activism

Work, Sex, and Sex-Work: Competing Feminist Discourses on the International Sex Trade

This article explores the competing discourses of radical feminism and sex radicalism on the international sex trade. These voices have been dominant in feminist debates on this issue and both have proved significant forces when it comes to legal reform. Radical feminists characterize prostitution as an abuse of human rights, regardless of whether it is forced or voluntary, and have fought for its abolition. They have had a substantial impact on the development and adoption of anti-trafficking legislation and instruments in various countries and at the international level. Sex radicals have offered compelling opposition, shifting the focus from the abolition of sex work to the human rights of sex workers. Their legal interventions have been geared toward self-determination for sex workers including decent working conditions and freedom of movement. This article employs the term sex-work as an analytical device by which to get to the bottom of these very different perspectives. An analysis of the respective emphases of radical feminists and sex radicals-on sex or work or sex-work-yields insight into the role assigned to the sex worker in each of these feminist theoretical discourses. This, in turn, has important implications for feminist activism in the international arena

Legal Rites: Abjection and the Criminal Regulation of Consensual Sex

The application of criminal law to consensual sex is an arena of conflict and contest between conservative and liberal forces in the United States, with occasional feminist interventions. The same arguments tend to recur on each side of the debate. Conservatives assert the appropriateness and necessity of enforcing a particular Judeo-Christian sexual morality through law. Liberals argue for tolerance of private consensual sexual conduct. When the debate shifts from the private to the public arena, conservatives may argue privacy principles, asserting the right of bystanders to be let alone, whereas liberals may shift to freedom of expression arguments. In this paper, I am seeking to find a new way of understanding the criminal regulation of consensual sex that transcends this conservative-liberal debate. In tracking the debate through courts, legislatures, and academic literature, I noted frequent references to disgust or revulsion. These were not incidental, throwaway references. An examination of the theory behind the opposing arguments reveals that disgust plays a central role in determining for each camp which consensual sexual practices should or should not be regulated through criminal law. Disgust is deployed by conservatives to argue for prohibition of various consensual sexual practices. On the other side, one might expect liberals to keep their disgust under wraps in the interest of pluralistic tolerance. This proves not to be the case. Liberals do argue that the generation of disgust by any given practice is not a sufficient basis for criminalizing consensual conduct, but nevertheless frequently invoke disgust to justify confining such conduct to the private realm. Drawing upon literary and psychoanalytic theory, the above references can be characterized as abjection responses and linked to anxiety about the maintenance of boundaries between a variety of cherished classifications, such as human/animal, male/female, adult/child, and citizen/foreigner, the existence of which impose a semblance of order and hierarchy in society. Making this link helps to explain why many are so strongly invested in regulating the private and consensual conduct of others

Addressing gender in renewable natural resources knowledge strategies

This guide aims to encourage RNRKS programme managers and project leaders to address gender more explicitly and effectively in their work. They might ask ‘how can a natural resources research programme, being largely technical in content and emphasizing research with generic applications, effectively address gender, particularly issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment?’ There is no simple answer to this question. The guide focuses upon opportunities to address gender during programme design, monitoring and implementation. It begins with a discussion of what gender means, why gender is an issue of central importance to development strategies targeting poverty in the natural resource sector, and the risks of ignoring gender. This is followed by sections on gender bias in projects, gender blindness, and whether or not gender is better addressed separately, or as an integral part of socio-economic analysis. Conceptual frameworks for conducting gender analysis are discussed briefly. The second major part of the guide is concerned with programme and project-level issues and the extent to which constraints on mainstreaming gender can be overcome. A reading list is offered to those looking for more specific examples in relation to the various natural resource sectors, more detailed general gender guidelines, and greater enlightenment on conceptual and analytical issues relating to gender

The dynamics of Larval fish and Zooplankton assemblages in the Sundays Estuary, South Africa

The larval fish and zooplankton assemblages were studied in the permanently open Sundays Estuary on the south-east coast of South Africa, using standard boat-based plankton towing methods. A total of 8174 larval and early juvenile fishes were caught, representing 12 families and 23 taxa. The Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Blenniidae were the dominant fish families. Common species included Gilchristella aestuaria, Caffrogobius gilchristi, Omobranchus woodi, Liza dumerilii, Glossogobius callidus and Myxus capensis. Estuarine resident species (Category I) predominantly in the preflexion developmental stage, dominated the system. A total of 19 zooplankton taxa were recorded. Copepoda dominated the zooplankton community. Dominant species included Pseudodiaptomus hessei, Acartia longipatella, Halicyclops sp., Mesopodopsis wooldridgei, and the larvae of Paratylodiplax edwardsii and Hymenosoma orbiculare. Mean larval fish density showed similar trends seasonally, spatially and across salinity zones, with mean zooplankton density in the Sundays Estuary. Gut content analysis of five larval fish species: Gilchristella aestuaria, Pomadasys commersonnii, Monodactylus falciformis, Myxus capensis and Rhabdosargus holubi, revealed species specific diet and prey selection. Although larval fish diet contained a variety of prey items, guts were dominated by P. hessei, chironomid larvae, Corophium triaenonyx, copepod eggs and insect larvae. Physico-chemical drivers and the interactions between these two plankton communities provide information that enables a more holistic view of the dynamics occurring in the Sundays Estuary planktonic ecosystem