Katharine K. Baker and Michelle Oberman
This paper evaluates the modern baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault (rape) cases in light of different theories of sexuality (feminism on the one hand and sex…
Abstract
This paper evaluates the modern baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault (rape) cases in light of different theories of sexuality (feminism on the one hand and sex positivism/queer theory on the other) and in light of how sexuality manifests itself in the lives of contemporary young women. The authors analyze social science literature on contemporary heterosexual practices such as sexting and hook-ups, as well as contemporary media imagery, to inform a contemporary understanding of the ways in which young people perceive and experience sex. Using this evidence as a foundation, the authors reconsider the ongoing utility of a baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault cases. This paper demonstrates the complex relationship between women’s sexual autonomy, the contemporary culture’s encouragement of women’s celebration of their own sexual objectification and the persistence of high rates of unwanted sex. In the end, it demonstrates why a legal presumption against consent may neither reduce the rate of nonconsensual sex, nor raise the rate of reported rapes. At the same time, it shows how the presumption itself is unlikely to generate harmful consequences: if it deters anything, it likely deters unwanted sex, whether consented to or not.
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IN ANY TYPE OF LITERATURE it is easier in retrospect to pick out the notable writers of a period from the mass of lesser writers. With any type of current literature it is almost…
Abstract
IN ANY TYPE OF LITERATURE it is easier in retrospect to pick out the notable writers of a period from the mass of lesser writers. With any type of current literature it is almost impossible to assess what will still be read or valued by later generations. This is as true of children's literature, and particularly of a more specific branch such as the family story, which tends to date rapidly. This is confirmed by the new book list for children, published by the Library Association: First Choice, which has been eagerly awaited. Praise should be generously lavished on the compilers, who have had to decide courageously which authors have to go overboard and have also had the arduous task of selecting a representative twenty‐one authors of family stories, approximately ten per cent of the list of fiction for older children.
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new…
Abstract
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new constitution, it is the first in which all the sections will be actively engaged. From a membership of eight hundred in 1927 we are, in 1930, within measurable distance of a membership of three thousand; and, although we have not reached that figure by a few hundreds—and those few will be the most difficult to obtain quickly—this is a really memorable achievement. There are certain necessary results of the Association's expansion. In the former days it was possible for every member, if he desired, to attend all the meetings; today parallel meetings are necessary in order to represent all interests, and members must make a selection amongst the good things offered. Large meetings are not entirely desirable; discussion of any effective sort is impossible in them; and the speakers are usually those who always speak, and who possess more nerve than the rest of us. This does not mean that they are not worth a hearing. Nevertheless, seeing that at least 1,000 will be at Cambridge, small sectional meetings in which no one who has anything to say need be afraid of saying it, are an ideal to which we are forced by the growth of our numbers.
MID‐OCTOBER sees all library activities in process. The autumn and winter prospects are interesting and, in some senses, may be exciting. The autumn conferences have been held…
Abstract
MID‐OCTOBER sees all library activities in process. The autumn and winter prospects are interesting and, in some senses, may be exciting. The autumn conferences have been held, except that of the London and Home Counties Branch, which is at Southend for the week‐end October 17th to 20th, and is the third sectional conference to be held this month in addition to seven other meetings. These gatherings, at Torquay, Greenwich, Felixstowe, London (three), Tunbridge Wells and Leicester, show a fairly wide coverage of the lower part of Great Britain. The northerners had their go, so to speak, last month, in Durham and elsewhere, as we have previously recorded. The Programme of Meetings, 1952–53, arranged by organisations in the London and Home Counties Branch area, is a most convenient leaflet listing 33 meetings in the area. Every interest seems to be served, with two exceptions, and every L. A. member of whatever section may attend any or all of the meetings. The exceptions are the meetings of ASLIB and the Bibliographical Society. Any list of meetings for librarians would be improved if it noted all that interest them and these would be a useful, not extravagant, addition. London Library Intelligence, the editorship of which has been handed over by Mr. F. J. Hoy, who did it extremely well, to Mr. R. W. Rouse, Borough Librarian, Finsbury, E.C.1, does provide the required information we understand. It is perhaps too much to expect a list of all gatherings throughout these islands; or is it? There are 12,000 of us and, if only 50 attended a meeting once a year—a satisfactory number for discussion— there would be room for 240 meetings.
THE new library building has been open for six months now. It is pleasantly situated in an area of new buildings, and occupies a prominent island site just on the edge of the…
Abstract
THE new library building has been open for six months now. It is pleasantly situated in an area of new buildings, and occupies a prominent island site just on the edge of the shopping centre. The old library was in the middle of a shopping area, and it has been interesting to note that our removal from that site has had a more considerable effect on the traffic pattern than one would have thought.