Your World of Legal Intelligence
 United Kingdom | +44 (0) 20 7284 8080

Book Review: Unwanted Sex: The Culture of Intimidation and the Failure of Law

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorJennifer Temkin
Published date01 September 2000
Date01 September 2000
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/096466390000900311
Subject MatterArticles
/tmp/tmp-18W2rlKnaYEdVY/input 10 Reviews (jl/ho) 3/8/00 1:51 pm Page 461
BOOK REVIEWS
461
within progressive support structures, particularly around women’s rights as they are
articulated in litigation, would also be useful.
The Rights Revolution nonetheless is an informative book for those interested in
the politics of rights. It provides many lessons for developing rights cultures, par-
ticularly highlighting the importance of legal aid, progressive rights-oriented legal
education, and a socially diverse legal community. It is arguable that none of these
elements are widely present in the UK today; which might make us sceptical about
the likelihood of a major British rights revolution.
CARL F. STYCHIN
Department of Law, University of Reading, UK
STEPHEN J. SCHULHOFER, Unwanted Sex: The Culture of Intimidation and the Failure
of Law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998, 352 pp., £17.50 (hbk).
After a shaky and long-winded start, this book comes into its own. For readers
outside of the United States, it presents a fascinating account of the failure of legis-
lative attempts made there in the 1970s and 1980s to tackle rape law reform. It also
provides an exhaustive analysis of the idea of sexual autonomy with proposals for
translating this idea sensibly into law.
Very much more has been written on the subject of rape and rape laws in the
United States than in the United Kingdom. Schulhofer, who is Professor of Law and
Criminology at the University of Chicago Law School, points out that not all of it
has been helpful. For example, if the distinction between rape and normal hetero-
sexual intercourse is so fine as to be almost imperceptible, as writers such as
Catharine MacKinnon have asserted, then where does this leave law reform? Schul-
hofer is politely critical of meretricious arguments such as this but they in their turn
have spawned a backlash with writers such as Katie Roiphe contending that rape and
harassment legislation have been taken to absurd lengths in America. Schulhofer,
...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT