Chris Ashford and Alexander Maine (eds), Research Handbook on Gender, Sexuality and the Law

DOI10.3366/elr.2021.0684
Published date01 January 2021
Date01 January 2021
Pages137-139
Author

University courses and programmes examining the relationship between gender, sexuality and the law are growing in volume and popularity in many jurisdictions, mirroring the growth of this field of scholarship. However, despite (and perhaps partly as a reaction to) this expansion in interest and knowledge, hard-earned social and legal progress in the realm of gender and LGBTQ justice is currently under threat from the “tilt” towards nationalism and the right in many parts of the world (2). It is against this context that this edited collection, comprised of thirty-five chapters by different authors, offers a timely and comprehensive intervention – examining recent debates, challenges and tensions that currently characterise this field, and identifying areas where further legal progress and scholarship is required. The conflict between state and activist agendas, and the unintended consequences for litigants in seeking recognition of their gendered and sexual identities from the state and its laws, is a theme that cuts across multiple chapters and infuses the handbook as a whole. Numerous chapters demonstrate the power of the law to marginalise and reinforce problematic conservative and heterosexist social ideals and constructs, often under the guise of progressive decision-making. Concerns about state “co-option” (and subsequent mutation) of progressive ideas in the service of regressive agendas are long-standing in feminist and other critical legal scholarship.

The book is divided by theme rather than subject area, meaning that certain topics are covered several times (e.g. BDSM; same-sex marriage; gender recognition; domestic violence; sex work; pornography) but from different angles. This does not come at the cost of coherency or lead to repetition, but instead makes for a richer and more thought-provoking read. Division by theme rather than topic is in keeping with the editors’ aim of bringing together “a range of differing perspectives to truly reflect the field of gender, sexuality and the law” (1) and ensures a balanced and inclusive representation of viewpoints. Moreover, the inclusion of several chapters based on empirical research ensures that the lived experience of individuals and groups who have historically been, and continue to be, marginalised by the law and legal system are given prominence. The chapter authored by Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger, the two litigants in the case of Wilkinson v Kitzinger ([2006] EWHC 2022 (Fam)), performs a...

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