Feminist Legal Studies 11 (2):163-190 (2003)
Abstract |
In Barclay's Bank v. O'Brien(1993) the House of Lords extended the undue influence rules to heterosexual and homosexual cohabitees, a move that was widely welcomed and has been endorsed in Royal Bank of Scotland v. Etridge (No. 2) (2001). The paper argues that the extension to homosexual couples is inappropriate, since undue influence is largely a problem of heterosexuality. It is not accidental that there have been no reported cases of undue influence between lesbian or gay partners, not because abuses of power do not occur within such relationships, but because they are free of the central causal factor of undue influence: not intimacy per se but the gendered power dynamic within heterosexual intimacy that has characterised almost all reported cases. The first part of the paper examines the courts' treatment of gay and lesbian couples in other areas of equity and concludes that the absence of gender role assumptions leads courts to treat lesbian and gay claimants more equitably than they do heterosexual women. The second part focuses on the potential for gay and, especially, lesbian relationships to act as models of more egalitarian relationships than heterosexual ones. The dominant discourse of inclusion within the gay and lesbian legal lobby is problematised, and the paper concludes that what is needed is social and judicial recognition of what is different, not what is the same, about our relationships
|
Keywords | difference equality equity feminist theory gay marriage heterosexuality homosexuality lesbian feminism marriage undue influence |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Reprint years | 2004 |
DOI | 10.1023/A:1025020123660 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
Sexuality and Succession Law: Beyond Formal Equality. [REVIEW]Daniel Monk - 2011 - Feminist Legal Studies 19 (3):231-250.
Similar books and articles
Misconceptions About Coercion and Undue Influence: Reflections on the Views of Irb Members.Emily Largent, Christine Grady, Franklin G. Miller & Alan Wertheimer - 2013 - Bioethics 27 (9):500-507.
'Activist Courts,' Misleading Wedge Politics and the Tragedy of Proposition.M. Katherine B. Darmer - unknown
Feminism, the Family, and the Politics of the Closet: Lesbian and Gay Displacement.Cheshire Calhoun - 2002 - Oxford University Press.
Surety Wives in the House of Lords: Time forSolicitors to `Get Real'?Royal Bank of Scotland Plc V. Etridge (No. 2) [2001] 4 All E.R. 449. [REVIEW]Debra Morris - 2003 - Feminist Legal Studies 11 (1):57-69.
Irrational Exuberance About Babies: The Taste for Heterosexuality and its Conspicuous Reproduction.José Gabilondo - manuscript
The Lesbian June Cleaver: Heterosexism and Lesbian Mothering.Bonnie Mann - 2007 - Hypatia 22 (1):149-165.
Love and the State: Gay Marriage in Spain: Spanish Law No. 13/2005, 1 July 2005, Concerning, Through a Change in the Civil Code, the Access of Lesbians and Gay Men to the Institution of Marriage. [REVIEW]Raquel Platero - 2007 - Feminist Legal Studies 15 (3):329-340.
Wives Are Told: Don't Blame the Bank, Sue Your Solicitor: Royal Bank of Scotland V. Etridge (No. 2) and Other Appeals [1998] 4 All E.R. 705. [REVIEW]Debra Morris - 1999 - Feminist Legal Studies 7 (2):193-202.
Brief Refutations of Some Common Arguments Against Same-Sex Marriage.Benjamin A. Gorman - 2004 - American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Philosophy and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues 4 (1):13-15.
Money for Research Participation: Does It Jeopardize Informed Consent?Christine Grady - 2001 - American Journal of Bioethics 1 (2):40 – 44.
Sexuality and Succession Law: Beyond Formal Equality. [REVIEW]Daniel Monk - 2011 - Feminist Legal Studies 19 (3):231-250.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2013-11-24
Total views
30 ( #342,505 of 2,403,526 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #360,890 of 2,403,526 )
2013-11-24
Total views
30 ( #342,505 of 2,403,526 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #360,890 of 2,403,526 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads