Let’s Talk About Sex And Gender Identity, Queering the Law and Other Topics At This Tuesday’s ‘Sex Talk: Bodies, Identity and the Law’

Dean R. P. Edwards
Volume 3, Issue 10, (Originally Published on Monday 13 May 2013)
 
Students will have a chance to uncover the law’s attitudes and recent developments with respect to sexuality, gender identity and more at this week’s top billing, ‘Sex Talk: Bodies, Identity and the Law’.
 
The four-hour symposium tomorrow, Tuesday, 14 May 2013, has been arranged by members of the JD law subject, Current Issues in Gender, Sexuality and the Law, as part of their class assessment. Students will present their findings on a diverse range of subjects in panel discussions and poster and oral presentations.
 
The event kicks off at 1 pm in Room 920, with an introduction and brief comments from Master of Ceremonies Dean Edwards, who is also co-panelling a discussion on GLBTI rights with fellow student (and former LSS Queer co-rep) Oliver Cox and chair Professor Ian Malkin.
 
The introduction is followed by a one-hour sushi lunch and the first round of poster presentations, giving attendees the opportunity to mingle with poster presenters and inquire about their research.
 
Individual oral presentations and the first student panel, ‘Feminist critiques of the criminal law’, chaired by Professor Lisa Sarmas, will follow lunch and the first round of posters, concluding around 2.40 pm for afternoon tea.
 
Part two of the symposium resumes at 2.55 pm, with more oral presentations, a panel on recent gay/queer legal developments and a conversation on moving beyond the gender binary.
 
The full program for the ‘Sex Talk’ symposium is available online at <http://bit.ly/18CqFag>, and the event’s Facebook event can be found at <http://on.fb.me/10AD73X>.
 
 
Tuesday’s Symposium Program
 
• 1 pm: Brief introduction, outline of symposium structure and explanation of poster presentations. MC: Dean Edwards
• 1 – 2 pm: Lunch
Sushi (provided while poster presentations take place)
• 1 – 2 pm: Poster presentations
Group A (presenters available for conversation 1:05 – 1:30 pm)
Poster 1: Lucrezia Carnovale, Victorian law and consent in rape: Evaluating the law’s focus on the complainant
Poster 2: Kaitlin Hanrahan, The issue of consent in rape and Victorian law reform
Poster 3: Tessa Hilt, Legal narratives on gender and homicide after the abolition of the defence of provocation
Poster 4: Rachel Schechter, Prostitution and the Canadian Constitution: Contemporary challenges to the criminalization of sex work
Group B (presenters available for conversation 1:30 – 1:55 pm)
Poster 5: Tai Sayarath, Women beyond gender?: Feminism and international refugee law in the age of gender mainstreaming
Poster 6: Thea Gibson, Intersex: Disrupting the binary system of gender embedded in Australian law
Poster 7: Victoria Byrne, Company paid maternity leave: Working with feminism or against it?
Poster 8: Amanda De Guzman, A human rights analysis of the current practice of performing ‘corrective’ surgeries on intersex children
• 2 – 2:20 pm: Individual presenters MC: Dean Edwards (5-6 minutes presentation and 4-5 minutes questions each presentation)
Presentation 1: Anna Nodrum, Marriage Equality in Australia
Presentation 2: Sam Lovick, When Pete is Cheryl: the limits of the law in dealing with the workplace challenges faced by transsexuals
• 2:20 – 2:40 pm: Panel: ‘Feminist critiques of the criminal law’, chaired by Prof. Lisa Sarmas (panelists present 5 minutes each, then 10 minutes for questions)
Panelist 1: Amy Frew, Getting back together with feminism
Panelist 2: Joel Cooke, The construction and ‘gendering’ of the ‘ideal’ rape victim in Australian legal discourse
2:40 – 2:55 pm: tea break
Refreshments provided
• 2:55 – 3:15 pm: Individual presenters. MC: Dean Edwards (5-6 minutes presentation and 4-5 minutes questions (total 10 minutes each presentation))
Presentation 1: Leah Wickman, Sex sells: Human trafficking laws, prostitution and controlling women in the United States
Presentation 2: Chris Ambas, Is ‘discrimination’ coherent? A sceptical solution to a sceptical paradox
• 3:15 – 3:35 pm: Panel – ‘Recent gay/queer legal developments’, chaired by Prof. Ian Malkin (panelists present 5 minutes each, then 10 minutes for questions)
Panelist 1: Dean R.P. Edwards, Section 377A: the political economy of regulating (homo)sexual rights in Singapore
Panelist 2: Oliver Cox, Yogyakarta Principles 8 years on – A critical analysis
• 3:35 – 3:55 pm: Conversation - ‘Beyond the gender binary’, chaired by Prof. Ian Malkin (conversational style presentation 10 minutes, then 10 minutes questions)
Presenter 1: Alex Turnbull, A manifesto for gender revolution: social progression within legal frameworks
Presenter 2: Elise Cafarella, We still need to talk about Kevin: examining the rigid rules of gender recognition in Australian law
• 3:55 – 4 pm: Closing by MC

Dean R. P. Edwards