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Sex, Law and Consent Robin West, Georgetown Law The Ethics of Consent: Theory and Practice (Alan Wertheimer & William Miller eds. forthcoming) Download the Paper (PDF format) - July 23, 2008 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. ABSTRACT: The article defends the now fairly conventional liberal reform position that consent ought to be the demarcation between rape and non-criminal sex, responding to both radical feminist and modern queer theoretic arguments that problematize it. It then criticizes liberal arguments that legitimize virtually all consensual sex, leaving all of it relatively insulated not only against criminalization but also against moral and political critique. Consensual sex can be wanted or unwanted, and when unwanted, it can be harmful in ways that cannot be recognized by liberal understandings of consensual sex. Lastly, the article defends this claim, again, against both radical feminist and queer theoretic critiques that for opposing reasons seek to undermine the distinction between unwanted and wanted consensual sex. SUGGESTED CITATION: Robin West, "Sex, Law and Consent" (July 23, 2008). Georgetown Law. Georgetown Law Faculty Working Papers. Paper 71. http://lsr.nellco.org/georgetown/fwps/papers/71 | REPOSITORY HOME  | SEARCH  | MY ACCOUNT  | NELLCO HOME | Powered by bepress.