(Un)doing the Process: Title Ix, Legal Rhetoric & the Possibilities for Critical Consent

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/tt44pn209

Abstract

Confronted with panicked discourse around the statistics that 1 in 4 women, 6% of men, and 1 in 2 trans* students will experience sexual assault during their time in college, the U.S. Department of Education revisited 1972 law Title IX, and qualified sexual assault as creating a hostile learning environment on the basis of gender. Since then, a backlash has emerged, in which male Title IX violators are suing the colleges that expelled them. Using narrative criticism, this thesis examines four of these lawsuits with a specific focus on their complaints of lack of due process and gender discrimination against men. Each chapter investigates a facet of their shared narratives: chapter two explores the legal/administrative oscillations of Title IX administrative procedures; chapter three interrogates how these men narrativize consent; and finally, chapter four brings these two themes together to discuss how the lawsuits make sense of fairness and justice.

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