Justice in Erotic Spaces

Authors

• Elena L. Cohen, Delaware Law School, Widener University

Abstract

This Article posits that the concept of "erotic justice" could be used by courts to push back against the current cascade of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and meaningfully improve the lives ofgay and trans people. The beginning of the twenty-first century was widely seen as a time of great progress for LGBTQ+ people, with the legalization of gay marriage in countries across the world seen as the ultimate triumph. Yet there is a strong contemporary movement to re-criminalize the lives of LGBTQ+ people and to remove protections that have been granted by courts. In the U.S., the 2020s have seen an ongoing and major backlash againstgay and especially trans rights. This has taken the form of bathroom use restrictions, bans on genderaffirming care, anti-gay curriculum laws and book bans, criminalization of drag performances, boycotts of companies for celebrating Pride, conspiracy theories around grooming, and a demand that courts recognize a religious right to discriminate against trans people. Current constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ people, and sexuality more generally, are not sufficient. This Article explains the concept of erotic justice and proposes ways in which courts can use this concept to protect LGBTQ+ lives.

Disciplines

Civil Rights and Discrimination | Comparative and Foreign Law | Constitutional Law | Education Law | Law | Law and Gender | Sexuality and the Law

Recommended Citation

Elena L. Cohen, Justice in Erotic Spaces, 32 Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just. 334 (2026).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol32/iss2/3