Gay macdougall

Gay Johnson McDougall (born August 13, , in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American lawyer who has spent her career addressing international human rights and racial discrimination. Gay McDougall’s work has consistently challenged inequality. She has worked on the fault-lines of race, gender and economic exploitation in the American context and in countries around the world.

Lawyer Gay McDougall was born on August 13, in Atlanta, Georgia to Inez Johnson and Louis Johnson. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in , McDougall became the first African American student to attend Agnes Scott College. Professor Gay McDougall is Distinguished Scholar-In-Residence at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School. United Nations Audiovisual Library of International LawCodification Division, Office of Legal Affairs Copyright © United Nations, All Rights Reserved.

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Biographical Note Gay Johnson

This article explores the various presumptions and arguments of Canadian courts in largely denying queer children a legal presence. An analysis of the intersection of homosexuality and children is explored with a view to arguing that legally, queer children deserve a voice. The author begins by outlining the development of the legal conceptualization of the "child".

This conceptualization led to the notion of the child as innocent, and thus in need of protection. In comparison, homosexuals came to be characterized as "aberrant" and "predatory". Protecting children from homosexuals then became a simple step of logic, which ultimately led to the larger legal construction of the "nascently heterosexual" child.

This presumption underlies many of the court decisions reached in this area, often leading to a complete failure on the part of the law to acknowledge and confront the complex and sensitive issues facing queer children. Heterosexual normalization and homosexual "abnormalization" pervades the legal landscape, such that any child exhibiting non-heterosexual tendencies is presumed to have been influenced by an "aberrant" and "predatory" homosexual adult.

Legal institutions respond by "protecting" children from homosexual influences, thus denying these children access to gay norms and contexts. The author canvasses the manner in which major institutions and devices -- in the context of family and custody; religion; education; and harassment and verbal abuse -- are used to ensure the invisibility of the queer child.

In conclusion, it is noted that while some courts are beginning to recognize the queer child, much progress is needed before the queer child is accorded full legal visibility. Catalogue Record. To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately, you may Download the file to your hard drive. Advanced Search. Privacy Copyright.

Skip to main content. All Faculty Publications. The Legally Queer Child. Document Type Article.

Publication Date Subjects Children;, Homosexuality; Lesbianism; Infants. Abstract This article explores the various presumptions and arguments of Canadian courts in largely denying queer children a legal presence. Find in your library. Elsevier - Digital Commons.