Gregory Klass and Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, ‘Gender and Deception: Moral Perceptions and Legal Responses’, 117 Northwestern University Law Review, forthcoming 2023, 20 January 2023, draft available at SSRN. Is caveat emptor indeed ‘a rule for he and not for she’? This is only one of the excellent questions raised by co-authors Gregory Klass and Tess Wilkinson-Ryan in their recent symposium contribution ‘Gender and Deception’. The question is induced by classical casebook entries that seem to reflect an increased judicial willingness to protect women from market deception. Recall, for example, the many ‘Arthur Murray cases’ in which franchised dance studios around the country made exuberant profits from making elderly women with no dancing experience believe that they are only a few more lessons away from becoming professional dancers. However, to the extent such a gender-based approach exists (which is unclear at best), it often comes with a price not only for male buyers. Too often, as the co-authors importantly remind readers, intervention on behalf of deceived women seems to reflect and perpetuate gender biases regarding their capabilities – disrespectfully portraying them as gullible … (more)
[Hila Keren, JOTWELL, 28 April 2023]
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