Citadels of pride Sexual assault, accountability, and reconciliation

Nussbaum (The Cosmopolitan Tradition), a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago, examines in this scholarly yet impassioned account the "culture of sexual violence and sexual harassment" in America and the "institutional and structural solutions" necessary to reform it. She explores the concept of objectification and the harms it causes, and how male pride fuels the denial of a woman's autonomy and subjectivity. Nussbaum also digs into changing standards of consent and accountability as she tracks the history of legal efforts to combat sexual harassment from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which defined sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination) to the #MeToo movement. Probing systemic failures that cause sexual misconduct to go unaddressed, Nussbaum discusses cases from the federal judiciary, where clerks are held to strict standards of confidentiality; the performing arts, where "certain people with great power and wealth can influence everyone's chances"; and Division I college sports, where the system is so structurally corrupt, Nussbaum argues, that it should be done away with altogether. Though some sections may be too dense for lay readers, Nussbaum persuasively argues that the law, when applied correctly, can provide justice "that seeks reconciliation and a shared future" for men and women. This carefully reasoned account convinces. (May)

The renowned philosopher looks at the intersection of toxic male pride and sexual abuse and harassment. Nussbaum explains that her latest book discusses legal technicalities to encourage fair judicial solutions: "So when you think that this text is abstract, please try to remember that it embodies a noble moral idea!" But much of the book is more journalistic than scholarly, and in a section on NCAA sports, the author sounds more like Bob Costas in a reflective mood than a public intellectual. Nussbaum fairly argues that sexual abuse involves "treating people as things," which reflects overweening pride, and legal remedies such as "victim impact" statements can "taint a criminal trial with retributive overreach," jeopardizing the process. The author clearly shows how toxic masculinity infects three "citadels of pride"--the federal judiciary, the performing arts, and the "diseased" world of college sports. Nussbaum perceptively notes, for example, that Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and James Levine were taken to task only when they were "too old and ill to make money for others any longer." In her most controversial chapter, the author urges Division 1 colleges to limit the abuse by replacing their football and basketball programs with the kind of minor league teams that exist in baseball. Nussbaum's sections on sports suggest that she's strayed too far from philosophy to write with her usual aplomb. In those chapters, the writing is flatter, and her argument about college football doesn't fully consider the vastly different situations between major programs like Alabama and Ohio State (many of which are unquestionably diseased) and smaller D-1 schools, where eliminating athletic scholarships could have negative consequences for students who are otherwise unable to attend college. Many readers, however, won't care that this is not her best work: There's a variety of insights to be gleaned from any Nussbaum book, and her comments here are sure to set sports-talk radio shows on fire in Tuscaloosa, Columbus, and beyond. An uneven examination of a topic that continues to require vigilant attention. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.