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In this article I examine lesbians' and gay men's attitudes towards the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, using the theoretical framework of legal consciousness. I first provide a brief overview of the legal consciousness literature, before outlining some of the critiques of legal consciousness. Lesbian and gay legal consciousness is then examined through an analysis of qualitative responses to a large-scale online study of perceptions of and attitudes towards same-sex marriage and the legal recognition or regulation of same-sex relationships. Responses are analysed using thematic analysis to elaborate on five main themes within these data: formal equality, the relationship between legal and social change, the naming of legally recognized same-sex relationships, human rights discourse and citizenship claims. I argue that legal consciousness studies can help to interrogate the pervasiveness of discourses around formal equality and discrimination in the ways in which lesbians and gay men think about, use and position themselves in relation to law.

Lesbian and gay psychologists have recently begun to utilise human rights arguments and rhetoric in their research. This paper explores the relationship between psychology, human rights rhetoric and the practical application of human rights through human rights law, by using the example of lesbian access to assisted conception services as a case study. I explore the extent of engagement with human rights that has developed in lesbian and gay psychology, highlighting the problems inherent within a strong emphasis on the 'universality' of human rights. I use the example of lesbian access to assisted conception services and support for lesbian and gay parenting to show the possibilities and limitation of human rights arguments in relation to lesbian and gay rights.

1. Ageing and sexuality in western societies : changing perspectives on sexual activity, sexual expression and the 'sexy' older body / Sharron Hinchliff and Merryn Gott -- 2. Ageing sexualities in UK regulatory contexts / Sue Westwood -- 3. Inclusion and representation of older people and sexual health in sub-Saharan Africa within contemporary population health research / Gloria Chepngeno-Langat and Victoria Hosegood -- 4. Becoming visible : de-marginalising older lesbians in LGBT ageing discourse / Jane Traies -- 5. Sexual identity labels and their implications in later life : the case of bisexuality / Rebecca L. Jones -- 6. Older people and sexuality in residential aged care : reconstructing normality / Michael Bauer, Linda McAuliffe, Deirdre Fetherstonhaugh -- 7. "I am getting old and that takes some getting used to" : dimensions of body image for older men / Allan Tyler. [et al.] -- 8. Troubling identities? : examining older lesbian, gay and/or bisexual people's membership categorisation work and its significance / Andrew King -- 9. Towards the inquiry into aged care and beyond : the promise and challenge of a new era in LGBTI ageing / Mark Hughes -- 10. Internet dating, sexual intimacy and older people / Chris Beasley and Mary Holmes.

Building on Bakhtin's work on discourse, this article uses the concept of polyphony to explore capacity law praxis. Drawing on everyday interaction about power of attorney, we demonstrate how legal, lay and medical understandings of capacity operate dialogically, with each voice offering distinct expressions of legality. Analysing lay and medical interactions about Lasting Power of Attorney – the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a person who loses the mental capacity to make their own decisions – we argue power of attorney holds a 'polyphonic legality'. We argue that legal concepts (like power of attorney) are constructed not solely through official law but through dialogic interaction in their discursive fields. We suggest 'polyphonic legality' offers an innovative approach to understanding how law works in everyday life, which is attentive to the rich texture of legality created by and through the multiple voices and domains of socio-legal regulation.

The right to equal recognition before the law, protected by Article 12 of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), mandates the use of supported decision-making practices to enable disabled people, particularly those with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, to enjoy their legal capacity. Finding ways to translate this theoretical mandate into practice poses a number of particularly challenging socio-legal issues, which this research seeks to address. The English Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) sets out a right to support with decision-making (s.1(3)), underpinned by a presumption of capacity (s.1(2)). Qualitative interviews with intellectually disabled people, their supporters, and care and support professionals were undertaken to explore how disabled people make decisions in their everyday lives, the kinds of support they need, and the strategies for supported decision-making used in practice. Analysis of these interviews suggests that a range of supported decision-making techniques have been developed in practice and are effective in supporting everyday preferences and some life choices. Paradoxically, it appears that as decisions become more complex, the support available to disabled people reduces. Specifically, much less support is available for more difficult decisions around finances, healthcare and legal matters. We argue that the reasons for this are due to a web of regulatory, social and policy issues. We conclude that implementing the right to enjoy legal capacity through supported decision-making will require a combination of regulatory reform, social change and policy amendment.

This paper provides an analysis of respondent's perceptions about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships (N=1538). An online survey was developed to assess views regarding same-sex marriage and civil partnership, using statements rated on a forced-choice Likert-type scale with space for qualitative comments and collection of demographic information. Strategic opportunistic sampling and snowball sampling were used to achieve a large sample, derived from 27 different countries. Most respondents identified as lesbian or gay (69.4 per cent) and were currently in a same-sex relationship (67.2 per cent). Analysis indicates that the legal recognition of same-sex relationships is perceived as an important equality issue for lesbians, gay men and bisexual (LGB) people, and more support is evident for marriage than for civil partnership (particularly from those residing in North America). Heterosexuals are more likely to support civil partnership than LGB people, and lesbians are as positive about legal relationship recognition as gay men. Liberal formal equality arguments are better understood and more accepted than substantive equality or radical arguments. Our findings highlight that whilst LGB people strongly support the legal recognition of same-sex relationships they are especially in favour of same-sex marriage, and believe that all individuals (regardless of sexuality) should have access to the same relationship choices/statuses.

The practicalities of introducing partnership registration for gay couples, with rights and responsibilities attached, are complex. But the case for doing it is clear and, I believe, strong. I believe there will be a day when gay couples dont have to struggle to have their partnerships, their families, recognized. (Barbara Roche, UK Labour MP1)

Should digital platforms be responsible for intimate images posted without the subject's consent? Could the viewers of such images be liable simply by viewing them? This book answers these questions in the affirmative, while considering the social, legal and technological features of unauthorized dissemination of intimate images, or 'revenge porn'. In doing so, it asks fundamental socio-legal questions about responsibility, causation and apportionment, as well as conceptualizing private information as property. With a focus on private law theory, the book defines the appropriate scope of liability of platforms and viewers, while critiquing both the EU's and US' solutions to the problem. Through its analysis, the book develops a new theory of egalitarian digital privacy

1. ReValuing care : cycles and connections / Rosie Harding, Ruth Fletcher and Chris Beasley -- 2. Negotiating strangeness on the abortion trail / Ruth Fletcher -- 3. Carrying on by caring with in the shadow of a South African HIV/AIDS global health intervention / Abigail Baim-Lance -- 4. Caring for the homeless : Westminster City Council and anti-homeless bye-laws / Caroline Hunter -- 5. Paths to social caring : researchers consider their journeys to activism / Jenny Baker, Margaret Allen and Maureen Dyer -- 6. Young people who care for a family member with physical or mental health problems : can research better reflect the interests of young careers? / Lester Watson -- 7. Caring at the borders of the human : companion animals and the homeless / Helen Carr -- 8. Care and relationality : supported decision making under the UN CRPD / Rosie Harding -- 9. 'New fathers' and the right to parental leave : is the European Court of Human Rights satisfied with just breadwinning? / Alice Margaria -- 10. Carers as legal subjects / Ann Stewart -- 11. Towards a 'reasonable' level of state support for care? : Constitutionalism, care work and the common good / Olivia Smith -- 12. Terms of endearment : meanings of family in a diverse sample of Australian parents / Clare Bartholomaeus and Damien W. Riggs -- 13. 'It has had quite a lot of reverberations through the family' : reconfiguring relationships through parent with dementia care / Elizabeth Peel -- 14. 'Institutions, they're very straight. My god I hope I don't have to go into a care home' : spatial inequalities anticipated by older lesbians and gay men / Sue Westwood -- 15. Beyond care and vocabularies of altruism : considering sexuality and older people / Chris Beasley.