Is Clothing Probative of Attitude or Intent - Implications for Rape and Sexual Harassment Cases
![handle is hein.journals/lieq11 and id is 397 raw text is: Is Clothing Probative of Attitude or
Intent? Implications for Rape and
Sexual Harassment Cases
Theresa L. Lennon*
Sharron J. Lennon
Kim KIP. Johnson***
Introduction
She asked for it. The way she was dressed with that skirt you
could see everything she had. She was advertising for sex.1 We
felt she was up to no good [by] the way she dressed.2 She was
obviously dressed for a good time, but we felt she may have bit off
more than she could chew.3 These words were spoken by jurors
who reached a unanimous verdict, acquitting a man of charges of
kidnapping and sexual assault in a 1989 Florida case.4 The jurors
were referring to the clothing the alleged victim wore at the time of
* J.D. 1993, University of Minnesota Law School; B.A. 1989 in Philosophy, In-
diana University. Associate with the law firm of Gassett, Perry, & Frank, San Jos6,
California.
** Ph.D. 1982 in Consumer Sciences and Retailing, Purdue University; M.A.
1971 in Mathematics, Miami University of Ohio; B.A. 1969 in Mathematics, St. Jo-
seph's College. Associate Professor in the Textiles and Clothing Department at The
Ohio State University.
*** Ph.D. 1984 in Textiles and Design, University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.S.
1980 in Textiles and Clothing, University of Wisconsin-Madison; B.S. 1977 in Psy-
chology/Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Assistant Professor in the
Design, Housing and Apparel Department at the University of Minnesota.
1. Jury: Woman in Rape Case Asked For It' TIE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, North
Sports Final Edition, Oct. 6, 1989 [hereinafter Jury). Juror Roy Diamond, who made
this statement, has since stated that the words quoted were misinterpreted. Rape-
Add-#-9 UPI, Dec. 14, 1989, available in LEXIS, Nexis Library, UPI Files [herein-
after Rape-Add-#-9]. It meant sex, not rape. People heard it and they just took it
for the worst... if a woman goes out at 3 a.m. in that kind of a skirt, she is advertis-
ing for sex, and she got what she advertised for. Id. Diamond further explained
that the outfit was a factor in the verdict, but not the determining factor. Id. Ap-
parently, the defense argued at trial that the complainant was a prostitute, and Dia-
mond explained that the jurors were persuaded at least in part by her clothing that
she was. Id.
2. Man Acquitted of Rape in Florida Convicted in Georgia UNITED PRESS INTER-
NATIONAL, Mar. 30, 1990 (quoting juror Dean Medeiros) [hereinafter Man Acquitted].
3. Jury, supra note 1 at 11 (quoting juror Mary Bradshaw).
4. Id.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/lieq11&div=15&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Is Clothing Probative of Attitude or Intent - Implications for Rape and Sexual Harassment Cases
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