Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 29-Jan-96 [NOISE] Re: "German service.. by Rich Graves@networking.s
There was a lively debate in feminist/legal circles a while back about introducing "the reasonable woman standard," "the reasonable gay man standard," etc. into the legal currency. The movement intended to make "date rape" and sexual harassment easier to prosecute. I didn't keep up with it, but I'm sure the relevant papers are still being cited. I doubt and hope that no court ever took the argument seriously.
I vaguely remember one district court upholding the "reasonable woman" standard around four years ago, but that braindead idea was abandonded in subsequent decisions. For more info on what happens when the "reasonable woman" standard is applied in higher education (particularly regarding online speech), check out: http://joc.mit.edu/ -Declan