During her time on faculty at Northwestern, Larson developed her theory of "sexual fraud" – "intentional lies made for the express purpose of gaining sexual consent that would otherwise have been withheld," in Larson's words[5] – as a tort for which people could sue if they suffered damages such as sexually transmitted diseases.[6]
Larson's 1993 Columbia Law Review article, "'Women Understand So Little, They Call My Good Nature "Deceit"': A Feminist Rethinking of Seduction"[7] was widely acclaimed within the fields of legal theory[8][9] and feminist thought.[10]
In 1999, Oxford University Press published her book Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex,[11] co-authored with Linda Hirshman. The book offered a critical analysis of the power dynamics involved in heterosexual sex, a theme echoed in Larson's scholarly work on the legal histories of prostitution, rape and sexual harassment.[12]
Professor Larson taught law in an unorthodox way, stressing the social, cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions of legal outcomes[17] She influenced her students to rethink concepts such as property, free speech, and gender,[18] and had an international following.[19]
^Larson, Jane E. (March 1993). "'Women Understand So Little, They Call My Good Nature "Deceit"': A Feminist Rethinking of Seduction". Columbia Law Review. 93 (2): 374–472. doi:10.2307/1123051. JSTOR1123051.