dissertations. To the extent that there are openings, they are probably in the area of sexual orientation and gender identity. I know that as far back as the late 1980's when I was doing mine at USC, one of my classmates had a very difficult time getting her project off the ground because her committee had problems with its "originality."
One area that might be interesting would be to look at ethno-cultural understandings of Title IX protections. Do African-American or Latino-Americans understand it differently. If you moved from one current construction that African-American and Caribbean-American cultures tend to be matri-focal, while Latino-American cultures tend to be patriarchal, you might expect that African-Americans would more broadly support Title IX, while Latino-Americans would find the protections offered superfluous. Just a thought.