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The Supreme Court’s Sex Discrimination Case Affects Us All
LGBTQ rights are at risk, and so are the rights of everyone to be who they are.
Update: June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an amazing 6–3 decision, found Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does cover sexual orientation and transgender rights.
Justice Gorsuch delivered the Court’s opinion, including: “Today,we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”
This is incredible news for LGBTQ folks, and as I argue in this essay, affects all of us, whether or not you care about LGBTQ rights. (But, also, like, you really should care.)
Women, what if your boss fired you for getting a pixie haircut, because he didn’t consider it feminine enough?
Men, what if you put a photo on Facebook of your child painting your toenails, and your boss fired you for not being masculine enough?
