Discrimination Archive

Playboy Class Action: Pretty is Free, Ugly Pays, Men Pay More

February 3rd, 2011. By AbiK

In what might seem like a class action ready-made for Attorney Alfred Rava, a gentleman from California—David Long, Jr. —is suing Playboy. Yes, that Playboy.

Why? Well, back in 2009, he apparently attended Playboy’s 3rd Annual White Party at the Playboy Mansion. And, needless to say, it costs money to attend such VIP-guest-only gatherings. Hey, the keys to the kingdom ain’t free. But here’s the thing—Long says he was charged a fair amount more to gain access to the pleasure palace than women guests attending the same fête were charged. Translation: discrimination.

It gets better. The charges against Playboy state that the cost of entry to the big bash was in direct correlation to how good-looking guests were. “Gorgeous ladies” got in for free or a nominal fee; those unfortunate (ie, less attractive and apparently less apt to make good “arm candy”) gals who were not to be deemed “gorgeous” were only (only!) charged $350 per ticket. Long, however, being in the most unattractive group of all—men—was charged $625.

Yes, this begs the question, if you didn’t like the price, why pay?

I could go off on some feminist rant here (I won’t) but one could argue that as women—”gorgeous women”—are typically objectified in the world of Playboy et al, surely you can’t expect “objects” to cough up cash, right? Only real people have the means to pay. And hey, aren’t the guys attending really going for the women who’ll be there? I don’t think that any guys would cough up any amount for a ticket just to hobnob with Hef. The girls are the draw, plain and simple.

So if you back out any feminist feelings—or even just the argument that, hey, you wanted to attend and you paid so get over it—and you just look at this from a pure segmented marketing perspective, well, I suppose it does sound a bit discriminatory. The White Party as a saleable product was not differentiated in any way—no intentional value added—for the male consumer. Inherent value added? Yes—but intentional so as to make it a different product offering for the guys? No. So seemingly the same product should have the same price tag regardless of who’s consuming it.

So Long seeks damages and he’s looking for the court to prohibit Playboy from setting discriminatory prices ever again. At least he’s not looking for a floppy hat, like Alfred Rava was.

Tags: David Long Jr, Playboy, Playboy class action, Playboy Mansion, White Party
Posted in Class Action, Discrimination | No Comments »

Cross-Dressers: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

October 8th, 2010. By AbiK

Wanna know why cross-dressers continue to fight an uphill battle for acceptance? It’s because of situations like this. Just ask Dayanara Fernandez.

See, a while back, we posted about American Eagle Outfitters agreeing to ditch their rule about cross-dressers. The rule basically banned cross-dressed attire from showing up on AE employees at work. Like it or not, it was a step toward “mainstreaming”, if you will, and recognizing cross-dressers as a group that should not be discriminated against. Baby steps on a long road, but still.

But now, we hear Dayanara’s story. Apparently she had been a guest at the Deerfield, IL Hyatt hotel last June. And, as a hotel guest typically does at some point during their stay, she went back to her room. Only she must’ve felt like she’d just dropped in on scene straight out of Goldilocks and the Three Bears when she realized “someone’s been in my room…and he’s still here!”

Indeed he was—the “he” being a Hyatt employee. And, he was wearing her panties, skirt and high-heeled shoes, according to the complaint that was subsequently filed. He was Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cross-Dresser, Dayanara Fernandez, Discrimination, Hyatt
Posted in Discrimination, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Take My Mother-in-Law, Please! (Lawsuit vs Comic Tossed)

September 8th, 2010. By janem

 

Well, comedian Sunda Croonquist likely had the last laugh—all the way to the bank! She’s almost a household name these days after being sued by her in-laws for spreading “false, defamatory and racist lies” (see the video above to make your own opinion). I’d never heard of her before Ruth Zafrin, the mother-in-law, demanded a cash settlement for her “pain and suffering.” Anyway, U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper threw the suit out of New Jersey’s U.S. District Court April 30^th.

Croonquist alleged that Zafrin joined the action just to keep the issue out of Federal Court (where it landed because Croonquist lives in California and her in-laws live in New York and New Jersey). The stated causes of action included: false light, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment.

Her sister-in-law, Shelley Edelman, and her husband Neil (the brother of Croonquist’s husband, Mark Zafrin) were first to sue over the comedian’s schtick—which revolves around jokes about their heritage and her own–claiming Shelley is a racist. ( In her New Jersey accent: “Oh my God, Neil, look at her. She’s got light eyes and light hair, what kind of black person is she?”) And, “My sister-in-law’s voice sounds like a cat in heat.” (Croonquist is half African-American and half Swedish.)

Fortunately for Croonquist, Judge Mary Cooper had a better sense of humor than the in-laws and found the cat in heat comment to be “mere colorful, figurative rhetoric that reasonable minds would not take to be factual”. Cooper held that Croonquist’s jokes are Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: comedian lawsuit, Sunda Croonquist
Posted in Discrimination | No Comments »

Overweight and Want a Manicure? Pay a Fat Surcharge!

August 24th, 2010. By LucyC

What would you do if you were charged, without advance notice, an additional fee for wear and tear of equipment related to a service you were purchasing, simply because you are overweight?

For example, if you went into a nail bar for a pedicure, for an advertised price, and were subsequently charged an additional $5 more at the end of your session because you were deemed to be over 200 lbs? Yup, you read that correctly. The five dollars would be a kind of tax, fine, levy…actually, I don’t know what category, besides discrimination, that charge would fit under.

Neither does the person who was charged the $5, as it turns out. Oh, it’s a true story. Short version, Michelle Fonville from Georgia, was charged an additional $5 by Kim Tran, the salon manager of Natural Nails in DeKalb County, as a surcharge to the salon for chairs broken by overweight customers, MSNBC.com is reporting.

It’s only my opinion, but I find that a bit of a cheek, for a variety of reasons, not the least being that all sorts of people use the chairs all day long—presumably—so how could wear and tear be solely the fault of people over 200 lbs? And, how could Ms. Tran Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Discrimination, Georgia, Nail Salon, Overweight surcharge
Posted in Discrimination | 1 Comment »

Islamic Center Controversy is Discriminatory

August 24th, 2010. By janem

A book I recently read has greatly influenced my opinion about the current Islamic issue—the controversy over the planned Islamic Center to be built near ground zero. I believe this book is so important, especially right now, given the current animosity toward Muslims. In fact, Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, should be required reading in high school, just like “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The two books are similar– both tell a story of discrimination— except that the latter is fiction and Zeitoun is a true story.

Just days after hurricane Katrina, an American citizen from Syria was detained by the US government then inhumanely imprisoned without charges in a makeshift jail that sounds worse than Guantanamo Bay. Abdulrahman Zeitoun stayed in New Orleans after the flooding: He paddled from house to house in a canoe, helping neighbors and feeding dogs left behind. In return, the government treated him worse than an animal…

In August 2006 Kathy and Abdulrahman Zeitoun filed a lawsuit against the City of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin, the state of Louisiana and the state police. The suit alleged false imprisonment and false arrest of Mr. Zeitoun during the aftermath of Hurricane. Katrina.  Here is the Disposition:

“Mr. Zeitoun was transported in the van to the Union Passenger train station in New Orleans, fingerprinted, photographed, and retained in police custody, where he remained for three days and suffered a large splinter for which he was denied medical treatment. On the third day, Appellants allege that Mr. Zeitoun was transported to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, where he informed the employees of his religious beliefs which disallowed the consumption of pork, but that this request was disregarded, as well as requests for medical treatment. Next, Appellants assert that Mr. Zeitoun was brought to a maximum security prison, where his requests to telephone his wife and have medical treatment  were denied, and that although he was eventually permitted to use the telephone, he missed his turn because he fell asleep while waiting.”

Mr. Zeitoun was charged with looting and possession of stolen goods and bail was set at $75,000.00. Because he never made contact with Kathy or anyone outside the prison, he was unable to post bond—no one knew where he was, except the government. He was suspected of being a terrorist. In fact one of his guards called him “Taliban”.

(Unfortunately the lawsuit was thrown out, but the Zeitouns’ are trying again.)

Back to the Islamic Center. All white people aren’t considered KKK, so why are Muslims considered terrorists?

Shame on you, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and Howard Dean, former national party chairman, for calling the proposed Islamic Center project “a real affront to those who lost their lives.” What happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun mirrors this kind of mentality toward Muslims and that is why I hope every high school student will read the book, and then do everything they can to ensure that prejudice and discrimination won’t happen again. “In America every Muslim has no rights,” Zeitoun said.  “There are too many stories worse than mine.”

By the way, Dave Eggers has given all author proceeds of the book to the Zeitoun Foundation, which is “dedicated to rebuilding New Orleans and fostering interfaith understanding.”

Tags: Discrimination, Muslim discrimination, Zeitoun
Posted in Discrimination | No Comments »