Calling a man 'bald' is apparently sexual harassment - yet another double standard [View all]

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Finally, a win for men’s rights!

Looks like the British Bung Company is in a spot of bother. An employment tribunal recently ruled that the West Yorkshire-based manufacturer of cask closures must compensate Tony Finn, a former employee, after he was called a “bald cunt” at work by a (male) supervisor. This was not just a nasty insult, according to the all-male panel of judges on the tribunal – the word “bald” constituted sex-based harassment. The word “cunt” was fine though.

The circumstances are as follows: Finn had worked for the British Bung Company for almost 24 years when he was fired last May. The electrician then took the company to the tribunal alleging unfair dismissal and claiming that the insults his supervisor had subjected him to were harassment related to sex under the Equality Act. The panel, led by Judge Jonathan Brain, agreed. “As all three members of the tribunal will vouchsafe, baldness is much more prevalent in men than women,” the judgment stated. “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”

Don’t worry, the judges didn’t just draw on their own experiences with hair loss as they ruled, they also referred to precedent. Namely a 1995 ruling in which a man was found guilty of sex-based discrimination for commenting on the size of a woman’s breasts (the remark was “hiya big tits”). That’s pretty much the same as calling a man “bald”, apparently.

I have every sympathy for Finn: being bullied at work is indefensible. Belittling someone for their appearance is indefensible. I’m glad this tribunal took Finn’s complaints seriously. However, the idea that calling a man “bald” constitutes sex-based harassment that is equivalent to commenting on the size of a woman’s breasts is dubious at best and insulting at worst.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/14/man-bald-sexual-harassment-week-in-patriarchy