September 18I. Name Game... Keeps on Rollin (we are 1/2way finished)
II. Defining Intersectionality
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Your Definitions and Thoughts on Intersectionality from Last Class
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III. IRL--- CASE ONE: Darlene Jespersen v. Harrah's Operating Co. (2002)
Consider this your 1st test of the semester. Do you really care about people's life chances when they do not look/live like you... or is it just alllllll talk?
Darlene Jespersen in her uniform (photo was placed on Lamda Legal website during trial)
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Darlene Jespersen worked as a bartender at the Harrah’s Casino in Reno, Nevada for more than 20 years. Though the company always had a dress code, Harrah's took a more drastic approach called the "Personal Best" policy: female employees were required to wear makeup and "teased, curled or styled" hair in addition to wearing their uniforms (and had to meet with a "consultant" for tips.) Men were forbidden to wear makeup (and nail polish) and had to keep their hair very short. Jesperson refused to comply with the new policy. In her own words:
I had to become a sex object. And it was only because I am a woman . . . . The men who worked by my side did not have to conceal their faces. Harrah’s considers them professional when they look like themselves. Although it had nothing to do with mixing drinks and handling customers, keeping my job became more and more about meeting Harrah’s extreme and outdated idea of what a woman should look like. Jespersen held her ground and was fired. She sued Harrah’s arguing that its policy was a form of gender discrimination in violation of Title VII. Lamda Legal took on Jespersen's case. |
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IV. IRL--- Case Two: Devon Carbado's Question (feel free to read/skim the article)
"There is another way in which we might broaden our understanding of Jespersen by switching Jespersen's identity from white to black. Consider, again, Harrah's grooming policy: 'face powder, as well as blush and mascara and lip color must be worn at all times.' Moreover, women's hair needed to be 'teased, curled, or styled.' [NOTE: dreadlocks, braids, or afros do NOT constitute hair that is 'teased, curled, or styled?'] Assume that Jespersen, who we are now imagining is black, wears her hair in braids."
- Would that constitute gender discrimination? Why or why not?
- Would that constitute race discrimination? Why or why not?
- What does this have to do with intersectionality? NOTE: This is not hypothetical (>>>Rogers v American Airlines) What would Kimberle Crenshaw say?
V. WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION: What's Intersectionality Got to Do With It?