by Charing Ball
Hey Ladies, if Roy Den Hollander had his way, it would be no more discounted drinks and free admission for you at bars and nightclubs.
Hollander, a New York attorney and self-proclaim anti-feminist, is preparing to forge ahead with his lawsuit to end “Ladies Night” promotions at mostly nightclubs and bars – a promotion, which he feels is bias towards men. Hollander feels so strongly about this perceived biasness that he is prepared to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court if needed.
And right now, it appears that the courts are calling his bluff as the discrimination case was thrown out of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal just last week for lack of evidence. Yet being the perceptive and true gentleman he is, Hollander, who has filed lawsuits challenging Columbia University’s decision to offer courses in women’s studies, believes that his chances of actually getting his case heard at the highest court in the land are doubtful.
Though the issue may seem frivolous to some, the charges of discriminatory or reverse sexism can be a serious financial blow to many small businesses. But are private clubs legally allowed to charge more for admission and drinks or run special promotions based on gender without it being considered reverse sexism? Well, let me put my law degree to use, which I received via the Google Search Law School.
According to one legal site [tag: quick and dirty tips], the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees “equal protection of the laws” to each citizen, but the Fourteenth Amendment usually applies to states and federal discriminating, not private businesses or individuals. Yet some states do have various Equal Protection and Civil Rights Laws, which prohibits anyone from discriminating on the bases of sex, religion and of course, race.
In 2006, Seven San Diego County nightspots settled for a total of $125,000 with two men, who accused the establishments of discrimination under the California Civil-rights Law for their Ladies Night’s promotions. In 2009, a man won a $510,000 class-action settlement against the Oakland A’s for excluding men from a 2004 Mother’s Day promotion, in which The A’s offered women free mammograms and floppy plaid sun hats from Macy’s.
And in 2004, the Director of Civil Rights in New Jersey issued a ruling that Ladies’ Night did in fact violate the state’s law against discrimination. However, that ruling was eventually overturned by the state legislature and ladies were once again free to sip Pina Coladas at discounted rates at nightspots all across the Garden State. WhooHoo.
The reality is that if private establishments offer these Ladies Night promotions, they do run the risk of being sued for discrimination by some angry, bitter man with delusions of being oppressed. The reality is that in this patriarchal society, these gimmicks have less to do with offering women preferential treatment but rather using women as nothing more than products to attract single – and sometimes married men – who are in fact the real targets of these promotions.
