Dear John,

Have you ever paid more for a haircut because of your gender?

I’m guessing if you’re a woman, the answer is yes.

Don’t you think that’s weird? People have all lengths of hair these days and it’s odd to base the pricing on being a man or a woman (not to mention extra weird and annoying to those of us who don’t identify as either).

Did I really send you this email to talk about haircuts, John? Yes, but also no—so let me ask you something else:

Have you ever worried that you would lose your housing because of who your partner is? Have you worried that your pharmacist might refuse to fill your birth control prescription? Or that your child may be kicked off their sports team simply because of who they are?

Again, if you’re LGBTQ+ and/or a woman you said probably yes to at least one of these questions—or they’ve even happened to you.

That’s why I’m really here today—because all these things above are related (including the haircuts). They’re all examples of sex discrimination that harm LGBTQ+ folks—and there is currently no federal law prohibiting sex discrimination when it comes to public spaces.

We need to change that—ASAP. That’s why we need to tell the Senate to pass the Equality Act, a landmark piece of legislation that will prohibit these kinds of discrimination and more, making the world a safer and more just place for women and LGBTQ+ people.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ+ people are protected under federal workplace anti-discrimination laws. It was an incredible and emotional moment for someone like me, who entered the workforce in a state with no explicit legal protections for LGBTQ+ people—something that often caused me fear and worry on the job. But I know that discrimination isn’t just happening in the workplace—it’s happening in schools, in housing, and in many public spaces across our country. That’s why we need to pass the Equality Act – to build on last month’s win and make certain that LGBTQ+ people and women are protected in all areas of life.

Here’s something else I know: Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people often goes hand in hand with additional kinds of discrimination against women. Our freedom to control our bodies—whether that’s choosing if and when we get pregnant, our gender expression, who we spend our lives with—is fundamental to our equality. The Equality Act recognizes the way these threats to our freedoms are intertwined and lays out new protections against sex discrimination while strengthening our existing civil rights laws. It’s already passed the House, and now we need to tell our Senators to pass the Equality Act too.

If you believe that no one should face discrimination while looking for housing, that a pharmacist should never come between someone and their birth control, or simply that haircuts shouldn’t cost more because you’re not a man, I hope you’ll join me in asking Congress to do the right thing and vote YES on the Equality Act.

In solidarity and gender-neutrally priced haircuts,
Erin Longbottom
they/them
Senior Manager, Creative and Digital Strategies
National Women's Law Center