An employment tribunal in the United Kingdom has determined that calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment.
According to the Guardian, the verdict was reached following a complaint by Tony Finn, who sued the British Bung Company in West Yorkshire for wrongful dismissal and sexual harassment after a supervisor, Jamie King, branded him a “bald cunt.”
“In our judgment, there is a connection between the word ‘bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other,” the tribunal said. “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”
The finding also declared that criticizing Finn for his hairless head was “degrading,” “hostile,” and “humiliating.” According to The Telegraph, the judges themselves have also experienced hair loss.
“Of his own admission, Mr King’s intention was to threaten (Finn) and to insult him,” the judgement stated. “In our judgment, there is a connection between the word ‘bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other.”
The judgment continued, “The tribunal, therefore, determines that by referring to the claimant as a ‘bald cunt’, Mr King’s conduct was unwanted, it was a violation of the claimant’s dignity, it created an intimidating environment for him, it was done for that purpose, and it related to the claimant’s sex.”