Calling A Man Bald In This Country Is Now Considered Sexual Harassment

An employment tribunal judge has ruled that calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment in the U.K.

The decision made by a panel of three tribunal judges, who referred to their own experiences with hair loss, said that baldness is more prevalent in men than women, so they determined that describing someone as “bald” is a form of discrimination, according to the ruling, which was reported on by the Guardian.

The ruling also said that when commenting on a man’s baldness in a workplace environment it takes on the same connotation as remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts.

The case the tribunal judges made the ruling on was between electrician Tony Finn and U.K.-based British Bung Manufacturing Company. Finn had worked for the company for almost 24 years when he was fired in May 2021.

Finn claimed he was a victim of harassment from his factory supervisor, Jamie King, among other complaints against the company. Among his accusations, he said he was called “bald” and other slurs.

The tribunal judges understood that Finn was upset by the comments about his appearance, prompting them to deliberate on whether the comments were insults or harassment.

In their ruling, the tribunal judges opined, “It is difficult to conclude other than that Mr King uttered those words with the purpose of violating [Finn’s] dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him. Of his own admission, Mr King’s intention was to threaten [Finn] and to insult him. In our judgment, there is a connection between the word ‘bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other.”

They continued by saying, “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”

The compensation that Finn will receive in the case will be determined at a later date.