MacKinnon’s Influence on Sexism and Male Supremacy Law

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MacKinnon’s Influence on Sexism and Male Supremacy Law

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Catharine MacKinnon is a radical feminist, author, and activist of American descent. She is an expert in international law, political/ legal theory, jurisprudences, and constitutional law. Her focus on advocating against sexual exploitation, and abuse, as well as championing for women’s rights has made her to be tagged as a dominant feminist. MacKinnon was the first person to argue that sexual harassment in the workplace, and in learning institutions constituted an act of sex discrimination. She has also authored various books on women sexuality and feminism. Her works have influenced and continue to influence legal cases even in supreme courts. An example is noted in the Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd case law by the Canadian Supreme Court. Guided by this backdrop, this essay uses the case law on Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd to evaluate how it addresses sexism or in the words of MacKinnon, male supremacy.

The case law Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd. (1989) stands out as an influential precedent decision and ruling made by the Canadian Supreme Court against sexism or male supremacy. In this ruling, the court reiterated that sexual harassment represented any type of discrimination done along the lines of sexual orientation of the victim. This ruling led to the prohibition of sexual discrimination which was then enacted in the Manitoba Human Rights Act. A background analysis of the case shows that in 1982, Tracy Govereau and Dianna Janzen were working at the Winnipeg-based Pharos restaurant as waitresses (Pellicciotti, 1991). A male employee working at the same facility as a cook repeatedly made sexual advances at Janzen. She made it clear that she was not interested in Tommy, but he persisted. Janzen confided in the restaurants manager and talked about the discomfort Tommy’s behavior caused to her wellness. However, the manager Mr. Eleftheois Anastasiadis said he could do nothing about it.

Tommy replaced his advances with threatening behavior and when Janzen approached the manager, she was fired. Janzen sued Platy Enterprises Ltd, which owned Pharos restaurant in accordance with section 6 (1) of Manitoba Human Rights Act. She claimed the employer and an employee had violated her rights to equal employment opportunity as a show of male supremacy. The court through the Manitoba Human Rights Tribunal embraced the feminist literature by Catharine MacKinnon to justify that both Janzen and Govereau had been unfairly dismissed and the action by Platy Enterprises amounted to sexual harassment. The restaurant was found to have violated the section 6(1) of the Human Rights Act (Pellicciotti, 1991). This decision was upheld by the Court of Queen’s Bench. Surprisingly, the decision was overturned by the Manitoba Court of Appeal which noted that sexual harassment could not be classified sexism since not all the female employees had complained of sexual harassment and that an employer was not liable for bad conduct by his employees.

The issue was so intense that it attracted the attention of Chief Justice Brian Dickson. He wrote to an anonymous court noting that the conduct by the restaurant constituted an act of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. Dickson therefore rejected the ruling by the Court of Appeal and upheld the ruling by the Court of Queen’s Bench. Dickson explained that sexism referred to any attitude or practice that limited the availability of employment opportunities on the basis of gender (Marshall, 2016). The comments by the Chief Justice insinuate that Platy Enterprises Ltd had practiced sexism or in the words of MacKinnon, male supremacy.

This case addresses sexism in a similar manner that Catharine MacKinnon had posited in her past works. In fact, her writings inspired this ruling which affirms that MacKinnon\s work on male supremacy had notable influence in informing Supreme Court decisions in Canadian case laws (Marshall, 2016). In one of her writings, MacKinnon contends that the society and the legal system has denied women adequate protection against instances of sexual harassment. Such cases are often ignored when the perpetrator us a co-worker. Such instances of male supremacy are promoted by power inequality and gender stereotypes. She therefore insisted that legal parameters should define the acceptable conduct across both sexes to avoid instances of male supremacy or sexism.

Another section of Catharine MacKinnon’s work that continues to shape studies and legal parameters on sexual harassment and male domination is the feminist legal theory. This theory provides a detailed understanding on the challenges and problems confronting women across different professions and mostly, those in the legal careers such as law firms (Albert, 2006). MacKinnon’s emphasis on dominance feminism provides the needed theoretical framework upon which the glass ceiling at workplaces where women are underrepresented and subjected to sexual harassment, can be repealed. The essence of her work is therefore to create a more gender neutral society where women and men are treated equally.