La Rosa Náutica is under fire: The landmark restaurant jutting out from Lima’s Pacific coast was fined for handing out gender-based menus, offering a different version to men and women.
How about some gender discrimination with a side of no, thanks. The Lima landmark will pay a hefty $62,000 fine for giving women a version of the restaurant’s menu without prices. La Rosa Náutica applied this practice when a woman dined with a male counterpart.
Women dining with men would be given a gold, price-less, version of the menu, while the man would be given a blue version containing prices. What’s the reasoning behind this, you ask? In legal proceedings, the restaurant justified its gender-based discrimination saying that by not showing women the prices, it allowed them to enjoy their meal without worrying about costs.
Because, naturally, women can only enjoy their meals when they are blissfully unaware of what it costs since the man is the one who always pays. Wrong.
In a 3-2 win, the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) ruled that all clients, regardless of gender, should be given the same menu.
What may seem (to the ignorant or to allies of a patriarchal society) as a harmless act, the practice preserves and fosters societal constructs that position women as subordinates to men, putting the woman under the control of the man. Far from flattering women, La Rosa Náutica insulted its customers by deciding preemptively who has the right to see prices and to pay.
Not only will the restaurant have to pay the fine, but it must give the same menu to all customers and train its staff on women’s rights 101.
Source: The Washington Post