discrimination

It was unfriendly skies for L Word actress Leisha Hailey when she was escorted off a Southwest flight for kissing her girlfriend. The airlines says it was because of behavior, not gender, and that passengers were complaining that the kissing was "excessive." However, Leisha is calling it discrimination and is rallying for a boycott of Southwest on Twitter, tweeting: "Since when is showing affection towards someone you love illegal?"

I wasn't on the flight, but I seriously doubt Southwest would have taken the same actions against a straight couple kissing. And this isn't the first time lesbians showing affection have been unfairly targeted. It's also not the first time Southwest has been accused of discriminating against a group of people. Last year, actor/director Kevin Smith was kicked off a Southwest flight for being "too fat" to fly. I'd hate to be on the airlines' PR team! What do you think of Southwest's actions against its gay passengers? Would you boycott an airlines for discrimination?

I find this story inspiring because this is an example of how much a consumer can achieve if she fights back. Kenlie Tiggeman, didn't know what a ride she was in for when she was boarding her Southwest layover in Dallas. MSN reports that Kenlie, who had already lost 120 pounds, and her mother were subject to a public 45-minute conversation with Southwest employees, which included personal questions about their weight, clothing size, and reasons for weight gain and loss. Further, the humiliating discussion was carried out in front of more than a 100 people. Kenlie tells MSN, "I asked him what the weight restrictions were and he said that he didn't know, just that we were too heavy to fly. Too fat to fly."

To make matters worse, the worker from the airline tried to resolve the situation by saying that Kenlie, her mom, and another overweight passenger could get on the flight if the three of them sat together at the back of the plane.

Although Kenlie and her mother managed to get on the plane and sit in seats of their choice and were given a $200 voucher from Southwest, she decided to fight back. She blogged about her experience in the post, The Day Southwest Airlines Turned My Old Fears Into A New Nightmare, which got the immediate attention of Southwest. This led to an executive from the airline contacting her to apologize and offering more vouchers to compensate.

To find out about the good that came out of her experience, read on.

This anonymous posting comes from our Savvy Confessions group:

I work at a small, family-run company and I work really hard. I started out just above entry levels and in the few years I've been with the company have been handed huge responsibility and learned a ton. I get along with most all of my co-workers and we're generally a great, productive team. There's an industry conference coming up and the boss recently asked another co-worker and I to go on behalf of the company. The rest of the team immediately put up their guard and started saying ridiculously rude things and acting short with me. When I went to deliver an item to a woman in marketing she flat out said "where's your boyfriend?" about the boss. I walked away livid. Firstly, I can't believe everyone is being so catty, and secondly, everyone at the company knows how hard I work and typically lauds me for it. How should I react, or what's the right response when a co-worker is clearly jealous of an opportunity and takes it out on you? I don't want to cry to HR, but it's hostile, rude and upsetting.

Want to spill a secret about work or money? Join our Savvy Confessions group and share it with us — your identity will be safe with you! These posts will be kept anonymous.

Boy, was there a huge surprise on last night's Mad Men! The season ends with a bang when Don Draper busts out an unexpected proposal to his beautiful secretary, Megan. After announcing the engagement to the office, we see a rare moment of camaraderie between Peggy and Joan, in which the two unhappily predict Don will probably promote Megan to copywriter since, as Joan puts it, "he's not going to want to be married to his secretary."

To find out what this means for Peggy and Joan, read after the jump.

If you're stick-thin, expect a better pay than your average-sized colleagues. We already know that women are behind men in terms of salary and career advancement, but apparently normal-sized women earn way less than skinny model types, reports a WSJ blog. The number is $15,572 more per year for women who weigh 25 lbs less than the average size in the study group, according to a study by University of Florida professor Timothy Judge. On the flip side, men who gain weight (as long as it's not to the obesity levels) tend to make more than their skinny counterparts. Does this mean that it's cheeseburgers and fries for them, and carrot sticks for us?

It's bad enough that being an obese woman costs you $4,879 a year, but apparently average is not good enough. Wait a minute, I thought offices weren't supposed to be Milan runways.

After coming in second place in the Gay Softball World Series, a San Francisco team lost its runner-up title and trophy because three team members were not gay enough. The players now have filed a discrimination suit against the national organization.

The league only allows two "straights" per team and the policy they use to enforce this can be described as: do ask, do tell. After a rival complained that the team in question had too many straight players, league officials separately called each of the three men into a conference room filled with 25 people for a hearing to determine their sexuality. After answering "intrusive" questions, the panel deemed the trio non-gay.

I suspect that a self-proclaimed gay sports league would naturally attract more gay people than straight people, and letting eager straight people in on the fun could have benefits. Why not let the membership work itself out, instead of taking on the problematic task of proving someone's sexuality? Plus, making a rule that you can only have two straight players could imply that they're better than gay players! Still, the league argues that as a private organization it has the right to say who can be a member. Whose side are you on?

On Monday, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin was sworn in as our country's 18th surgeon general. She's now America's top doctor and the face of the country's public health policy. She's also one of a growing number of Americans considered overweight.

When the announcement of Obama's pick came in late July, it didn't take long for critics to question whether or not Dr. Benjamin was the right choice for the position. What was startling was that they weren't judging her based on her resume or merits but felt she should be disqualified from the position because of her weight. Having an overweight surgeon general, in critics' minds, was irresponsible when America is in the midst of a major obesity epidemic.

Dr. Benjamin took these criticisms gracefully, and in a recent interview with Good Morning America, she admitted that even though the comments hurt, her weight should be an "open dialogue." She went on to say that even though she is struggling with her weight, being fit is "more than just a dress size." Dr. Benjamin's plans are to fight obesity in this country both generally as well as personally alongside the 67 percent of overweight Americans: "So I understand [what it's like to be overweight]. And I want to have them help me, and I'll help them. And we'll work together to try to become a healthier nation."

Do you think Dr. Benjamin's credibility is undermined because she is overweight? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Overt racism is not tolerated in most places, but fatism is flourishing in our society. Many overweight people say that the normal rules of decency and common courtesy don't seem to apply to them, and they're trying to organize a new rights movement.

In a news article yesterday, the BBC recounted the plight of an overweight train passenger who was beaten up by another commuter for taking up two seats. The aggressor yelled "you big fat pig" before she kicked the victim in the stomach. In addition to suffering verbal and physical abuse, overweight people who are speaking out say they are victims of systemic discrimination. For example, many airline companies in the US now charge larger passengers for two seats. Such a policy is considered illegal discrimination in Canada, where there is a one-person-one-fare law. The US has no such rule, nor is there a federal law forbidding employers from firing people because of their weight. (Michigan is alone in prohibiting employers from firing people for being overweight.)

Last year, a study from Yale revealed that weight discrimination is tolerated because many believe that people have control over their size. The truth is more complicated. Economics, health issues like type 2 diabetes, and genetics can affect a person's weight.

The study also revealed that overweight women are twice as vulnerable to discrimination than overweight men. If you want to find out if you have implicit biases against overweight people take this quiz developed by Harvard researchers. You might be surprised by the results.

Would you like to see a federal anti-weight discrimination law?