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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against discrimination on the

basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin—the so-called “protected

classes.” To make out a successful civil rights claim under the

current legal structure, a plaintiff must first identify the protected class

under which her claim arises (i.e., race or religion). She must then

identify a subclass of that protected class (i.e., African American race or

Christian religion) and assert that, due to her membership in or relationship

to that subclass, she was treated differently in violation of the law.

This Article explores the disconnect between self-identity and …

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