(CAMPUS REFORM) -- A University of California-Santa Cruz researcher says “kinky people” should be recognized as a protected class.

UCSC researcher Sam Hughes argues during an interview with City on a Phil Media that those who engage in taboo sexual activity are often discriminated against in ways he says are comparable to those experienced by members of the LGBT community. He contends that one solution to this would be to treat these individuals as part of a “protected class.” Groups with protected class status are legally protected from employment or housing discrimination.

Groups with protected class status “include men and women on the basis of sex; any group which shares a common race, religion, color, or national origin; people over 40; and people with physical or mental handicaps,” according to the Equal Employment Opportunity program.

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