One of the world's best-known and most expensive luxury retailers is embroiled in a new lawsuit sparking debate over whether customers have a legal right to buy its products. Filed in California last month, the lawsuit revolves around Hermès' Birkin handbag, one of the most exclusive luxury items in the world. Sold only at the brand's retail stores, the cheapest variant starts at $10,145; higher-end versions have been sold for more than $100,000. The lawsuit alleges that Hermès only sells Birkins to customers with a "sufficient purchase history," claiming that a plaintiff was "coerced into purchasing ancillary products" to "obtain access" to a Birkin. This represents a violation of antitrust laws, the lawsuit claims, because of the "unique desirability, incredible demand and low supply" of Birkins.

Questionable grounds
Many legal experts are "dubious on the suit's merits" because Hermès "does not control the robust secondhand market for its bags," Amanda Mull said at The Atlantic. While rare, there are instances where "people sometimes do just walk into a boutique off the street, ask nicely and get lucky." 

Hermès "has it in the bag" on this We lawsuit, Susan Scafidi, of Fordham University's Fashion Law Institute, said to The Washington Post. The luxury brand "doesn't tell buyers how much they need to spend to gain access to the Birkin," making it harder for the plaintiffs to pinpoint a specific instance in which Hermès is breaking antitrust laws. 

Additionally, a judge is "more likely to rule that a sales practice violates the law when the item in question can be deemed a necessity," Douglas Hand, a lawyer who works with high-end fashion brands, said to The New York Times. 

'Preconditioning' purchases
A Birkin bag might not be a necessity, but when it comes to Hermès' practices, the law says it's illegal, Shaun Setareh, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said to the Times. This is because Hermès is "preconditioning buying other products."

No matter how the courtroom antics play out, the luxury goods industry will be watching to "gauge the wider implications," said Joan Kennedy at CNN. But Hermès is "driven by supply, not demand," said Erwan Rambourg, the global head of consumer and retail research at HSBC. "You buy luxury to be part of the club.… It defeats the purpose if the club is open to everyone."

It is, unfortunately, far too common for women to go into medical settings complaining of pain and have to deal with being ignored or dismissed by medical providers. The so-called pain gap is causing women to receive inadequate treatment, particularly in comparison to their male counterparts. 

How do doctors ignore women's pain?
The gap in pain management care for women has been well-documented. A 2022 study from the Journal of the American Heart Association reported that women who visited emergency departments with chest pain waited 29% longer than men to be evaluated for possible heart attacks. Another study showed that middle-aged women complaining of chest pain were twice as likely as their male counterparts with the same symptoms to be diagnosed with a mental illness. Dismissive attitudes toward women's pain have been shown to affect treatment for a variety of health issues, including stroke, reproductive health, chronic illnesses and physical pain, among other things. 

What is the cause?
Anushay Hossain, the author of "The Pain Gap," acknowledged that the gap exists but also said to The Washington Post that there is a "credibility gap" making it difficult for women to receive the care they need when they are in pain. "Women are not believed about their bodies — period." Part of what is driving that gap could be that women have historically been excluded from medical research. 

The issue may also be linked to a lack of attention to differentiating between men and women in medical school. Almost 95% of American medical school students said their curriculum should include instruction about the differences in sex and gender in medicine, according to a 2015 survey. Yet only 43% said their curriculum helped them understand those differences, and only 34.5% said they felt prepared to manage them in a health care setting. ​​"It is changing," Janice Werbinski, the recently former president of the American Medical Women's Association and chair of the mentorship committee of the association's Sex and Gender Health Collaborative, said to the Post. "But it's changing very slowly."