In 1979, the United States Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and sent it to the states for ratification with a seven-year deadline. Decades later, on January 27th 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to ratify the Constitutional amendment, but perhaps over 40 years too late. Now, in 2022, proponents of the amendment contend that, per the language of the ERA, it is due to take effect. Consequently, litigation concerning the law’s legitimacy is expected to ramp up. This article will argue that the need for the ERA is more pressing now than ever given modern conceptions of gender as a social construct. The article will begin with a brief history of gender discrimination cases in the context of the Equal Protection Clause, then discuss queer theories around the meaning of gender, and finally, provide recommendations moving forward …

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