American Notes: Sex Discrimination

Sweet-voiced "Raven," a Cherokee Irishwoman, was such a hit with callers to a Nevada romance line that one man phoned 26 times in a single day; three sent love letters, and a caller from West Virginia proposed marriage. Most of her fans conjured a mental image of a temptress with long, silky hair, a fantasy figure and a gift for off-color gab. But Raven's real talent, it turns out, was for mimicry. The voice belongs to Darryl Malone, a 165-lb. National Guardsman, husband and father of four children who is now suing Northwest Nevada Telco for, of all things, sex discrimination.

Malone claims that because he is a man he has been passed over for raises and promotions during his eight months on the job. Last week the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, in a joint filing with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, held a fact-finding session on the case and is likely to make a recommendation next month. "You must be wondering how an ex-Marine could talk sex to men," says Malone. "I had to feed my family. There was a point when I thought Raven was going to take over my life. After I hung up the phone, I had to take a shower because I felt so dirty." The line of work was actually his wife's idea: "I thought, Who would be better for the job than a man, since a man knows what a man wants."