Final answer:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act did not originally include gender identity, but courts have interpreted the prohibition of sex discrimination to cover gender identity, as identified in the Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia case. Option C is correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a pivotal piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination in employment on specific grounds. While it explicitly addresses discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, it did not originally mention gender identity.
However, landmark cases, such as Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, have interpreted sex discrimination to include discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. This interpretation by the courts importantly expands the scope of Title VII protection to cover gender identity, despite it not being specifically mentioned in the wording of the Act.
When Title VII was initially passed, the inclusion of sex was to protect women from discrimination. It took decades of advocacy and legal debate for the courts to extend these protections to include gender identity. Therefore, with reference to the question, the option that is not specifically mentioned in Title VII but has been interpreted by the courts to be inclusive of protection is C. Gender identity.