Tell someone they discriminate and you’re sure to be told that they don’t or that they aren’t closed minded. The fact is that everyone in life has some kind of agenda or belief that will infringe on someone else’s right to live peacefully. I’ve read frequently that people who are called bigots aren’t that they are just allowed to have their own beliefs.
Recently in NYC there was a lawsuit about a lesbian woman that entered a bathroom in a club and was forced to leave by a bouncer based upon her appearance. Ms Farmer has the outer appearance of a man but when asked for her ID she presented a non-drivers license ID that identified her as female. For whatever reason she was asked to leave the club with her friends and she was denied access to the "ladies" room. She settled out of court for $35,000 and the club promises to add Gender Identity to it’s list of anti-discriminatory practices.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/05/13/2008-05-13_lesbian_gets_35g_in_ladies_room_boot_sui.html
So what’s the big deal here?
In most news articles on the web they have a talk back section that allows the public to comment on the story. It is in this section that I’m appalled by some of the comments that human beings make against someone they view as different. Most of all it is this type of person that makes bigoted comments but will deny ever having any prejudice or contempt in their hearts. Some of the comments stuck me hard.
lostligt wrote
"wow!! there is no denying that she looks like a man, as much as I respect one's sexual preference, if she wants to dress and act lika a man, then why use the ladies room ? "
pnobronx wrote
"If this is how you want to look it is OK, at the same time I think that if you a gay female that you should have to use the mens bathroom reason being. Your sexual goal in life is to seek out other women if a straight female knew that a gay female was in the bathroom would that straight female still go into the bathroom"
arizonarick wrote
"i guess the world shouldn't harshly judge this loser. she looks manly enough that if i were a female, she would have freaked me out."
Mbdono wrote
"The gutless weenies at the resturant settled with this pig, just to get her to go away! Evidently some woman complained that a man was in the ladies john! The b i t c h then tried to give the bouncer some bogus ID card, he threw it's a s s out!"
"Maybe she can afford some makeup now. What-ever. She knew what she was doing.
how the heck are you going to sue because your look was successful? i mean seriously, you want to be a woman who walk, talk and acts like a man because you're into women? go ahead but don't get your nose out of joint when someone actually looks at you and thinks you're a freaking guy! this lawsuit should have been tossed!"
"Ok if she's a Lesbian trying to be "like" a man, then why not go into the men's room? What's the difference anyway. Hehe :P"
"Not for nothing but when she first appeared in the daily news and other news media, she looked more masculine than some men. Maybe next time she oughtta wear a dress to give some men a clue on what her sexual origin is."
The first thing that drives me nuts is that people are willing to disparage another human being over the way they look or what they perceive them to be. In some instances people make reference to the fact that she should make herself look more feminine to conform. How ridiculous it is to expect someone to make himself or herself uncomfortable to make some people comfortable.
There are plenty of women who are not comfortable in makeup, does that make them any less human? Does it make them bad people? Most of all, does it make them any less female is they so identify? No it doesn’t yet people are willing to force what they view as stereotypical beauty just so someone can use a bathroom, How Fucking ridiculous is that?
The next part of the issue that really pisses me off is the notion that if she looks like a man or she is a butch lesbian that she should be in the men’s bathroom, not the ladies room. WTF, How hypocritical is this.
There has been a movement in this country recently to ban Gender Identity discrimination so that people cannot be denied jobs, housing or medical care. On the flip side of the argument activists are fighting these bills under the premise that they do not want to allow "Men in dresses" in the ladies room. They somehow feel that it will allow sexual predators legal entrance to what should be a safe environment. To date there has never been an issue of a gender variant person committing a crime in a restroom against woman or children. This is a veiled attempt to commit discrimination against a group of people they simply aren’t comfortable with.
My issue with this is that what would happen if a transition transsexual male to female were to go into a men’s restroom dressed in their appropriate clothing (IE: Female)? Under the terms of HBS a TS must do a 1 year real life test before being allowed to have prescreened surgery. This means living in your target role 24/7 to prepare for your new life. You are not allowed to go back or it voids the test.
So if a well-dressed TS woman walked into the men’s room would there be a confrontation? Would a man be comfortable with this person being there? Most of all would the TS woman’s safety be put at risk because they were forced to be in the men’s room to simply use the facilities, something we are have as a basic human right and a function of life itself!
So in review, Transitioning male to female transsexuals should not be allowed access to the women’s room according to these people
Now take this premise and apply it to Ms Farmer’s case above where people would prefer a female to be required to use the men’s room because she outwardly appears to be, male!
Call a spade a spade here people it is discrimination anyway you view it and it is wrong. So in 2 separate issues the message being sent is to either conform to societies binary gender roles or you can be denied access to facilities that are for basic human function.
It never ceases to amaze me how society will bend issues to force people to conform. Sorry people, ya can’t have it both ways!!
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