Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Bathroom Police…

…Gets the wrong person!
Woman thrown out of Fishbone's: 'I couldn't believe it'
Detroit Free Press
By Katrease Stafford
June 23, 2015

When Cortney Bogorad heard a Fishbone's Rhythm Kitchen Cafe security guard shout repeatedly into the women's restroom for the man inside to come out, she wondered what the commotion was about.

Bogorad, who described the incident to the Free Press last week, said she was floored when she realized the guard's demands were aimed at her.

"It was absolutely insane to me," Bogorad said. "I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe they wouldn't believe me when I said I was a girl or that they wouldn't look at my ID."

Bogorad said the situation quickly escalated after the guard rebuffed her numerous attempts to show ID to prove she was indeed a woman.

She claims the man slammed her into the restroom wall, grabbed her by her hooded sweater and bra, carried her through the restaurant and threw her on the ground outside.
This is not the first time the bathroom police got it wrong. The Anchorage Press in 2006 had an article where security guards at the Thursday Night at The Fights rushed into the women’s bathroom to find the “man” in the bathroom only to embarrass the woman when they escorted her out saying “’It's alright,’ she said, to others outside the doors, ‘there's no man.’"

And then there was the case in New York, the Caliente Cab Company in 2007 where they prevented a grup of lesbians from going the bathroom.

What the bathroom police are really doing is enforcing the gender norms; they only question those who fall outside of what they think a woman should look like those who do not match their idea of a “real woman” are singled out.

1 comment:

  1. Publicity of more incidents like this may help people see the absurdity of the "bathroom police." Hopefully in her case, the guard gets to search for a new job, and the companies get to pay the woman a nice juicy settlement.

    I tend to walk the androgynous fence every day. Even though I resemble a woman (see my blog), I frequently use the men's room since I haven't transitioned and my current ID matches my physical characteristics. I've had quite a number of "looks" from various people of both genders, and have had invitations to use the ladies room, as well as demands from men to leave the mens' room. They seem to "get over it" quickly, though.

    Certainly nothing as serious as this.

    Should guards, police or individuals end up throwing me around, competent attorneys pursuing legal action against both companies and individuals, plus press coverage, will definitely be options on the table for evaluation.

    Mandy

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