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"What if the world was crazy and I was sane Would it be so strange I can't believe that I am alone in saying The things I'm saying I am - part of you These are - universal truths We're all - part of the light that flows through everything" -Cher ! "It proves that you are unusual," said the Scarecrow, "and in my opinion being unusual is one of the best things in the world. For the common folks are like the leaves on a tree, and live and die unnoticed." -excerpt from "The Land of Oz"

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

interesting article i thought was worth posting

Transgender complains to Ft. Worth about Wal-Mart

Fort Worth officer issues a criminal trespass warning to woman after Wal-Mart employee said her appearance made others ‘uncomfortable’


By David Webb
Staff Writer


A transgender woman recently filed a discrimination complaint with Fort Worth officials after an employee of the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Airport Freeway told her she was unwelcome in the store.
Randi Randolph, who lives in Fort Worth, said she filed the complaint with the Fort Worth Community Relations Department after the store employee told her on Feb. 13 that her presence “made people feel uncomfortable.” The employee approached her in the women’s restroom and asked her if she was a man shortly before a police officer detained her for questioning, she said.
“My response was no ma’am,” Randolph said. “I told her I was a woman and left.”
But before she could exit the store, a police officer demanded identification, escorted her to a security office and issued her a trespass warning, Randolph said. While the police officer was questioning her, the store employee made the statement about people feeling uncomfortable, she said.
Randolph, 58, who was dressed in feminine attire and wearing makeup, said she was alone in the restroom washing her hands when the Wal-Mart employee approached her. She entered the restroom in the front of the store after making a purchase.
“My only offense is that I make people feel uncomfortable,” Randolph said. “I’m sorry, that’s not an offense. To run into this kind of bigotry at Wal-Mart, I just wouldn’t have thought it possible.”
Christi Gallagher, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart’s home office in Bentonville, Ark., declined to comment on Randolph’s complaint until the company’s attorneys have reviewed it.
Fort Worth has a city ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In her complaint, Randolph said, “I believe I was treated in this manner because of my sexual orientation.”
Randolph said the confrontation surprised her because she has experienced few problems until now.
“I go everywhere in Fort Worth,” said Randolph, 58, who began full-time transition about a year ago. “This is my first really bad experience. I’ve never had a problem.”
Randolph, who is not taking hormones because of concerns about cancer risks but is planning to undergo sexual reassignment surgery, said she is in the process of seeking a gender marker change from male to female on her driver license. She carries a letter from a therapist with the Sexuality Education Center in Fort Worth explaining her situation in the event concerns are raised about her identity.
The letter attests to the “integrity, responsibility and maturity” of Randolph.
“There is no attempt by this individual to defraud by her feminine presentation and name,” the letter reads. “Please accord her the respect and dignity that is due all human beings and fellow travelers regardless of her presentation.”The police officer read the letter but dismissed it, Randolph said. “He said as far as he was concerned that I was a man, and he issued me the warning,” Randolph said.
Randolph formerly was married, and she has children and grandchildren. She has worked as a salesman and a truck driver, but now plans to attend culinary school to become a chef.
Randolph said she decided to go public with her complaint about Wal-Mart because “bigotry cannot be allowed to continue.”
“My therapist says educate, educate, educate,” Randolph said. “I am a person who is just trying to live a meaningful life.”

4 Comments:

  • At 10:56 AM, Blogger Ailyn said…

    interesting article. I am curious about your thoughts. beyond the rudeness and the bullshit of the comfort level, do you think a "transgender woman" should be allowed to use the women's room when she is still in fact a he? i realize the concerns of a man using a womens room more has to do with perversion, abuse, rape etc... and this of course would not be the case here. but still i wonder. on the opposite end, i do not like it when a woman uses the mens room.

     
  • At 1:00 PM, Blogger gapfashionprep said…

    yes i think they should be able to use the women's restroom. to her, on the inside, she is in fact a woman and to use the mens restroom is degrading to her.

     
  • At 10:07 AM, Blogger Ailyn said…

    thanxx for the reply. intereting topic to be sure. once again shows that there is no black and white, but instead many shades of grey.

     
  • At 10:35 AM, Blogger gapfashionprep said…

    "who was dressed in feminine attire and wearing makeup" is a key fact in this matter. i mean not all transgendered people are at the step where they live as the other gender all the time and if a transgendered person was not presentig themself as a woman but saying i can use the womans restroom cuz im transgendered. thats different.

     

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