Lesbian Mistaken for a Man, Ejected from Restroom, Receives Settlement

When I saw this article, I knew I had to dedicate it to all those lesbians out there who have been mistaken for men while in the women's restroom. And although the article doesn't state the amount that was won in the lawsuit, I checked out a few other sites and found out it was $35,000!

by Kilian Melloy
A lawsuit brought on behalf of a lesbian thrown out of a women’s bathroom at a restaurant before being ejected, with her friends, from the premises, has been settled by the plaintiff and a New York eatery.

The suit was filed last fall on behalf of Khadijah Farmer, a Hell’s Kitchen resident who was in Greenwich Village after attending last June’s Pride events. While in the West Village, Farmer, her partner, and some friends stepped into Caliente Cab Company, where they were enjoying appetizers when Farmer left the table and headed to the ladies’ room.

On the way in, according to Farmer, a woman exiting the restroom seemingly mistook her for a man, because she made a point to tell Ms. Farmer that she was about to enter the ladies’ room.

Farmer replied that she was, actually, a woman.

This sort of exchange was not entirely new to Farmer, who summed up her experience later by saying, "I’m not the most effeminate woman in the world, nor do I try to be, but people still find it necessary to let me know that they think I’m in the wrong bathroom."

According to an Oct. 9, 2007, article published in the New York Times, Farmer was still in the stall when a male bouncer entered the restroom, having been erroneously alerted that a man was using the women’s facility. According to Farmer, who was aghast at the invasion and the confrontation, she called out, "I’m a female, and I’m supposed to be in here."

Said Farmer, "After I came out of the bathroom stall, I attempted to show him my ID to show him that I was in the right place, and he just refused to look at my identification."

Added Farmer, "His exact words were, ’Your ID is neither here nor there,’ which means that my ID didn’t matter to him."

After escorting Farmer back to the table where her friends and partner were waiting, the bouncer insisted that the party pay for the food they had already ordered and then told them to leave the restaurant, the article reported.

The New York Times account was part of a City Room blog reporting on the filing of the lawsuit on Ms. Farmer’s behalf by The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF).

The transgender advocacy group took the case even though Ms. Farmer is not transgendered: she was born, and she remains, female in gender.

But the incident serves, as a July 17 article published at EDGE observes, as an object lesson "that points up some of the core issues about society’s definition of gender, and challenges the rules of what is ’acceptable’ within the realms of gender expression."

Continues the EDGE article, "This drama presents a daily trial for persons who are transgender, as well as those who express gender traits counter to the traits associated with the sex they are born with."

In a May 13 press release, TLDEF announced that the parties involved in the suit had settled, and as part of the settlement had met every demand made by TLDEF, including the addition of language to the company nondiscrimination policy to make it more inclusive of gender identity and gender expression issues, sensitivity training for employees around gender identity and gender expression issues, the adoption of a gender-neutral employee dress code, and the payment of damages to Ms. Farmer.

The release quoted Farmer as saying, "I’m very happy that the restaurant has taken appropriate steps to ensure that all patrons, regardless of how masculine or feminine they appear, are treated with dignity and respect."

Added Farmer, "People come in all shapes and sizes, and they shouldn’t be discriminated against because they don’t match someone’s expectations of how masculine or feminine they should be."

The release included a quote from Michael Silverman, the executive director of TLDEF. "People are routinely harassed and abused when they fail to conform to expectations about gender, especially in places like restrooms," said Silverman, who also served as a lawyer on the case.

Added Silverman, "Today’s settlement marks a step forward in ensuring that people have equal access to public accommodations like restrooms and restaurants without regard to their gender identity or expression."

A second press release announced the TLDEF had scheduled a May 13 press conference, slated to take place at the New York State Supreme Court.

Lesbos ladies launch lesbian lawsuit

I had recently heard about this lawsuit in the news, but only just read the full story...

A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women. Inhabitants on the Greek island of Lesbos, have launched a lawsuit against a gay rights group.

Three islanders from Lesbos -- home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women -- have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.
One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

"My sister can't say she is a Lesbian," said Dimitris Lambrou. "Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos," he said.
The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using "lesbian" in its name and filed a lawsuit on April 10. The other two plaintiffs are women.

A spokeswoman for the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece said the action was "a joke in bad taste that borders on discrimination."

"I don't see how the word can be an insult," Evangelia Vlami said. "We don't think doubt can be cast on dictionaries ... even the United Nations refer to us as Lesbians."

Also called Mytilene, after its capital, Lesbos is famed as the birthplace of Sappho. The island, particularly the lyric poet's reputed home town of Eressos, is a favored holiday destination for gay women.

"This is not an aggressive act against gay women," Lambrou said. "Let them visit Lesbos and get married and whatever they like. We just want (the group) to remove the word lesbian from their title."

He said the plaintiffs targeted the group because it is the only officially registered gay group in Greece to use the word lesbian in its name. The case will be heard in an Athens court on June 10.
Sappho lived from the late 7th to the early 6th century B.C. and is considered one of the greatest poets of antiquity. Many of her poems, written in the first person and intended to be accompanied by music, contain passionate references to love for other women.

Lambrou said the word lesbian has only been linked with gay women in the past few decades. "But we have been Lesbians for thousands of years," said Lambrou, who publishes a small magazine on ancient Greek religion and technology that frequently criticizes the Christian Church.

Vlami, the gay group spokeswoman, said any misunderstanding can easily be resolved through linguistics.

"Most people from Lesbos prefer to use the word Mytilene, which is the more ancient version and because some people may be afraid of being misunderstood," she said. "I don't see what the problem is ... Can't a woman just say: I am from the island of Lesbos?"

Very little is known of Sappho's life. According to some ancient accounts, she was an aristocrat who married a rich merchant and had a daughter with him. One tradition says that she killed herself by jumping off a cliff over an unhappy love affair.

Lambrou says Sappho was not gay. "But even if we assume she was, how can 250,000 people of Lesbian descent -- including women -- be considered homosexual?"

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.