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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Potty Training

posted by on May 14 at 8:55 AM

A popular restaurant has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit with a lesbian who said a bouncer chased her out of the women’s bathroom and forced her to leave because she looked masculine….

The Caliente Cab Company, while denying the allegations, also agreed to add gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy, amend its employee handbook with a section on customer restroom use.

The Claliente Cab Company is in NYC’s Greenwich Village, which has been welcoming masculine women for, oh, more than a century now. Greenwich Village ain’t what it used to be, but still: if boyish/mannish dykes can’t use the toilets in freakin’ Greenwich Village without being harassed and discriminated against, what hope is there for boyish/mannish dykes in other, less enlightened parts of the country?

RSS icon Comments

1

Hell, if she's that much of a bull dyke, you'd think she would WANT to use the gents'.

Posted by Ummagumma | May 14, 2008 9:01 AM
2

The crazy thing is that this happened during pride, too...

Posted by GirlAnachronism | May 14, 2008 9:04 AM
3

It would be nice if places started installing a single unisex bathroom in between the men's and women's bathrooms. No worries about gender identity or anything - just a toilet and a sink and no need to deal with anybody else's judgements.

Posted by Greg | May 14, 2008 9:08 AM
4

Also, sinks should be outside the bathrooms so people who don't wash their hands have to face the social consequences of that choice.

Posted by Greg | May 14, 2008 9:09 AM
5

It's embarassing, but it's not worth a compensation. She deserved a free meal at best.

Posted by Sirkowski | May 14, 2008 9:18 AM
6
Posted by w7ngman | May 14, 2008 9:42 AM
7

Caliente Cab Company is a freaking chain restaurant -- a THEME restaurant, for chrissakes. They specialize in kid's birthdays. They have CLOWNS. What kind of dyke, what kind of Villager wants to visit a place like that? What, is Hard Rock Cafe closed? Planet Hollywood too busy? Johnny Rockets too far to walk?

What the hell has happened to New York?

Posted by Fnarf | May 14, 2008 9:59 AM
8

@7 - "What kind of dyke...wants to visit a place like that?"

Maybe a dyke with kids perhaps? Does she need an excuse to enter a crappy restaurant? Does being a crappy chain restaurant give Caliente immunity when it comes to treating people like crap?

And Guiliani is what happened to New York. Him his fuckwad cronies at Walt Disney. Bastids!

Posted by Providence | May 14, 2008 10:03 AM
9

A dyke at a birthday party?

Posted by nzp | May 14, 2008 10:06 AM
10

I just find this strange.

Posted by Vince | May 14, 2008 10:09 AM
11

There is a restaurant in the East Village called Yaffa Cafe that actually has this setup- and it works rather well.

What I never understood were the restaurants that have two single bathrooms (bathrooms with one one toilet and a sink), and they still have "Male" and "Female" on them. I mean seriously- its not like walking into the "Ladies" room as a man will expose you to a women relieving herself. Unless she didn't lock the door. And when I need to go to the bathroom, and the "Mens" room is occupied, there is nothing stopping me from using the women's room (which I've done a lot with no one the wiser).

Posted by MarsAttack | May 14, 2008 10:44 AM
12

@7,

I was dragged to many a shitty theme restaurant when friends and family visited me in New York.

Posted by keshmeshi | May 14, 2008 11:06 AM
13

Thats cause you have shitty friends and family kesh.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | May 14, 2008 11:15 AM
14

Last time I checked, dykes had birthdays and kids.

Maybe she should move to Seattle?

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 14, 2008 11:20 AM
15

@11, I don't get that either. There's no reason for separate single-occupancy bathrooms. I have no problem using a bathroom that men have used; I just don't want to be in there at the same time.

Posted by julia | May 14, 2008 11:27 AM
16

Sounds fishy.

Posted by umvue | May 14, 2008 11:33 AM
17

maybe it wasn't that the bouncer thought she looked masculine, but rather confused her with the rodents of her size known to lurk in those restrooms.

how that shithole is still open is beyond me.

Posted by chops | May 14, 2008 11:56 AM
18

The Caliente Cab Co. in the Village does not, nor never has to my experience, had clowns. It's not particularly family friendly - they're not family UN-friendly, but they're aimed at college kids and party people who want to drink margaritas and plenty of them. The woman in question did not look like "a dyke", she looked like a man. I'm not excusing how the event was handled at all, I'm just saying I can see how the INITIAL mistake of identity was made. I think better training of their staff is definitely in order and settling the lawsuit was smart from a PR angle.

Posted by Al | May 14, 2008 12:00 PM
19

@13,

Right. And I'm sure you don't, what with your assholishness and all.

Posted by keshmeshi | May 14, 2008 12:06 PM
20

I get chastised for my bathroom selection every day. I am tall, skinny, and have short hair - people think I'm a guy (this doesn't happen as often to shorter women). I say something like 'yo, I'm a chick' or 'wanna see my tits?'. this usually works. I've never been chased out. women scream in fright, babies hide... but never chased out.

sometimes I save myself the trouble and use the men's. it's nasty.

Posted by bstakes | May 14, 2008 12:44 PM
21

Fucking men's rooms. That's the reason I hate public bathrooms - all the Goddamn slobs I have to share them with.

Posted by Greg | May 14, 2008 2:07 PM
22

@18 -- they've got a picture of a fucking clown on their fucking website. And kids in party hats. I'd rather be hit by a car than go to a place like that. I'd rather go to Chuck E. Cheese's. It looks like it's owned by CBS.

Posted by Fnarf | May 14, 2008 3:06 PM

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