ACLU X Bathroom Policy for Walgreens
My whole life I have been given a hard time with the way I present my gender. For starters, at about 13/14 my voice began to drop and I began to grow facial hair. This was very upsetting and confusing so I saw a doctor for this. I found out that I had a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in which my ovaries are covered in cysts that produce testosterone. By the time this had been discovered I had already basically gone through a male puberty so the female puberty had to be induced with birth control (all this did was give me a period-AWESOME! Having a period and a beard!). I was 15 the first time I shaved my face and I cried. I was so confused why I was going through this when I was a girl and had always identified as such. As if this time in my life wasnât difficult enough, I was struggling with my sexuality and we all know how great kids can be so I was bullied quite a bit. Somehow I survived this time in my life but I felt completely isolated and alone. I had a hard time making friends, in fact in 7th grade one of my only friends was my math teacher, Mr. Felton. He was so great. Iâm not sure if he could see the struggle and pain in my eyes but he gave me a purpose which is what I so desperately needed then. He gave me a job at the student store where I could have all the soda, candy, and chips my heart desired. It was great to have a place to go at lunch everyday, especially when I would hear âDYKE ALERTâ being yelled down the corridor at school.Â
Somehow I made it to high school and things werenât much better for me there. While I had a very small group of friends that I loved and trusted, I was still bulled quite a bit for my appearance, even death threats. In 9th grade the lady that ran the girls locker room got in my face and told me I had to leave because I was in the girls locker room. I was frequently told I looked like a man, even told I didnât deserve to live. School wasnât the only place that I had to deal with these issues. My first job was at a theme park, I was about 16. This was a perfect set up for trolls and bullies to take out their insecurities. I was completely defenseless, just trying to do my job with a smile on my face and get through the day. I worked in the games department where people play over priced games to try to win stuffed animals. On one occasion, I wouldnât let a guy cheat and he asked me that familiar question, âAre you a boy or girl?â I responded and he replied âWell you really look like a man.â Frequently I would have customers ask me what my gender was and when I replied I would frequently be asked âAre you sure?â One customer specifically returned throughout the day to ask me if I was sure. Just one more scenario to validate my experience here: I went to a Marie Calendars in my home town in my early 20s and asked if I could use their restroom. They allowed my friend and I to do so and within a couple minutes a man was in my face in the ladies room telling me I had to leave. I assured him I would be quick but he said I had to leave because I was in the ladies room. I left, shocked at what had happened with an angry friend ready to kick some ass. As usual I didnât want to cause a scene so I subdued her and we left.
The reason I am sharing all of this is to give a little look at what the past was like before June 2017 when I went to that Walgreens. This scenario wasnât a new one for me but my perspective has shifted in the last few years. After everything I have been through I knew the next time something happened I was going to do something about it for all of the other scared little 16 year olds out there. When I was forced to use the mens room I knew it was my opportunity. Â
It was during Pride weekend and we were headed to the march that was going to take place in Weho. I bought some stuff at Walgreens and asked to use the restroom. The associate took me to where the restrooms were and opened the mens room. Normally I would just use the mens room because a toilet is a toilet but this time there were 2 other guys standing in line and I wasnât about to share the restroom with them. I asked her to open the ladies room for me and she refused saying I had to use the mens room because I was âdressedâ like a man. I tried arguing with her about it telling her I was a woman and wanted to use the womanâs room but she wasnât having it. I just submitted and used the mens room because I had to pee. Afterwards I wanted to talk to her about it and tell her that it wasnât right. She informed me that it was their store policy they do this so I asked for a manager, sure she would side with me and be as horrified as I was with the whole thing. To my surprise she let me know that it was not only their store policy, but the law that someone use the rest room based on their presentation. The associate also let me know I might frighten a woman and child if they saw me in the woman's room. At this point I was completely pissed and hurried with this experience in Hollywood, CA of all places in the world. Walgreens self promotes as a progressive company and has heavily promoted themselves at pride festivals and online/stores where you can purchase rainbow paraphernalia during pride month in June. This being said, I wasnât having a huge corporation get away with something like this. I immediately filed a complaint and got in touch with the ACLU at pride (they had a booth at the festival). Together with a lots of perseverance and the help of the ACLUâs attorney Amanda, Jenna, and David We got Walgreens to hear us and to put their actions where their promotion is.Â
 I didnât know that this would get so much attention, I was honestly just trying to do the right thing and spare others from having to go through what I did. I know how uncomfortable it is when you just need to pee and donât want to be bothered. It should be like this everywhere, for everyone but were working on it one company, one baby step at a time. Â
If you want to hear more about the new restroom policy at Walgreens, check out LA Times, NY Post, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post and more!
