Source: New York Daily News, New York Times blog, Village Voice
A lesbian who was booted from the ladies' room at a Greenwich Village restaurant because she looked too much like a man, settled her suit today for $35,000.

Under the terms of the settlement, the restaurant will also have its employees receive gender sensitivity training and dress in gender-neutral outfits. The restaurant will also pay $15,000 in legal fees to Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the suit, asserting that their client was the victim of gender discrimination.

Khadijah Farmer of Brooklyn was ejected last year from the restaurant, Caliente Cab Company, while she was on the toilet, following a complaint that a "man" had entered the ladies' room.

Ms. Farmer, who describes herself as “not the most feminine,” had gone to Caliente Cab with her partner, Joelle Evans, after the Gay Pride Parade on June 24 last year. While she was in the bathroom, a male bouncer burst in and told her that she had to leave. Although Ms. Farmer showed her driver’s license, which identified her as a woman, the bouncer insisted that she leave the bathroom.

According to the complaint, the bouncer refused to examine the identification she offered, and then ejected her from the bathroom. He threw her, her girlfriend and the rest of their group from the restaurant, after he demanded they pay the bill for their appetizers.

Caliente Cab Company denies the facts of the complaint.

"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," Farmer said in a statement released this morning by the defense fund. "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."


While Ms. Farmer has always identified as a woman, the case was appealing to the defense fund because it touched upon many issues that transgender people commonly face and could set an interesting legal precedent, representatives of the group said.

"We don't dispute she looks masculine at times," said Michael Silverman, executive director of the defense fund.

“It really straddled the line of gender expression,” Silverman said.

The defense fund argued that nondiscriminatory provisions of state law should be interpreted as protecting New Yorkers against sexual stereotyping, in which individuals are expected to conform to societal expectations of gender-appropriate behavior.

Farmer said the encounter won't make her change her appearance.

"I'm comfortable in my skin," she said. "I figured out who I am and how I wanted to be years ago."

Among the workplace practices that Caliente Cab agreed to adopt in the settlement was to add gender identity and expression to its corporate nondiscrimination policy; to adopt a gender-neutral dress code for its employees; and to amend its employee handbook to state "persons patronizing or employed at Caliente have the right to use the bathroom facilities consistent with their gender identity and expression."

Full article: Case of Womans Restaurant Bathroom Ejection Is Settled | New York Times Blog
Woman mistaken for man settles ladies room suit with Caliente Cab Co. | New York Daily News
Lesbian Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Against Caliente Cab Co. | Village Voice