I Was Bathroom Policed by Security at LAX Because I’m Trans
Apparently, I’m the Wrong Kind of Woman
For the month of June, the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is festooned with rainbows and flags in celebration of Pride month. That’s a lovely gesture of solidarity and compassion. In this climate of angry folks pushing back against the mere suggestion of corporate LGBTQ acceptance, it’s really nice to see. And yet, queer acceptance isn’t just about rainbows, as we shall see.
I was out in LA last week on business, and per my contract with the Transgender Agenda©, I was visibly queering up the place. That even included a trip to Dodgers stadium with my coworkers for a girl’s night out. I traveled to LA with my co-worker. She’s lovely, and it’s nice to have someone to go out to dinner with on a business trip.
I am a visibly transgender woman, so I have a level of anxiety associated with using a public restroom that others will never understand.
I don’t let it show.
I act like it’s not a big deal and no one else should be concerned. That’s my transgender mantra. I used the women’s bathroom at the stadium three times without incident. I used public restrooms on the way out and at my layover in Newark, without incident.
We arrived at LAX for our return trip red-eye flight three hours early. After a meal, I decided to take a stroll and show my coworker the dining options in Terminal Seven. Across from Gate 81, in a quiet corner of the airport, the bathrooms beckoned. We went in, and I (uncharacteristically) continued to chat while we used adjoining stalls. We left the empty bathroom together.
To my surprise, shock, and bafflement, a woman in uniform stood outside the bathrooms. I asked her if there was anything wrong. She said she heard me in the bathroom and that I should use the all-gender restroom in Terminal Six. I took her comment to indicate that I did not sufficiently conform to her idea of someone who belonged in the women's restroom.
I asked if she wanted to see my ID with an F on the gender marker and if she wanted to check my underwear.
I learned she is an employee of Allied Security, the world’s largest private security firm. At that, my co-worker dragged me away. I have a problem with authority, particularly when said authority challenges my gender identity. I could have gotten in real trouble if I had been allowed to continue. I am just that kind of gal.
I still don’t quite understand her mission of enforcing an unwritten, unknown rule of bathroom policing at LAX.
Is this the stated policy of the airport authority? Is there an unwritten rule of gender conformity that I missed? The restroom was empty, so someone couldn’t have called in to complain about what bathroom I was using. It had to be a judgment call by this employee that I did not belong.
I did not meet her standard of “What is a Woman.”
This is the fundamental problem with bathroom bills and the idea of policing bathrooms. I was doing a basic biological act and was not looking for trouble. I have used the women’s restroom from one end of this country to the other. And I have never had any trouble. If my coworker was uncomfortable with me being there, don’t you think she would have said something?
Supporting the LGBTQ community is about more than hanging a flag and a few balloons. You are only as good as the boots on the ground; if your hired help has no tolerance for gender diversity, you shouldn’t pretend to be an ally.
LAX and Allied Security should do better.
