Police called to National Theatre to deal with gender critical feminists sitting on chairs

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

twitter.com/DadRogd/status/1147181198231429124 has picture of the unfortunate police officer sent to investigate.

Earlier in his tweet thread he says:

National Theatre Green Room bar just refused to serve us. Their grounds? Allegedly, we are a political group with views a member of staff finds offensive. So they offend a dozen customers instead.

Problem is apparently with t-shirt worn by Anne Ruzylo sporting a dictionary definition of a lesbian. As someone else has pointed out the NT is in breach of the Equality Act, given that sexual orientation and sex are both protected characteristics. I wonder how this will play out.

How are they not openly discriminating against lesbians here?

(rhetorical question, sorry if that's not clear. This is explicit discrimination against lesbians.)

Problem is apparently with t-shirt worn by Anne Ruzylo sporting a dictionary definition of a lesbian

But if you believe trans women are women why is the slogan offensive?

This is their Twitter bio.

^@greenroomse1
The Green Room is a British diner, bar and garden created by local social enterprise Coin Street Community Builders and the @NationalTheatre
. Dogs welcome!^

Not lesbians, though, it would seem.

They are breaking the law if they are discriminating against a lesbian in this way.
Good luck with that.

But if you believe trans women are women why is the slogan offensive?

I did wonder that Lass

maybe the member of staff who was offended is just an old fashioned homophobe?

maybe the member of staff who was offended is just an old fashioned homophobe?

Very poor show by The Green Room SE1 to let one staff member’s homophobia exclude a whole group of customers.

I think the argument is, as with the adult human female t-shirts, it is not what the shirts say but the fact these phrases have been appropriates by transphobes to make a particular political statement.

I'm sure Mhairi Black & Little Owen will be leading the protests against this blatant homophobia.

ItsAll

Yes, in another context people might say its a dogwhistle phrase. Which drives me nutty at the best of times.

but I think if, as a biological male with designs on having a relationship with a lesbian, you let on that you're offended by that T-shirt, you've kind of tipped your hand about how you really see yourself, no?

I am not a lawyer, but yes, I'd say they're breaking the law. Hardly surprising. The impression I have is that a great deal of the diversity training delivered in the UK in recent times has told people that gender identity is protected by the Equality Act, with little or no mention of the genuine protected characteristics of sex, sexual orientation or the correct term used in the EA 'gender reassignment'. There's also been little discussion of the thorny issue of how to deal with situations where one or more protected characteristics conflict, including religion/belief. So a lot of people, even quite senior people, appear to have a very poor grasp of the law.

'Gender identity' is not protected in law at all, if I understand this correctly.

What ever happened to ‘the customer is always right’?

if, as a biological male with designs on having a relationship with a lesbian, you let on that you're offended by that T-shirt, you've kind of tipped your hand about how you really see yourself, no?

This, a thousands times over!

I'll look forward to the Pink News report on this homophobic discrimination....oh wait... that won't happen will it? Wrong kind of lesbians.

Sounds like clear discrimination based on sexual orientation, no?

Owen Jones will be right on it.

@OvaHere
Going on recent history, they are far more more likely to do a multi part article defending the homophobe who made the complaint.

So what happened in the end?

This is an update:

Well well well, the National Theatre are homophobic

That is a turn up for the books

That doesn't matter. Even refusing to serve (for the assumed reason) is breaking the law.

The person making the complaint needs investigation. People have been getting away with this kind of thing for too long.

And I think if Anne has the time and inclination to make a nuisance of herself she could really go to town on the NT here

It’s still sinking in for me, so I’m going to say it again

the national theatre refused to serve drinks to a group because it contained a woman who had a t shirt on which identified her as a lesbian

Wow

So National Theatre refuses to serve lesbians?

It's shocking isn't it? The political view that lesbians aren't men (which is what that T-shirt is alluding to) apparently is so contentious that any group with that belief can't get served.

There's loads of political views I thoroughly disagree with, but it would never occur to me to expect them to be refused service in a public bar.

Pretty much the only time I would agree would be if someone was actually inciting violence.

#thirstylesbiansonchairs