Lesbian mistaken for trans woman in woman's bathroom in Arizona

[Christinapple]

https://www.advocate.com/news/lesbian-mistaken-transgender-arizona-walmart

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/masculine-looking-cis-woman-confronted-by-cops-in-walmart-restroom-kalaya-morton-demands-justice-video/ar-AA1AdWpn

But I thought people "can always tell"?

It also led to the irony the only males in the bathroom were two male police officers who were notified by a store employee who mistakenly thought a male had entered the woman's toilets.

"In an alarming incident at a Tucson, Arizona Walmart, 19-year-old Kalaya Morton*, a Black cisgender lesbian, was confronted by two male sheriff’s deputies while using the women’s restroom, sparking outrage and a demand for accountability.
Morton, who identifies as masculine-presenting or a “stud,” recounted the humiliating encounter that occurred when a store employee erroneously assumed she was a transgender woman. The saga began innocuously enough: Morton had entered the restroom with her ex-girlfriend, who was kindly handing her a tampon— an act of friendship that, unfortunately, soon spiraled into something far more troubling. In an exclusive interview with The Advocate, Morton detailed her shock when the two deputies barged in, shining flashlights into the restroom stall.

“You have to get out of here. You have to come out. We need to talk to you.” Imagine trying to pee in peace, only to have the police storm in like it’s an episode of Cops: Restroom Edition.
“I’m still using the restroom. I’m sitting down, I’m peeing. What is the issue?,” Morton incredulously told the deputies as she sat there.
Now, while most people hope for a streamlined bathroom experience, Morton was treated more like a suspect than a bathroom user. The deputies apparently needed to crack the case of “Who Looks Like a Man in the Ladies’ Room,” a particularly absurd mystery, if you ask us."

I have several times been mistaken for a male in my life (I am female) It's no big deal, I said I was female. Job done.

It has happened to me!

And I was fine.

Because the minute I responded - laughed & spoke - it’s clear what sex I am.

I’d much rather be queried and set other women’s minds at rest, than share my single-sex spaces with fetishistic men that everyone is too anxious to challenge.

BTW I think you posted this story before. Recycling?

Only reason this happened is because there are a bunch of blokes trying to get into the ladies so anyone with close cut hair is going to be looked at. No-one would have batted an eyelid before men tried to enter women’s loo’s.

Maybe those male police officers were identifying as female that day, because that’s acceptable isn’t it? I thought sex is just a feeling in people’s head. I wonder who could be responsible for these things happening, it’s a proper conundrum isn’t it? 🤔

The last few cases I've heard of this have all been black women (including one with long braids). That says something about who some people think owns 'femininity'

You should talk to trans identified men about what a woman is, they have all the answers apparently. We said this would happen and you didn’t listen, in your eagerness to be ‘kind’.

Loving all the 'wows'!

Desperately trying to make this non-event into a reason to force women into having men in their spaces.

Seriously. OP, and others, what on earth do you think women are going to say to this?? 😁

It's a nothing thing. Irritating for the woman, if it happened like that, but so what?

Sorry the ' her ex girlfriend was kindly handing her a tampon' bit makes this look like a made up story. The sort of thing TW like to think happens in women's toilets all the time. The sort of thing they want to become a part of as its so womany..

Anyway, even if this incident did happen, it happened because men have started going into women's bathrooms. Previously everyone would just have assumed she was a slightly more masculine looking woman.

This exactly. I am sure this masculine presenting woman gets mistaken for a man very frequently, this time it happened to be in a bathroom, and the police were involved. I would rather be mistakenly accused of being a man than have men go unchallenged in a bathroom or changing room, embarrassing for me, but safer for everyone.

We have to accept a bit inconvenience for the bigger win.

Trans identifying men target women in women’s toilets and we are told we’re bigots if we object, can you not see the irony in what you’re saying?

‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face’ says the people who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces party.

She said she often gets misgendered, but now she's going to seek legal advice to make sure it doesn't happen again to her, or anyone else.

Very misguided, in that the only solution to that is to make everything mixed sex.

She doesn't realise that the reason she caused suspicion is because of the transactivism, that she's now advocating for.

This is why this ideology is so ridiculous, women get harassed far too often, especially now men are allowed into our spaces. Talk to the men and women who allowed this, who cheered for it, you’re probably one of them.

To respond directly to the OP:
'But I thought people "can always tell"?'

OK, fair cop, you're got us bang to rights!! We are completely wrong to say 'women can always tell' so in future we will say instead

'women [with the exception of one unnamed store employee in Tucson, Arizona, USA, sex/gender undisclosed] can always tell'

Not🙄One anecdote is a poor challenge.

Interesting appearance of the familiar 'giving of tampons as act of friendship between women' gesture -
.. entered the restroom with her ex-girlfriend, who was kindly handing her a tampon— an act of friendship that, unfortunately, soon spiraled into something far more troubling.

I also live in fear of this happening. I'm only 5'6 and quite skinny but I have very short hair and have been mistaken for a man (despite my quite noticeable 36DD boobs) more than once. I know that I THINK I'd rather be mistaken for a man than have an actual man use the women's facilities, but whenever it happens it hurts.

From the article it looks like she could easily avoid the misgendering by growing her hair a bit and wearing a bit of makeup. Some people bring problems onto themselves.

Wow.
As I said above.
Wear make up and grow your hair, ladies.
Otherwise you bring it all on yourselves.
Feminism board my arse.

Plus they were both in the same cubicle for some reason.

And she'd lifted up her top to prove she was female.

The whole thing sounds v dodge.

She sounds very female when she talks, though. I listened to the video.

The bit I'm constantly surprised at is that men seem to think this is a reason for women to be forced to let men in!

Why is it ???

It's the opposite!

Women sooo don't want men in their spaces, that they are on hyper alert now.

Their argument seems to be, women are so concerned, that they need to cave in entirely.

I know transactivism is characterised by batshit lack of logic, but this really takes the biscuit.

lol.

oh you again, Chris.

Well if you TRAs didn't insist that men be allowed to use the women's facilities, this wouldn't happen.

You and those of your ilk have the power to stop this! use it.

This was the answer I was given when I started a thread about being mistaken for a man (not in toilets!) because it really upset me. 'Wear make up and grow your hair'. I was only slightly surprised that the poster didn't add 'and start wearing high heels and a short skirt'. Because it's not like the men haven't thought of that, have they?

You laughed it off. Good for you. Not everyone is easily able to do that though.
Someone on here said how it hurts.
It does. Oh, and it's not just "hurty feelz" before anyone tries to minimise or mock.
Although who's posted it before? You're quoting me but I've never posted this article before at all.

The cops didn't see the person in the stall before they were summoned. Someone said 'I saw a bloke go in that toilet', so they went in and wanted the person to come out to see/ask if it was a bloke or not.
What else should they have done with a report of a male in a women's bathroom. Just ignored it and said 'tough shit?'

Whoa! That's a bit extreme!

As I said before, there are many different styles that lesbians can choose, none of them should be an effort to look 'like a woman should' - we should be able to wear what we want to and look however we choose.

But I think if you choose a style which makes you look so much like a man that you can pass as such - or for that matter, if you transition to being a transman - you have to be aware that using women's single sex spaces, which you are 100% entitled to do, is going to be problematic for you and for the other women there.

Thanks to a campaign of men deliberately targeting women's toilets to make a point, it has now become even more problematic. It shouldn't be, but it is.