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A Minnesota nonprofit is filing a charge of discrimination with the state Department of Human Rights, claiming a restaurant server harassed an 18-year-old while she used the women’s restroom; the server allegedly believed she was a boy.
Twin Cities organization Gender Justice filed the charge against the restaurant Tuesday.
According to Gender Justice attorneys, Gerika Mudra went out for dinner with a friend at a Buffalo Wild Wings location in Owatonna. She went to the restroom, and a server allegedly followed her and banged on the door, calling her a man and yelling at her to leave.
Attorneys say Mudra unzipped her sweatshirt to show the server her chest.
In a statement, Mudra said she was shocked by the server’s behavior.
“She made me feel very uncomfortable,” Mudra said. “After that, I just don’t like going in public bathrooms.”
Gender Justice attorney Sara Jane Baldwin said the incident is a consequence of attempts to limit trans people’s access to bathrooms.
“We need the broader society to see the harms caused when we police access to gendered spaces,” Baldwin said. “It's a problem that impacts all of us, especially those of us, whether cisgender, transgender, gay or straight, who may not conform to narrow-minded assumptions regarding gender norms.”
Baldwin said Mudra is not trans, but she believes the server judged her for other factors related to her race and sexuality; Mudra is biracial — Black and white — and is a lesbian.
“We believe that the server's actions were based on combined stereotypes regarding Gerika’s appearance, whether related to her race, body type, dining partner or whatever,” Baldwin said.
The Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Attorneys say the server violated those protections.
The Department of Human Rights will investigate the claim. The restaurant will have a chance to respond and enter mediation.
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