cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5832380

spoiler

Gerika Mudra, 18, went to dinner in April with a friend in Owatonna, about an hour south of Minneapolis. When she went to the restroom, a server followed her inside and banged on the stall door while saying, “This is a women’s restroom. The man needs to get out of here,” according to Gender Justice, a Minnesota gender-equality organization that filed the charge on Mudra’s behalf.

Mudra, a biracial lesbian who is not transgender, said she’s been in similar situations before, where people have suggested she’s in the wrong restroom, but when she tells them she’s a woman they leave her alone. However, when she came out of the stall at Buffalo Wild Wings and told the server, “I am a lady,” she said the server responded, “You have to get out now,” according to a statement shared by Gender Justice.

Mudra said she had to prove to the server that she is a woman by unzipping her hoodie to show she has breasts. The server didn’t say anything in response but left the restroom, Mudra said.

“She made me feel very uncomfortable,” Mudra said. “After that, I just don’t like going in public bathrooms. I just hold it in. … I want to be able to use the bathroom in peace.”