A teenager says she was followed into the women’s bathroom by a worker at a popular fast-food chain restaurant and was asked to ‘prove’ her gender.
She relayed what happened
Gerika Mudra, an 18-year-old from Owatonna in Minnesota, relayed the story of having to explain to a server that she’s a woman in order to use the restroom.
This happened back in April, and she’s now taking them to court.
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It happened at a fast food chain
The teen explained that the altercation happened in a Buffalo Wild Wings where a worker started banging on the stall and ordered her to get out.
She alleged they said, “This is a women’s restroom. The man needs to get out of here.”
Mudra responded to the server
The teen, who isn’t transgender, came out of the stall and told the server, “I am a lady,” to which the server allegedly insisted, “You have to get out now.”
The high schooler said she was then ‘forced to unzip her hoodie’ and reveal her breasts in order to prove she was a woman.
She’s now suing the place
Mudra is now taking Buffalo Wild Wings to court, and Gender Justice, a Minnesota-based gender equality organization, has agreed to take on the case.
The organization released a statement saying, “No one should be harassed in a public bathroom just for being themselves.”
They expressed being upset with the situation
Gender Justice’s statement went on, “High schooler Gerika Mudra was out to dinner with a friend, just a normal evening. Until she got up to use the bathroom.”
“A server followed her into the women’s restroom, pounded on the stall door, and demanded she prove she belonged there. Why? Because Gerika didn’t fit someone else’s idea of what a girl ‘should’ look like.”
The organization says it was illegal
“Scared, trapped, and humiliated, Gerika was forced to unzip her hoodie to show she had breasts—just to make it stop,” the organization added.
“This wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal. And it’s part of a larger, dangerous trend.”
Mudra now says she doesn’t go to public bathrooms
Sharing the consequences of the altercation, the teenager said that she no longer feels comfortable going into public bathrooms.
“She made me feel very uncomfortable,” she said, per NBC News. “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.”
An attorney explained it was discrimination
In a press conference held by Gender Justice on Tuesday, August 12, lead attorney Sara Jane Baldwin said, “Businesses have a legal obligation not to just have anti-discrimination policies on paper, but to train staff and ensure that those policies are followed in real time.”
“When that doesn’t happen, the business is liable for the harm caused.”