In the segment, Johnson reiterates her position that, because of her religious beliefs, she just couldn’t stand by and let this person try on an outfit—despite the fact that Macy’s policy clearly allows trans people to use the dressing room of their choosing.
Bream starts off fairly well, objectively delivering the details of the story without calling the customer “he” or “him.” Until the middle of the interview, that is, when she says, “Were you told if you couldn’t comply with allowing him into the dressing room, you wouldn’t be with company policy, and you’d have to leave?”
Secure that she had a receptive audience, Johnson responds: “Yes, I did disobey the policy, because allowing a man into the women’s fitting room was putting my female customers in jeopardy.”
Wait—Johnson initially said it was her religious beliefs that prevented her from recognizing transgender people. Now she’s pulling the “I was protecting the customers” card?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Ugh.
Johnson had her own cheerleader on the show, Matthew Staver of the Liberty Council, who managed to put some polish on her ill-conceived bigotry: “This is clearly a man, not someone who’s gone through surgery or various kinds of hormones,” he explains. “The only thing is he’s got lipstick on. [Johnson] did not know that the policy would go so far as to literally allow men to go into a women’s fitting room and thus put these women at risk.”
Apparently this changing-room situation is becoming an epidemic at the department store: Today, the Council released a statement from another Macy’s salesperson—anonymous, of course—dealing with the same crisis.
“Another Macy’s employee has contacted Liberty Counsel and shared about repeated issues with men using the women’s fitting rooms. This individual asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing her job. The employee said she constantly has to ask men to leave the women’s fitting rooms. In addition, she has been asked numerous times by mothers who have daughters in the fitting rooms to please ask the men to leave the women’s dressing rooms.”
There’s an obvious difference between a horny straight guy sneaking into the changing room to see an inch of flesh and a trans woman who just wants to try on a Donna Karen sweater dress. And anyone with half a brain should be able to make the distinction. If that’s too hard for Johnson and her ilk, though, maybe Macy’s can do what the Gap, Express, H&M and every other store in America does: use unisex changing rooms.
What, do they need a settee to have a fainting spell on or something?
Source: Equality Matters
MKe
“nor could i comprimise with anyone who is LGBT”
Roger Rabbit
Hmmmm, if it’s Str8 crossdressing men, I’d see her point. But the Transexuals pretty much live and dress as women. There’s no threat there.
I think they should just wave their bigotry flag and be done with it. Maybe she could borrow the one from the South?? LOL
Timmeeeyyy!!!
Macy’s fitting rooms contain full length doors. There’s no reason there needs to be any distinction between male and female rooms. Each stall is entirely private. There is no “risk” involved.
Hyhybt
Another example where the best possible solution to a trans issue would be better privacy for *everybody.*
Kurtis
Better stop the gay men and lesbian women go into their gendered changing rooms. God forbid they try and have sex with one another in the change rooms, because that is clearly what the trans people are reported to be doing, Right Fox?
Mike
“I’m a straight white man and I’ve made my decision about what gender everyone I’ve ever seen is and my decision is right. Why? Well it’s obvious. I’m straight, white and male.”
Mr.BoPeep
Remind me again where they discussed transgender in the bible.
As for the Fox Host cone on it’s Fox do we really expect any better? Although with all that talent at Fox I’d love to sit in on a few interviews. Whatever process they are using has got to be snowflake type unique. Where else can you find so many asses who think they’re really zebras and race horses?
Chad
This is why I have no respect for religion. Anyone who does not conform to their beliefs are attacking their religious freedom.
B
No. 7 · Mr.BoPeep wrote, “Remind me again where they discussed transgender in the bible.”
Look up Matthew 19:12, “For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
This probably covers transgendered individuals in some way (“eunuchs by birth” is possibly a metaphor given how little was known at the time about physiology), but the reference is a little vague, and nothing negative was said about them. The last sentence in the passage should have been, “He that is able to figure out what this means, let him explain it to everyone else.”
Chad
@B:
The passage, loosely translated, Jesus was telling eveyrone “some people are born different some people choose to be different, and to get over it”
Zeus
Well the religion excuse is stupid, but if this really was just a guy wearing some lipstick and a tube top, well then I wouldn’t let him in the women’s room either.
B-Rock
Anyone who reads faces in the police office or courtroom will tell you that when someone suppresses smiles like this woman does when discussing her mistreatment and hatred of others is dangerous and possibly sociopathic.
Derek
How would a man or woman being in the other sex’s changing area be hazardous? (If this was indeed a man man and not a transgendered woman as it sounded like?) Most stores i’ve been to don’t have separate men and women’s changing rooms? I have never even heard of that before.
carrieann
I’m transgendered I use the female changing rooms all the time. I live 247 as a female. What I have done is get my drive licence dressed as female. I understand everyone’s feelings. She new the policy It’s her own fault.
Jay Pat
I don’t really think this is a trans issue as all. It is just that our country is sexually …stupid?
Who cares if the person in the fitting room next to you, which has a door, is a man or a woman? Why is that even an issue?! No one should be walking around completely naked anyways. It like we simply assume that getting undressed leads to…who knows what.
I’m pretty sure I’ve been to stores were the men’s and women’s fitting rooms were the same and no one got raped or sexually harassed or was uncomfortable.
If they want to change the policy then fine, make it all gender neutral.
takakupo
“The only way I could come back is if they change their policy otherwise they can forget it!”
XD BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!! As if you really add some golden touch to their store and they’re crying to get you back to work!!! Gimme a break lady! XD
missanthrope
@carrieann:
lolz, you’re cissexist and just as bad as the bigots.
Chuck
Evangelicals, conservatives, and bigots are always trying to impose THEIR views on other. What gives them this right and who do the hell do they think they are. I used to work in a department store and it would never have occurred to me to prevent a customer from using the facilities as they saw fit and were comfortable with. Beyond bigotry, this b@tch just has bad customer service skills and should really never have been a Macys employee to begin with. But like the sun rising in the east, we can always count on FoxNews to stick up for bigotry and provide some ‘expert’ using bogus data to reinforce people’s prejudices and fan their hate.
Shofixti
At risk? If a transgendered man, without a penis, were to use the male fitting room – would this be putting male customers at risk too? At risk of what? Why is gender so risky?
bt123
@MKe: @MKe: see this story at MACYS…fitting rooms allow anyone to see in!! so men are allowed in!??? macys has two versions of their policy it seems!!
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/is-your-privacy-being-compromised-in-local-dressing-rooms/
bt123
@Timmeeeyyy!!!: @MKe: @MKe:NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!see this story at MACYS…fitting rooms allow anyone to see in!! so men are allowed in!??? macys has two versions of their policy it seems!!
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/is-your-privacy-being-compromised-in-local-dressing-rooms/
bt123
@Timmeeeyyy!!!: @Timmeeeyyy!!!: @MKe: @MKe: R U stupid??NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!see this story at MACYS…fitting rooms allow anyone to see in!! so men are allowed in!??? macys has two versions of their policy it seems!!
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/is-your-privacy-being-compromised-in-local-dressing-rooms/
smacker
@Timmeeeyyy!!!: R U stupid??NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!see this story at MACYS…fitting rooms allow anyone to see in!! so men are allowed in!??? macys has two versions of their policy it seems!!
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/is-your-privacy-being-compromised-in-local-dressing-rooms/
B
No. 10 · Chad wrote, “@B: The passage, loosely translated, Jesus was telling eveyrone “some people are born different some people choose to be different, and to get over it””
The problem is what “eunuchs” means given qualifiers such as “born from their mother’s womb”. Did it mean no more than what we mean by a eunuch today or was it symbolic and would include transsexuals, a variety of birth defects, etc.
fleur
black women are notoriously transphobic.
Chad
@B: I have read several different articles on exactly what a eunuch was, Including homosexual. I find it odd most christians will say it meant a birth defect. but why would Jesus say some chose to be that way.
thetranslife
Conservative activists decide that where you change clothes is a religious issue: http://thetranslife.com/?p=485
Kay
@fleur How nice of you to lump an entire group of people together! I am a black woman and I am NOT transphobic. This is seriously like saying “white women are notoriously transphobic.”
Wake up buddy, America is predominantly Christian and your country is experiencing a wave of extremist views about taking “back” the country from all the “sin” that’s been taking over…This isn’t a black versus white issue. It’s an issue of bigotry under the guise of religious freedom. And until you see it as such, you’re going to continue to derail the cause by reducing problems to race.