Bill Donohue has advice for Macy’s shoppers this holiday season:
It’s Christmastime, and that means trying on clothes before and after the holiday. If you shop at Macy’s, please beware that your daughters and nieces may run into a strange looking man dressed as a woman in the store’s bathrooms and fitting rooms. More important, you should know that they have no rights.
Indeed, a security guard, Javier Chavez, was fired from his job at a Macy’s store in Queens, New York, simply because he responded to a complaint by a woman and her daughter that a man dressed as a woman was in the women’s restroom. It’s actually worse than this: He agreed to abide by Macy’s sex identity policy—if a man says he is a woman, he must be treated as such—yet because he expressed his religious misgivings (he is Catholic), he was fired anyway.
The Macy’s Thought Police have given much consideration to the rights of men who claim to be a woman. Here is their actual policy:
- Restrooms & Fitting Rooms. Privacy in restrooms and fitting rooms is of foremost concern in all situations, regardless of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression. Sex-segregated facilities (such as restrooms and fitting rooms that are designed for use by women and men separately) exist in most locations. In some locations there may be unisex facilities that are intended for use by either sex, such as single occupancy restrooms or family restrooms.
Generally, sex-segregated facilities are for use by adults and teens of the identified gender (and by small children of either gender who are accompanied by an adult). Transgender persons identify with a physical sex that is different than their physically manifested sex at birth. Therefore, transgender persons may use the restroom or fitting room that is consistent with their gender identity/presentation, that makes them feel least vulnerable, and that they believe will result in the least interest and notice from others. (Their emphasis.)
If an associate or customer expresses extreme discomfort with the possibility of meeting a transgender person in a restroom, the associate or customer expressing discomfort should be directed to a unisex restroom (if available). Similarly, if an associate or a customer expresses discomfort with the possibility of meeting a transgender person in a fitting room, the associate or customer expressing the discomfort should be given information regarding the location of other fitting rooms in the store and/or should be advised that he or she can purchase the item, try it on at home and return it if needed.
If an associate is asked the location of a restroom and is unsure of the person’s gender, the associate will either (i) provide information regarding the location of a unisex restroom (if available and nearby), or (ii) provide information regarding the location of a nearby restroom for men and a nearby restroom for women. The associate should not assume the question relates to a restroom for a specific gender unless the request is phrased that way.
- Photo Identification. If a customer presents photo identification that resembles the customer but does not represent the gender the customer presents, and if the associate believes the customer may be a transgender person, the associate will accept the document at face value, as long as the address is current and the name is correct for the account. The associate will not discuss the customer’s transgender status with anyone.
- Names & Pronouns. It is important associates use the appropriate pronoun (him/her, she/he) and title (Mr./Ms, Sir/Ma’am) when addressing a transgender person. The pronoun and title must relate to the person’s gender identity/expression. Further, a transgender person may elect to use a preferred name that is consistent with his/her gender identity. Associates must be respectful and adhere to this choice at all times.
Prospective customers should also know that Macy’s instructs its employees to resist “the impulse to judge the person by his/her appearances.” That’s right. If a person has a beard, he may be a woman. How can this be? We need to understand that “sex and gender are not the rigid categories that we may assume them to be.”
They are anything but rigid at Macy’s. So if a man says he is a woman—or a duck for that matter—he/she/it is exactly that.
Of course, you can bypass this insanity altogether by bypassing Macy’s this holiday season. Cheers!
Contact Macy’s Group VP: holly.thomas@macys.com
