Latest news with #misgendering
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Transgender influencer refuses to eat meal at Disney World because waiter accidentally called her 'sir'
A transgender influencer has been slammed online after she refused to eat her meal at a Disney World restaurant because the waiter accidentally misgendered her. Transgender woman Lilly Contino has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers for documenting her transition online. She recently took to Instagram and TikTok to share her dismay after a staff member at the Happiest Place On Earth addressed her as 'sir' by mistake. She was eating Tiffins Restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park and the waiter was explaining the first course when he used the male pronoun. Despite the employee instantly apologizing, Lilly explained in her video about the incident that she 'no longer felt safe' at the restaurant. She ultimately decided she didn't want to eat there anymore because she knew she wouldn't 'enjoy' the food with her 'guard up.' The content creator ended up not having to pay for the food or her drink, but the interaction left some viewers disgruntled. In the now-viral video, Lilly was seen sitting at the table as the waiter brought out her first course, the $18 Tiffins Signature Bread Service. But as the waiter was explaining where all the different breads came from, he called Lilly, who was wearing a blue, cropped tank top, white jean shorts, and pink Minnie ears with a bow, 'sir.' 'It's coconut bread from Thailand?' Lilly asked, to which the waiter replied, 'Yes sir.' 'It's ma'am,' Lilly quickly corrected him. 'Ma'am, I'm sorry. My bad sir,' the flustered waiter said. Afterwards, Lilly reflected on the moment to the camera, explaining, 'That totally sucked the joy out of this bread tower. 'It makes me want to immediately leave because I no longer feel safe here. Now my guard has to be up. 'I'm not gonna enjoy this bread as much because my guard is up. We should be able to go places and not have to worry.' The video then cut to Lilly flagging down a waiter, and telling them, 'I don't think I want this bread tower, actually, I'd rather have the check if that's okay.' 'I think their training says they're supposed to say "friend" and not used gendered language, it's a pretty big thing that Disney has done,' Lilly told the camera in another clip. 'Nothing was wrong with the bread, I just don't want it anymore. Just because they apologized doesn't mean [I] don't feel sad or offended. 'Have you accidentally ever hurt someone and said, "I'm so sorry, it's an accident?" Do you expect them to be like, "Oh, it was an accident, of course, no problem whatsoever. All of that hurt is now undone." That's not how it works.' It appeared that Lilly didn't have to pay for the uneaten bread or her soda. In one final clip, a staff member at the restaurant was heard apologizing to Lilly once again, before he told her that her drink was 'also on him,' seemingly confirming the bread was free too. 'They meant well but it still hurts,' Lilly captioned the clip. In March 2022, it was announced that Disney World staff members, as well recordings throughout the parks, would no longer include 'gendered greetings' like 'boys and girls' or 'ladies and gentleman.' Instead, they opted for gender neutral terms such as, 'Hello, everyone,' or, 'Hello, friends.' 'We don't want to just assume because someone might be, in our interpretation, presenting as female, that they may not want to be called "princess,"' Disney's diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware said in a leaked conference call with employees. 'So let's think differently about how do we really engage with our guests in a meaningful and inclusive way that makes it magical and memorable for everyone,' she added. Lilly's interaction with the waiter has since gone viral, gaining million of views on both of her platforms. And while some viewers were on her side, many were quick to slam her. 'The waiter was genuinely sincere and apologized,' one user pointed out. 'I understand that being misgendered can be painful, and everyone deserves respect. But it's also important to recognize that not every mistake is meant to offend,' another added. 'Most people are just responding to what they perceive based on appearance and voice - it's not always intentional or hateful. 'Expecting strangers to immediately identify you the way you see yourself, especially without any communication, isn't realistic. Lilly's interaction with the waiter has since gone viral, gaining million of views on both of her platforms. And while some viewers were on her side, many were quick to slam her 'Filming these interactions and publicly calling people out for honest mistakes doesn't build understanding - it alienates people who might otherwise be willing to listen and learn.' 'Patience and acceptance goes both ways,' someone else wrote. 'The waiter literally apologized. GROW UP,' a fourth comment read. A fifth said, 'So they went through all that trouble to make that [bread] just for you to return it because u were misgendered. 'Now they have to throw it out. Honestly, how do you sleep at night?'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawsuit filed over Kelly Loving Act
(COLORADO SPRINGS)– Multiple groups are suing the state of Colorado over the Kelly Loving Act only days after Governor Jared Polis made it a law. The new law expands transgender protections in Colorado, with those behind the suit claiming it violates free speech and parental rights. 'What's at stake here is the protections for transgender Coloradans,' said Ollie Glessner, communications and advocacy director for Inside Out. The Kelly Loving Act is named after a transgender woman who was killed in 2022 during the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Under the new law, intentionally misgendering or dead-naming someone is considered a discriminatory act. 'The bill should have never been written,' said Darcy Schoening, and member of Moms for Liberty. The Kelly Loving Act has been a controversial discussion topic since it was proposed, and now it is heading to court after parent advocacy groups filed the lawsuit to make sure the law does not go into effect. 'Colorado now is passing these laws to make sure that we keep our protections in state no matter what, and not only that, but we also expand them to some of the things that are under attack right now,' said Glessner. But some parents do not agree with how the new law will affect their children. 'My daughter doesn't have the ability to choose who she shares her safe spaces with,' said Schoening. Kelly Loving Act aims to reinforce existing transgender rights The act allows a person's chosen name to qualify as gender expression, which is protected under the Colorado anti-discrimination act. That means if a person intentionally misgenders or dead-names a transgender person, they are breaking state law. 'I dare you to come after me for telling the truth, for calling a man, a man,' said Schoening. When Glessner first changed their name, they said it was hard on their parents to understand at first. 'When I changed my name, I know it was really difficult for my family because they had named me for a purpose, you know, and that purpose then seemed lost or changed for them,' they said. The group Defending Education is behind the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Colorado Parents Advocacy Network and Protect Kids Colorado groups, and they think the law could violate their first and 14th amendment rights. 'To compel somebody to refer to somebody as a gender that they're not and say that it's criminal if the person doesn't do it, is a really dangerous precedent,' said Schoening. But Glessner said it is not compelled speech, instead it is respect: 'People will say that making them call someone by their chosen name or pronouns is compelled speech, and frankly, nothing else in our society operates that way.' The new act would also impact schools, setting new requirements for dress codes and bathrooms for school districts to follow. 'When you take rights, and you say, my feelings are now more important than those of a child or a parent or a family member and law should be written for my feelings,' said Schoening. 'Your feelings are valid if you're grieving the loss of what you hoped for your child,' said Glessner. State Attorney General Phil Wiser, who was named in the lawsuit, said he is not commenting at this time, and neither is Governor Jared Polis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Referring to biology is not transphobic, says sheriff in wake of bizarre prison bullying trial involving three convicted killers
A judge has ruled referring to transwomen as men is not transphobia. Sheriff Thomas Millar yesterday acquitted a female prisoner accused of being abusive while deliberately misgendering a trans-identifying man she shared a jail with. Killer Alexandria Stewart, who was born a man, was locked up with women at HMP Greenock and claimed fellow inmate Jane Sutherley mounted a four year campaign of abuse. Stewart, 37, serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years for murder, was allegedly left feeling suicidal by the 51-year-old former hairdresser's behaviour. But Sheriff Millar found the allegations against Sutherley, behind bars for culpable homicide, not proven, stating that referring to the 'original biological state' of a person is not necessarily 'transphobic'. Greenock Sheriff Court heard how Stewart is in a relationship with Nyomi Fee, who is serving a 24 year sentence for killing her two-year-old step-son Liam. Fee told the court that while she and Sutherley 'did not mix in the same circles' in the prison estate, Sutherley had made her feelings about their relationship known. She claimed Sutherley would refer to her as being in a relationship with a man and say that it 'wasn't fair' there was a man in the women's hall. Fee told the court Sutherley would lash out when she was in a 'bad mood' and make 'transphobic comments' about Stewart that had caused suicidal feelings. In December 2022, it was alleged that Sutherley refused to take part in a Christmas crafts session and karaoke that Stewart would be attending. And on another date, she made reference to Stewart as being like a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race. Sutherley's defence lawyer, Paul Lynch, put it to Fee that other women on the wing were frustrated by apparent special treatment afforded to Stewart from prison guards. He suggested other prisoners claimed that the pair had even engaged in sexual behavior in the showers. The court had previously heard that prison staff brought Chinese takeaway food to Stewart's cell and allowed Stewart and Fee a private area in which they could spend time together. It also emerged during the trial that the murderer admitted to being allowed out of jail in 2019 to have a cosmetic procedure known as a tracheal shave which minimises a male's Adam's Apple. Stewart said he had had no other surgery. Mr Lynch suggested to Fee that they had concocted allegations of transphobia against Sutherley in order to prevent Stewart being moved from HMP Greenock. In 2023 the Scottish government issued a 'Rule 95 order' that decreed all transgender prisoners should be subject to enhanced safeguarding checks. This followed an incident when the double rapist Isla Bryson, who who was born Adam Graham, was housed in the female estate. During Rule 95 proceedings, prisoners are confined to their cell and barred from all contact with other prisoners. But the 'buddy system' meant that Fee had daily interactions with Stewart. Greenock inmate, Lynette Greenop, who is also serving a murder sentence, gave evidence in January saying she had heard Sutherley 'refuse to use Alex's prefixes as a lady'. It was alleged that between January 1, 2019, and March 23, 2023, in Darroch Hall at Greenock, Sutherley behaved in a threatening and abusive manner and using transphobic and homophobic words. Sutherley, who had been in HMP Greenock since 2018, was moved to another prison in 2023 due to the allegations against her. Prison officer instructor Ann Hardman, who engaged Sutherley to work in the hairdressing salon gave evidence that she had sent a letter in support of Sutherley to the parole board and did not know of any investigation into Sutherley's conduct. Sheriff Millar found the allegations against Sutherley not proven. He said: 'A person can refer to a transgender person in their original biological state without being transphobic.' 'The Crown has not produced anything that could be called court was told that prison officers spoke to the accused, prison staff investigated and Her Majesty's Inspectorate carried out an investigation. 'And yet a prison officer who should have known about the matters did not know about them. 'That has served to leave a doubt in my mind. He told Sutherley: 'It is because of that doubt, to which you are entitled to benefit, that I find the matter not proven.' Her lawyer revealed that he has written to the Scottish Prison Service twice to ask if they will now abandon the policy that allows biological males to be housed in the female estate. Mr Lynch told the court the SPS should adhere to the recent Supreme Court ruling which stated that biology defines a person's sex. He added said: 'This is a case that should never have been brought to court. 'If the SPS had acted lawfully at the time Alex Stewart would not have been in Darroch Hall. It is that action that led to the situation today.'
