Anti-Trans Dinner Hosted at Cambridge's Glass House Sparks Boycott
A local trans rights group organized a protest at Kendall Square spot Glass House on Sunday, May 18, after two anti-trans organizations held a fundraising dinner at the restaurant. The group TransMIT is now calling for a boycott of Glass House and its overarching owner, the Briar Group, which also operates tourist-y downtown spots like Ned Devine's and Hurricane's at the Garden.
TransMIT, a university student group that advocates for trans people's rights, initially planned 'to pressure Glass House into cancelling the event altogether' by calling and leaving voicemails at the restaurant, according to a public document outlining the group's actions. The dinner, titled 'Born in the Right Body,' was hosted by the groups Democrats With an Informed Approach to Gender (DIAG) and LGB Courage Coalition, both of which campaign against transgender care for minors. One of the speakers, Simon Amaya Price, a Berklee College of Music graduate who identifies as 'formerly trans,' has had other speaking engagements cancelled in the past. The Glass House event was priced at $200 a plate.
When the event wasn't cancelled, the group turned to protest on Sunday, and called for a boycott of all of the Briar Group's restaurants, which also include Broken Records Beer Hall, the Harp, Six String Grill and Stage, the Beth Kitchen & Bar, and more.
Lead organizer Julia Turcotti, a PhD student at MIT, told Eater in a statement that LGB Courage Coalition's co-director Jaime Reed and Vernadette Broyles, the founder of the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, both scheduled speakers at the dinner, 'have built careers ruining trans lives because of their own ignorance.' Turcotti continues: 'They call a 'threat to society' what they simply cannot understand. As MIT students, and as the Cambridge community, we will always put the full force of our love and solidarity into fighting ANYONE who comes and tells us our neighbors are not worthy of it.'
Reed expressed gratitude to the Glass House for not canceling the event and 'standing up for free speech,' per an emailed statement. A DIAG rep echoed the same sentiment, saying that they were 'grateful' to the restaurant for hosting the event and 'not yielding to pressure from activists to silence views they oppose.'
According to Turcotti, about 150 people gathered to protest on Sunday afternoon. Protesters held signs that read 'Trans Rights Are Human Rights' and 'HRT Saves Lives' while chanting 'shut it down,' according to videos and photos taken at the event. Cambridge vice mayor Marc McGovern also showed up to protest, holding up a megaphone and saying to a cheering crowd that Cambridge is a community that should be safe and welcoming, and is safe and welcoming, to everybody.
'The event at Glass House is organized and hosted by a private event client,' a representative for the Briar Group said in an emailed statement on Friday, May 16. 'The views of private event clients do not represent Glass House, and we do not assume any responsibility for the views of our guests. Hosting a private event at Glass House is not an endorsement of the organizers' position or opinion. We remain a neutral entity focused on providing excellent hospitality, food, beverage, and dining experiences for those who come through our door.'
TransMIT states that rhetoric against transgender people can cost lives, citing research that indicates 82 percent of transgender individuals have considered suicide and 40 percent have attempted suicide. States that passed anti-transgender state legislation saw suicide attempts by transgender and nonbinary youth increase by as much as 72 percent in the months that followed.
Eater reached out to the restaurant group again after the protest on Sunday and calls to boycott. They declined to comment further.
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