Latest news with #bathroomrights
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Women confronted by security guard in Boston hotel bathroom file discrimination complaint
Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom A couple has filed discrimination complaints against the Liberty Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts after the two women were questioned for using the women's bathroom last weekend. Ansley Baker and her girlfriend Liz Victor say a security guard came into the bathroom, accused one of them of being a man, and then demanded to see their IDs to prove their genders. Complaints filed with Attorney General's office Baker and Victor told WBZ Wednesday night they have each filed discrimination complaints with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. Ansley Baker and Liz Victor said they were confronted in the women's bathroom at the Liberty Hotel. CBS Boston The women say the hotel has still not retracted its original statement that suggested they were in the same stall, which the women deny. Baker and Victor were at a Kentucky Derby party at the Liberty Hotel on Saturday. In the bathroom, Baker said she was in one of the stalls while Victor waited for her near the sinks. "All of a sudden there was banging on the door," said Baker. "One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women's bathroom. I said, 'I'm a woman.'" Escorted out of bathroom Baker, who described the incident as "humiliating," said as she was escorted out of the restroom, comments were directed at her from other women waiting in line. The security guard involved in the incident was suspended on Tuesday, a day after the story aired on WBZ. Baker said she also plans to file a formal complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The hotel said all staff are being retrained "on inclusive practices and guest interaction protocols." The hotel is also making a donation to a local LGBTQ+ organization.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- The Guardian
Woman says Boston hotel guard told her to leave bathroom because she ‘was a man'
A couple visiting Boston says they were left confused and appalled after being forced out of the Liberty Hotel during a Kentucky Derby party on Saturday, following what they describe as being confronted and wrongfully accused in the women's restroom. Ansley Baker and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, both cisgender women, said a hotel security guard entered the women's bathroom and demanded Baker leave the stall she was using, claiming she didn't belong there. 'All of a sudden there was banging on the door,' Baker recalled to CBS News. 'I pulled my shorts up. I hadn't even tied them. One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women's bathroom. I said, 'I'm a woman.' Victor, waiting by the sinks, heard the commotion and saw the security guard confronting Baker. 'I looked down and I saw her shoes and that's when I was like, 'What is going on?' she told the network. The couple said that once Baker was escorted out, other women in line hurled insults, calling her 'a creep' and demanding she be removed. Security staff then allegedly asked both women to show their IDs to confirm their gender. After a heated exchange, they were told to leave the hotel. In a statement shared with CBS, the Liberty Hotel accuse the two women of sharing one stall: 'An incident occurred at the Liberty Hotel on Saturday, May 3 where several women alerted security of two adults sharing a bathroom stall. The bathroom was cleared out as two adults in one stall are not permitted. After leaving the bathroom, a member of the couple from the stall put their hands on our security team and it was then that they were removed from the premises. 'The Liberty Hotel has a zero-tolerance policy for any physical altercations on our property. The safety of our guests and staff is our priority, and this event is under investigation. The Liberty Hotel is and always will be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and a place where everyone is welcome and celebrated.' Baker and Victor insist they were never in the same stall and dispute the hotel's account of events. 'Once the stall door opened, and I'm the only one in there, it escalated further,' Baker told Boston News 25. 'I don't think that aligns with what they're saying.' The couple said they have made sure that Boston mayor Michelle Wu's office was aware of their experience in hopes that they can stop a similar situation from happening to anyone else. They also hope their experience can spark awareness and change. 'We know we're not the only ones that face this kind of thing,' Baker said to CBS. Victor added: 'It was a very scary situation, but trans women experience this every single day in the US and across the world.' The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between the administration and the LGBTQ+ community. Some of Donald Trump's earliest moves in office were to sign executive orders directing the prohibition of gender transitions for people under the age of 19 and banning trans athletes from competing in women's sports. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order called 'Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government', instructing the federal government to remove 'all radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms'. Trump has also limited access and funding for LGBTQ+ arts, with orders that instruct arts organizations not to fund projects that promote 'gender ideology' as well as appointing himself chair of the iconic John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The incident also echoed an ongoing Republican talking point centered on bathrooms and gender identity. In November 2024, the South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace introduced a bill to ban Representative Sarah McBride from using the bathroom that corresponds with her gender identity. Speaker Mike Johnson has supported and subsequently enforced that ban.
