4 days ago
Teen left outraged after Buffalo Wild Wings staffer 'followed her into women's bathroom and demanded proof she's a girl'
A Minnesota teenager has filed a discrimination complaint against a Buffalo Wild Wings after an employee forced her to show her breasts to prove she was a girl inside the bathroom.
Gerika Mudra, 18, had been enjoying an outing with her friend at the Owatonna location in April when she got up to use the restroom.
She never expected to be followed into the women's room by an employee, who began banging on the stall door and saying: 'This is a women's restroom. The man needs to get out of here.'
Mudra, a biracial lesbian, is a cis-gendered woman. After telling the employee she was a 'lady,' the worker demanded she lift up her shirt and 'prove' she was female.
The employee blocked the high schooler from leaving the restroom until the teen unzipped her hoodie and showed her breasts, Gender Justice, an organization that filed a discrimination complaint on Mudra's behalf, said.
'What happened to Gerika Mudra was not just wrong, it was unlawful,' staff attorney, Sara Jane Baldwin, said in a statement.
'Minnesota law protects people from exactly this kind of discrimination in public spaces. No one should be harassed, humiliated, or forced to prove themselves just to use the bathroom.'
After showing her chest, Mudra was allowed to leave the bathroom by the employee.
'She just rolled her eyes and walked away,' Mudra told The Minnesota Star Tribune. 'She didn't even say sorry.'
Prior to the bathroom visit, the teen had noticed the waitress was acting weird, claiming she was cheerfully telling other patrons 'Happy Easter,' while shooting them 'dirty looks' and 'whispering' about her and her friend.
'Because she didn't fit someone else's idea of what a girl should look like, she was treated as suspicious,' Gender Justice Executive Director, Megan Peterson, told The Tribune.
Although Mudra is not transgender, nearly a third of LGBT+ people have reported being harassed while using the restroom.
'What if Gerika had been a trans person?' Peterson questioned. 'Would this story have ended differently? That's the terrifying reality too many trans people live with every day.'
The organization filed a discrimination complaint on Mudra's behalf with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, requesting a formal apology from the restaurant and better training for its employees.
The state law states that businesses have a 'legal duty to protect their customers from harassment and discrimination,' Baldwin said.
'That means providing staff with training, creating clear policies, and creating a culture that ensures every person is treated with respect and dignity.
'What happened to Gerika is exactly the kind of harm our laws are meant to prevent, and it's time businesses take those responsibilities seriously,' she said.
Mudra's stepmother, Shauna Otterness was 'enraged' about the incident and accused the restaurant of 'humiliating' her daughter.
The experience left the teen scared, who said: 'I will definitely never go back there.'
It wasn't the first time the androgynous teen had been mistaken for a man, but she claimed it was the 'worst time.'
'She was mad, screaming. She made me feel very uncomfortable,' Mudra said of the staff member.
Now, the teen avoids using the restaurant in public and often opts to hold it in to avoid similar situations.
'After that, I just don't like going in public bathrooms. I just hold it in... I want to be able to use the bathroom in peace.'
Her stepmother said that Mudra 'should be able to use the bathroom in peace in any public bathroom without being nervous.'
