A transgender beauty queen has spoken of her disgust after she was branded “sick” and banned from a nightclub for life – for using the ladies’ toilet.
Miss Transgender Birmingham Talulah Eve Brown, 22, said she was left feeling “humiliated” after she was ordered to leave the club in the early hours of Sunday (28/2).
The row erupted after Talulah, who is living and dressing as a woman full-time, tried to use the female toilets at Bar VX in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs.
Despite explaining to the doorman she was undergoing transition to become a woman, she was branded “sick” and banned from the club for life.
Talulah, a bar supervisor, said: “The level of discrimination I faced at Bar XV in Burton was absolutely disgusting.
“I had finished work and went to meet a group of friends for a few drinks. Whilst at the bar, I went to the women’s toilet, where I had a friendly conversation with another girl about makeup.
“I was having a nice evening until that point, because when I walked out of the toilet, a door man was stood waiting for me.
“The man, who is called Bob, simply said ‘out’ and I was confused. I asked him why and he replied ‘outside now.’
“I did as I was told and went outside the venue, only to then be completely humiliated and demoralised in front of everyone.
“He started yelling at me and said ‘you’re using the wrong toilet’.
“After I explained to him that I am a trans woman, his response was ‘yes I know what you are, you’re a man. So use the men’s toilets.’
“I told him that what he was doing was discriminatory and that I would take it further and he then replied by saying ‘yes because it’s sick. A man going in to the women’s toilets is not acceptable so you know what? Don’t bother coming here again because you’re barred for life.’
“This was in front of over 40 people who were waiting outside in the queue to get in and in the smoking area.
“I was completely shocked and disgusted by what he said to me.
“The manner in which he said it to me was just as shocking as the comment itself. I was distraught.
“How in 2016 can a trans person be barred for life from a public place for using the wrong toilet?
“It’s discrimination like this that causes trans people huge anxiety when out in public.”
Talulah was born a boy named Aaron and came out as gay aged 13 but was officially diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2014.
She has since begun hormone treatment, is planning to have breast implants, vaginoplasty and surgery to shave her Adam’s apple, as well laser hair removal sessions.
Despite transitioning to become a woman, last summer Talulah paid £800 to have her sperm frozen so she can have children that are biologically hers later in life.
She added: “I’ve been transitioning now for two years and I’ve experienced a lot of discrimination and hate crime especially when I first started out, but I can honestly say I’ve never experienced discrimination like this before when using a public toilet.
“I have worked as a supervisor in a bar for four years and regularly come into contact with drunken people who say what they like when they have had a few drinks.
“But no one has ever said anything like this to me.
“It’s disgusting to think that I have received this verbal abuse from someone who’s job it is to keep public areas safe.
“This is why I do my campaigns and speak out about the issues surrounding us because we shouldn’t have to put up with things like this.
“Normally I would have stood up for myself and argued my case, because I am very opinionated and want to ensure the LGBT community can be treated as equals.
“But I was speechless and just went to get into a taxi. Loads of people followed me to check if I was okay.
“It’s scary to think that if this happened somewhere other than where I live, that I could have been exposed to quite a dangerous situation.”
She added that the owner of Bar XV apologised but refused to take action against the doorman.
She added: “The owner of Bar XV contacted me to ask my version of events.
“He didn’t say that the bouncer denied what happened.
“The owner said he was remorseful but that he is not prepared to sack the bouncer as he normally does a good job and has been working there for five years.
“He said he would look into training his staff about dealing with similar issues, but justice needs to be done on my behalf.
“Something needs to be done to stop this from happening to other trans people.
“I want to bring this issue to the forefront and ensure I am compensated for the humiliation I’ve faced.”
ENDS
