Originally published in City Pulse Newspaper March 25.
Diane was returning from window shopping at the Meridian Mall on Feb. 27. As she settled into her seat on the CATA bus to downtown Lansing, she realized in horror the unthinkable had happened.
"I looked down and it looked like one of my breasts was gone," the 52-year-old said in a phone interview. "I was scared, and I was panicked."
For Diane, her missing breast form felt as if a piece of her was missing. She's transgender and the simple prosthetic device is a key tool as she transitions from male to female. They assists her in achieving a physical look of a woman that comports with her sense of self.
Worried about her breast form, and how others might respond should they find it on the bus, she approached CATA station customer service staff. When she explained her predicament, customer service staff laughed at her, she said.
And things took a turn for the worse when she asked for a private area where she could check to make sure the breast form hadn't just slid into her clothing. CATA staff told her they would have to clear the mens bathroom, close it down and let her use it alone. She says she tried to explain that was discrimination, but to no avail. Ultimately, she left the station and called her wife who came and picked her up.
A week later, Diane was in the station again and needed to use the bathroom. After her last run in with CATA support staff she thought it was important to ask what bathroom she was supposed to use. A supervisor, she said, told her to "do what you gotta do." She used the women's room without incident, but when she exited the same supervisor approached her and informed her in the future, staff would have to close off and shut down a bathroom for her.
Incensed, she began reaching out to any local leader who would listen. She called the CATA customer service line. They told her the same thing — CATA staff would have to close off the bathroom for her. She called Mayor Virg Bernero's office. Staff there referred to her to the city attorney's office. A representative from that office called her back and referred her to the county prosecutor. The prosecutor's advice?
"She told me I could hire a lawyer and sue, or I could get arrested and fight it in court," Diane said.
City Pulse is only identifying Diane by her first name because she fears retribution from a cadre of radical anti-transgender activists, including lesbians, who target transgender women for public ridicule.
National, state and local transgender activists say Diane's experiences are not uncommon, but they are befuddled that her calls for her help did not trigger the city of Lansing's 2006 human rights ordinance, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in public accommodations — such as bathrooms.
"The transgender community depends on our municipal officials to protect human rights. In fact, they are the first-line of protection when conflicts arise," says Madeleine Townsend, a transwoman from Lansing who serves on the Lansing Association for Human Rights board of directors. The group is a local LGBT equality organization. "When they don't, or don't realize that transgender people are included in the ordinance, they put us in a potentially dangerous position, to say nothing of becoming agents of misinformation."
"The incident at CATA is a quintessential legal matter since it concerns a potential violation of our Human Rights Ordinance, so the referral to the City Attorney's Office was proper," Randy Hannan, spokesman for Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, wrote in an email to City Pulse. "Interns are trained in basic office procedures, but they are not expected to have a working knowledge of city ordinances and the circumstances to which they should be applied."
"That said, the City Attorney's representative who was contacted certainly should have identified the matter as a potential violation of the HRO and made the appropriate referral to the HRCS Department so the complaint could be investigated in accord with the provisions of the ordinance," Hannan continued. "The City Attorney has been apprised of this situation and will be taking corrective action to ensure that her staff is familiar with the ordinance and will make appropriate referrals in the future."
Lansing City Councilmember Carol Wood, who chairs the council's Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion which is reviewing the implementation of the ordinance, said even though the city has a law on the books to address various forms of discrimination, it's clear knowledge about the law is "weak."
Last week during a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, Joan Jackson Johnson — the director of the city's human relations department which is tasked with investigating complaints under the ordinance — reported that since the law went into effect, only three complaints have been filed. Two of them were from former activist John Pollard.
Wood also noted that the committee, which is made up of three council members and a range of community representatives, also had a dreadful knowledge level related to the ordinance. She says only 25 percent of the community representatives were aware of the ordinance.
"The answer is education," Wood says. "All departments in the city of Lansing should be having training on the human rights ordinance and filing a complaint."
And she wants to extend that training to local agencies and other government leaders — like the prosecutor's office, state representatives and CATA.
For their part, CATA says Diane's situation has lead to policy changes for the transportation agency.
Laurie Robison, marketing director for CATA, says staff received the following directive Monday.
"Should an individual request to use one bathroom or the other, please know that you should not question or engage in any conversation that relates to the individual's gender," the new directive reads. "Additionally, individuals should be allowed to use the restroom that conforms with their gender identity. At no point should a CATA supervisor or DK security officer restrict access to, clear others from or stand outside any restroom."
"That's exactly what I expected CATA to do," says Townsend. "I'm impressed. I think they're going in the right direction."
