Restroom sex-change issue is put to rest
10:43 PM 3/06/04
George Hesselberg Wisconsin State Journal

There is a woman in a man's body using the ladies' bathroom at the Madison Metro bus company and the women in women's bodies are not too happy about it. <

That was the news at Metro's headquarters on East Washington Avenue, where the bathroom squabble stalled three weeks ago when female bus drivers petitioned Metro management to keep the guy out of their bathrooms "until his sex change is complete." <

The request to keep the guy out of the ladies' rooms was denied. Likewise, Metro also denied a request for a lock on the bathroom so the user would not be surprised. <

This all started, according to veteran bus driver Claramae Sherry, when "one of the girls" entered a women's bathroom, a one-stall bathroom, used by employees. The female-to-be non-bus-driver employee, who dresses and looks like a male, was in the bathroom. <

This happened to Sherry, too. <

"We change clothes in there. I asked him, what are you doing in here? And he said the company gave him permission to use this bathroom. I told him 'I guarantee you, you will never be in here when I am in here,' and he just went out, laughing." <

Sherry, who said she had no objections to the person's changeover status, said she and other female employees just did not want to be surprised by a male in their bathroom. She took her concerns to Metro management and to the mayor's office, she said. <

"They said they didn't want to discriminate against her, and I said well they are discriminating against us," said Sherry. <

Sharon Williams, a bus driver since 1999 who described herself as "probably the most liberal woman here," said she agreed with Sherry. Let the guy be what he wants to be, but protect the privacy of the women's bathrooms. <

She also agreed that Metro should have told the company's female employees that a female-to-be would be using the bathrooms. <

"Maybe it's because he's not in management's bathroom. All (we) requested was a lock on the door," she said. <

"Heck, even the men signed the petition. Even the men said as long as he has a penis, he should be in the men's room. Until it's gone, he's a he to me. <

"(Metro) just messed up the whole thing. They should never have done anything without asking the women first. You don't surprise women by putting a penis in the women's room. I don't care what he has to do yet, it should have been brought up in a meeting," she said. <

"I don't blame the women of Metro for being upset." <

So the women, in their petition to Metro management, requested that a lock be installed and that the female-to-be "not use the women's bathroom at Metro until his sex change is complete." <

The petition, with 58 signatures, finally received a response from supervisor Ann Gullickson: <

"We have an employee at Metro who is transitioning from the male gender to the female gender," she wrote in a Feb. 9 memo to supervisors and managers. <

"It is the official policy of the city to provide equal employment opportunities for all persons from all segments of the Madison community. Our diverse city employee base must be supported in a harassment-free work environment. <

"This employee's gender identity is female, and it is appropriate that she use the women's restroom. There are five women's restrooms in this facility, three located in locker rooms that have shower facilities, and two that are single occupancy." <

Gullickson wrote that the solution would be for the employee to use the single occupancy bathroom that has a locked, private stall. Also, the hallway bathroom doors will get locks, and the employee "will not use the locker rooms, showers, or any of the rest rooms other than the one referenced above." <

In an interview last week, Gullickson said the bathroom complaint "isn't an issue in the work force that we are dealing with any more." The locks on the doors fixed that, she said. <

"I have talked with the individual involved and it is not a big deal with her or her co-workers now, and she appreciates the support she has gotten for what we are doing." <

She described the complaint as coming "from some female employees who brought the issue forward about their comfort level. We were able to respond to their concerns." <

She said there had been no investigation of whether the employee was actually involved in a sex-change, something "I am not going to comment on one way or the other. <

"Different people have speculated. She has let us know she is going through the process and we have no reason to disbelieve it. She is very open and has been with her co-workers since she began the process," said Gullickson. <

The solution seems agreeable to everyone, she said. <

"Since the locks were added to the door, and since the employees know we would be doing that, I haven't heard any complaints. <

"There are five women's restrooms, and the agreement we have made is that during the transition process she will one be using one, single-use locker room, and won't be using the other ones," she said. <

So all of the bus company employees now really have a safe place to, um, change. <

Reach George Hesselberg at 252-6140, or at the Wisconsin State Journal, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, 53708 or at ghesselberg@madison.com. <