Dani Davis told a superior at Walmart that a man screamed anti-trans epithets while she was alone in the bathroom. Walmart fired her after she reported what happened.

Summary

Walmart fired Dani Davis, a 6’4" cisgender woman, after a man who mistook her for transgender verbally threatened her in a women’s restroom at a Florida store.

Davis, visibly shaken, reported the March 14 incident to her immediate supervisor but was fired for not informing salaried management, allegedly creating a “security risk.”

Davis called the firing discriminatory. After viral backlash, Walmart offered to reinstate her with back pay.

Davis, a longtime employee, is uncertain about returning, citing fears of a hostile work environment.

  • Wahots
    931·
    2 days ago

    This literally happened in the 1954 Lavender Scare. Coworkers could report you for being a “security risk” and you’d be fired because they assumed you were a lesbian.

    It’s why we have pride parades, to exercise that muscle and stamp out the fear of “otherness” in society.

    • WhoIsTheDrizzle@lemmy.world
      37·
      2 days ago

      Before I read about the Lavender Scare, I didn’t realize that Washington was a growing gay hub in the 40s/50s due to the expanded bureaucracy post New Deal. Also, that the anti-gay policies spread to universities and the private sector, which seemed to become the norm after that. Eventually, universities and the private sector cared more about sexual orientation than if you were previously a member of the Communist party. History is important and relevant.

      • Wahots
        2·
        1 day ago

        Yep, history is always important. Books on history also help you find solutions to today’s (annoyingly recurrent) problems, too.

        DC is interesting in that it was a great mixing area because of all the postwar army bases. WW2 allowed many rural people from all walks of life to mix together, and people who were gay/bi/lesbian+ all had the chance to mix together for the first time in…well…perhaps ever, for everyone from small town Kansas to big city NYC. That opened doors for a lot of our ancestors.

        And ironically, the lavender scare is what later precipitated into the gay rights movement, when everyone got sick of mandatory butthole inspections at work, and started suing and winning. (Embellishing a bit, but you get the gist)