Bizarre Attempt at Sex Discrimination at Philadelphia Library

Something is fishy at the Fumo Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia at 2437 S Broad St. in far South Philadelphia, and its not the fact that its namesake is currently serving time in federal prison on 137 counts of graft. You see, many of Free Library’s locations require key access to their restrooms, whether they be unisex, men’s or women’s rooms. And sometimes, if there is a situation where there are two single occupancy restrooms, they will gender segregate them. Such is the case of the Fumo Library, except that they have put a new twist on bathroom segregation.

The men’s room instructions are a bit misleading, since there is a key that is easily grab-able at the perimeter of the desk. This is sex discrimination because in this case, men have the privilege of being able to grab the key from a designated area, while women have to go up to a person, whether it be a desk worker or security guard, to gain access to the women’s room, which may be hard if they are in the middle of something. Just for having these two signs up, the FLP could be cited by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations solely on the present disparate treatment based on sex (the question is not the gender segregation of the restrooms, but the differing protocols for bathroom access, which, due to the "gatekeeper" nature of the women’s room, creates an undue burden for women).

But let’s forget about the blatant sex discrimination as it relates solely to the gender binary for one second. I decided to use the restroom there, and being an unpassable transwoman, it would be a test of their compliance of the Fair Practices Ordinance. I was, surprisingly, buzzed in at the Fumo branch and have used the women’s key to gain access without even a wince or a shudder, but like the whole issue with SEPTA monthly and weekly passes — yes, maybe sometimes a person who does not easily pass can be able to use a pass with a sticker denoting their true gender identity, but…what about the next time?

I went to the main library at 19th and Vine once and was allowed to use the women’s room, even with a guard stationed there (only library in the city which does not require a key to access and is multi-occupancy). However, the next time, I was called a man by another security guard and now, I am not allowed to use the women’s room. I filed a complaint, but two months later and it’s still not acted on. 
 
While the signs themselves could be viewed as a blatant violation of the ordinance based on sex, this creates a liability to be sued on charges of gender identity discrimination if somebody decided to act in a transphobic manner and deny someone use of the appropriate facilities.

This is especially disturbing since both restrooms are SINGLE OCCUPANCY. I could see how unsegregating a multiple occupancy restroom is politically unfeasible in these times, but there is no valid reason, even for religious conservatives, to gender-segregate two rooms in which you will be sharing with no other person at any given time. I am currently trying to have that practice BANNED in Philadelphia, and have several councilmembers on my side, with legislation likely being introduced as early as January. There is no way any reasonable person should be putting an undue burden on the trans community and creating two separate protocols for each gender for no legitimate reason.

And for reference, here is what any establishment should do when faced with two single occupancy restrooms (taken at Whole Foods at 10th and South):

-Jordan Gwendolyn Davis