In a recent piece, PRIDEinUTAH reported that Transgender Woman Mocked At Utah DMV, Forced To Scrub Off Makeup:
Salt Lake City, Utah - Not a highlight of our state. On Thursday this week, a transgender woman entered a local DMV to renew her license only to find half the staff mocking and ridiculing her, including security forcing her to scrub off her makeup and pull her hair back before she could take her photo.Local resident Amber Anderton watched a horrifying scene play out in front of her this past Thursday at the DMV located at 1095 Motor Ave. (approx. 200 N 1000 W) in Salt Lake City, as a transgender woman sat down at the photo station to renew her license. "When the DMV worker looked at her," says Amber, "he immediately left and got another employee, whispered in their ear and they both began laughing as they looked back at the woman. They both then went and got security who escorted the woman back to a supervisor's office. When they came back out the woman was taken to the restroom where she had to scrub off her makeup and pull her hair back before they would let her take her license photo."
Amber goes on to describe how the original two employees were seen walking from office to office, and several other employees came out to laugh and toss anti-transgender slurs around.
Mortified at what she was witnessing, 29 year old Amber approached the woman (who is remaining anonymous) and apologized for the treatment she was receiving. She asked if the woman planned on filing a complaint, but was told that although the abused woman as livid, "I really don't want to cause a scene." Amber than asked if she would allow Amber herself to make a complaint which the woman agreed to.
There's more of the original story at the PRIDEinUTAH story link.
The story has been updated, with the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Transgender Education Advocates of Utah (TEA of Utah) responding to the initial story.
[More below the fold.]
From State Denies Trans-Discrimination, But Victim Speaks Out.
...in an article by the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday, the Utah Drivers License Division is claiming that not only did their employees not laugh or ridicule this Transgender woman, but that they have video to prove it. Local Transgender Advocacy Group, "TEA of Utah" was allowed to view security footage and they reported to the Trib that they did not witness any behavior out of the ordinary.But now the victim is stepping up, and has identified herself as Regina Audette. Here's what she had to say last night:
I was the transgender female who was asked to scrub my make up off so they could took my photo. Well it was Thursday afternoon and my brother and I went to get my ID at the DMV at the Fairgrounds and the assistant supervisor and the security officer was laughing at me and so it was my turn to get my picture taken and so I gave them the... proper paperwork and they looked at it told me they need to talk to the supervisor who pulled me in her office and told me to remove my make up because I was altering my identification and so I took the make up off and they took the picture and while I was waiting the assistant supervisor was yelling that wasn't a female that is a man and making the situation that much worse and then my brother and I went to talk to the supervisor and she said that they weren't making fun of us he had to itch his ass and didn't want to do it in front of me and that was their excuse on why they were laughing.
From the Salt Lake Tribune's State denies discrimination took place at driver license office:
Although one bystander says a transgender woman was wrongly "humiliated" at the Utah Driver License Division last week, the division says an investigation revealed Monday that state employees acted appropriately.And TEA of Utah backs the state. Members of the advocacy group reviewed surveillance videos on Monday as part of the state's investigation.
"The employees did follow procedure," said Teinamarrie Scuderi, associate director of TEA of Utah. "There was no ridicule, [no] pointing and laughing ... what we saw on the video was pretty much everyday, if you went to the Driver License Division to get your ID renewed."
That said, there was definitely some gender norming going on regarding Regina Audette wearing make-up in her DMV photograph.
[Dwayne Baird, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety, which oversees driver licenses] said the individual was asked to speak with a supervisor in a private office. The supervisor asked that make-up be removed.
My guess would be it was more than just a simple ask, but no one else being in the room but the supervisor and Regina Audette, we'll never really know what was discussed.
Transgender Education Advocates of Utah (TEA of Utah) has high praise for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
"The employees did follow procedure," said Teinamarrie Scuderi, associate director of TEA of Utah. "There was no ridicule, [no] pointing and laughing ... what we saw on the video was pretty much everyday, if you went to the Driver License Division to get your ID renewed."
Teinamarrie Scuderi was also quoted as saying this:
They have a great policy. The Driver License Division doesn't want to be vilified. They are doing their jobs. They are open to more education.
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