Activist Berates Fast Food Worker For Misgendering, Beautifully Backfires
A transgender activist filmed an exchange with a fast-food worker, berating them for “misgendering.” However, after uploading the video to shame the manager, the activist’s plan backfired in the most satisfying way.
Eden Torres, a transgender female activist, often feels the need to call out perceived transphobia wherever she goes. Her latest confrontation, though, has landed her in a surprising situation of being the one scrutinized.
On a visit to a Sonic Drive-In in Houston, Torres felt discriminated against when the staff addressed her as “sir” instead of “ma’am.” She decided to film her exchange with the manager to highlight this mistreatment.
“Your entire staff has been calling me sir. Why don’t you tell me what we can do now?” Torres demanded. “What about me looks like a sir right now?”
“Look, I’m sorry and I apologize for what happened, okay?” the manager replied. “What else can I tell you?”
Torres continued to press, hoping to catch the manager in a slip. Despite his attempts to resolve the matter, she remained unsatisfied.
“If they called you sir, I don’t know why they did that,” he began, but Torres quickly interjected.
“Because they saw the name on my credit card and they were not being nice people,” Torres responded.
The manager, trying to understand, asked, “They saw your name on the card. What do you want them to tell you?”
Feeling further slighted, Torres insisted on knowing what training the franchise had provided to ensure staff were “trans competent.” The manager, using “ma’am” to address Torres, tried to keep the peace, but it only intensified the situation.
“I have been faced with discrimination from your staff,” Torres accused.
“I’m so sorry that you feel discriminated, but we have employees here…” the manager tried to explain, pointing out his inclusive staff.
“I’m not gay,” Torres clarified, emphasizing the issue was about gender identity, not sexuality. When the manager asked which pronouns to use, Torres asked, “What do you assume looking at me?” When the manager said he assumed Torres was a man, it escalated further.
“What about me is presenting what you would call masculine right now?” Torres fumed.
The manager repeated his apology and asked what he could do to rectify the situation. Torres, however, was adamant that he and his staff were “transphobic” before leaving the premises.
Torres might have intended to spotlight the manager’s alleged transphobia, but social media largely supported the employee instead.
Comments included: “These are real slaps to the face of women, bipoc and lgb people getting actually attacked everyday.”
Another commenter said, “This man is an absolute saint to put up with this level of BS.”
“‘I would assume you are a man’. You nagged him for an answer, and you got one,” another chimed in. “Just because you didn’t like what he’s thinking doesn’t mean he will change his own truth to suit your ideas.”
Others pointed out, “It’s nobody’s job to affirm you.”
“So the guy asks your pronouns (I thought you all wanted this); you then ask him to assume what he thinks you are (I thought you weren’t supposed to do that?); and then you get pissed at the answer. Literally, there was no way the guy could have won.” another wrote.
The fast-food chain has responded by launching a discrimination investigation, and Torres has called for sensitivity training for the manager and staff.
This incident highlights how some individuals may use their status to coerce others into adopting their views, risking their jobs and reputations in the process.
