Discrimination: A trans woman was kicked out of a shopping mall bathroom in Paraguay.
The young woman, a regular customer, reported the incident on social media. The shopping center denied that it was a case of discrimination.
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ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay. Trans influencer Shirley Boom shared a video on Instagram in which she denounces that employees at the Pinedo shopping center , a mall located in the city of San Lorenzo , discriminated against her and her friend for entering the women's restroom. Security guards denied them access to the facilities because of their gender identity.
On Thursday, April 6, Shirley Boom went shopping with her friend to spend the day. At 5:00 p.m., they went to have a snack and buy movie tickets. Once the movie was over, around 11:00 p.m., they went to the bathroom next to a McDonald's. Shirley entered one of the stalls, but soon heard noises. She asked her friend what was going on, and she was told they were being kicked out.
Shirley immediately left the bathroom and a cleaning lady told her, "You can't be here. You have to go to your designated bathroom ." Amidst the argument, the cleaner warned the security guard outside the bathroom, and another guard was called to remove them from the restroom.
“I took out my cell phone and started recording them. 'Who sent you?' I asked. Up until that moment, I thought it was a joke; I couldn't believe it. A guard came and told me, 'You can't be here because you're in a bad way down there.' You know, when you're used to having a good time? I didn't feel like a person at that moment; I felt like a dog because of how they threw me out,” Shirley told Agencia Presentes .
According to the influencer, the shopping center staff knows her because she passes by every day on her way to the gym. The day after the event, Shirley uploaded the video to Instagram, and it went viral within minutes. In a public statement, she stated that both she and her friend were treated contemptuously at all times.
Discrimination and anti-rights reactions
Presentes contacted Cecilia Figueredo, Marketing Manager of Pinedo Shopping, who maintained that "it wasn't discrimination." "She entered the mall, went to the movie theater, and the food court. No one denied her entry . The only thing she was asked to do was go to the men's restroom because several customers with children complained to the security guard. So, she was invited to use the men's restroom," she said.
According to Figueredo, "girls enter" the women's restroom, and that they received complaints from "customers" at 11 p.m. that day. "We'll have to evaluate later whether to add an additional bathroom, but that's not our responsibility, that is. The shopping center is private property for customers. The cleaner and the security guard invited him to leave. They didn't touch him, they didn't push him, but they did ask him to go to the men's restroom. And it was during Holy Week. I understand he's an influencer; I don't know if he did this to gain more followers to take advantage of that situation," he said.
Pastor Emilio Agüero Esgaib weighed in on the incident on social media "Have you already logged into the social media accounts of the two involved? They're grotesque. I will never allow my wife and daughter to share a bathroom with men; I don't care if they feel like women in their imaginations. And don't come up with that nonsense about "homophobia" or "retrograde." It's fallacies. In any case, let them have a space for themselves where no one feels invaded," he said.
The post garnered 7.3 thousand reactions on Facebook and nearly a thousand comments from anti-rights activists who supported the pastor's remarks. "The mall chose, and I congratulate them. They chose family, they chose common sense, they chose caring for their customers, they chose dignity. I hope it continues like this. P.S. We must speak out and support, otherwise this will only continue to escalate until there is no place left where women can safely enter," he added from the same profile where he prays and offers messages of "peace and solidarity."
The inevitable hate speech
Agüero was complicit in establishing "gender ideology" during the administration of former Education Minister Enrique Riera. He is also known for his hateful LGBTI comments and for his closeness to former President Horacio Cartes and the anti-rights pastor Miguel Ortigoza, also a Cartista sympathizer. Similarly, panelists on the program Duro de Callar (Durious to Call) on the Cartista channel Gen made hateful and discriminatory comments.
“Now I'm afraid to go out,” Shirley Boom said. “I feel like everyone hates me. The public has gotten worse. People have no empathy and don't put themselves in other people's shoes. It affected me too emotionally. My anxiety went through the roof. I'm a very anxious person, and of course it hurts me,” she said, demanding that the mall apologize.
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