A New York City woman is denouncing stadiums as “oppressive” and anti-woman after she was kicked out of a concert for using a men’s restroom.
Allison, a 26 year-old who has not revealed her last name, does not identify as a man, nor does her girlfriend Siobhán. But while attending a Beyoncé concert Tuesday night at Citi Field, they grew frustrated at the long line for the women’s restroom and decided to simply enter the men’s restroom instead. Siobhán was caught by security, who then kicked her out of the concert, and then kicked out Allison as well when she got into an argument with them.
“We pressed security with questions about whether or not this was actually a policy, and if it was grounds for being thrown out,” Allison told Gothamist. “When I continued to ask these questions, and said that many women, including myself, had been using the men’s restroom throughout the night, the security officers told me I was now also being thrown out and police would be called.”
Now, Allison is complaining that both were the victims of sexist architecture because they weren’t allowed to freely use the men’s restroom.
“It feels like a literal policing on what women do with their bodies,” she said. “I think that the architecture of many public spaces is inherently somewhat oppressive towards the needs of women. Huge lines for the women’s bathroom are not uncommon at all.”
Ironically, “oppressive” Citi Field actually has more toilet fixtures for women than for men. Women have access to 374 toilets, 71 more than what was required by New York law when it opened in 2009. In contrast, men have access to 111 toilets and 240 urinals, for a total of 351 fixtures. New York laws typically require new structures to have about twice as many toilets for women compared to men (studies show women take twice as long on average in the bathroom), but Citi’s numbers are more balanced because it built substantially more toilets than required by law.
New York anti-discrimination law requires that people be allowed to use a bathroom that matches their stated gender identity, but the law does not guarantee the right to go in opposite-gender bathrooms. (RELATED: New York Spends $265k Telling People To Use Opposite-Sex Bathrooms)
Allison says she wants a refund on her concert ticket, at the least, and she is considering complaining to the NYPD as well. She says there are no clear signs Citi Field prohibits using opposite-gender restrooms.
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