Discrimination through Dismissal



The LGBTTQ* community has always been effected by discrimination within society due to differences in sexual orientation from that of the heterosexual norm. One example of this, in specific to the transgendered community, was presented at the Trails End Farmer’s Market, banning the employment of 3 transgendered employees from working at the vendors. This includes Dani Dominick and two others who have not released their names to the media. The owner of Trails End Farmer’s Market, Ed Kikkert, gave the vendor an ultimatum to remove the employee or do not set up the booth again at the market (AM980, 2011).  The reason given for this you might ask? Simply put, Dominick’s identity as a transgender made for a feeling of discomfort apparently brought to the market and the confusion as to which bathroom should be used (slapupsidethehead, 2011). The vendor owner, Karen Clarke who all three people were employed by, decided to stand behind her employee and did not reopen her booth.  A petition has been set up through www.change.org to spread the message to stop discrimination in the work place and raise awareness of the issues faced by LGBTTQ* community (AM980, 2011)

Society emits a certain acceptance for those outside of the heterosexual norm, but that acceptance only goes so far.  As stated in the CTV News clip by Dominick, the market does not have a problem with people from the transgender community shopping at the farmer’s market, just a problem with employing members of their community.  In my opinion, I view that in the similar way as the liberal ideology of social change, “liberals would make changes within the system rather than changes of the system – it would remain the same system” (Mullaly, 96).  Society has accepted that the LGBBTQ* community is not going anywhere and therefore is respected as a consumer, or a purchaser, but in all reality they are not ready to fully stand up in support of the community and back them up as employers.  While society may be warming up to the idea of the LGBTTQ* community being a part of society as whole they still have a long ways to go. Unfortunately, for the transgendered community, the idea of a man or woman feeling as though their physical genitalia does not match their gender identity is much more controversial and harder for society as a whole to be out right supportive.  This is how situations like that of the Trails End Farmer’s Market come to be.

I am not transgendered and I cannot pretend to understand the acts of discrimination they face daily.  We live in a diverse society which is unfortunately plagued by homophobia, preventing people from trying to understand a community that differs from the one they were brought up to see as true.  Taking the liberal stand point and accepting those differences is a good step in the right direction. However, until society is willing to make a drastic change in the system the problems that Dominick and LGBTTQ* community face will continue to stop at a mere petition to raise awareness instead of creating the necessary drive for social change. 

-Katelyn

References

AM 980. (2011). Trails end farmer's market removes transgendered employee. Retrieved from http://www.am980.com 
Mark. (2011). Farmer’s market removes trans employee. Retrieved from http://www.slapupsidethehead.com/ 
Mullaly, R. (2007). The new structural social work (3^rd Ed.) Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press