Let the doves fly and church bells sound, the battle over the banos at Anderson's Fifth Estate is officially finito! Now transgendered folk -- including activist Michele de LaFreniere -- are free to pee standing up, sitting down, doing handstands or any dang way they please in the newly christened unisex potty at the Scottsdale nightspot. That's the latest from an Equality Arizona press release issued today, one which announced the impasse over and declared dead De LaFreniere's discrimination complaint filed with the AZ Attorney General's office.
As mentioned in previous posts, club owner Tom Anderson had a week or so ago inaugurated an all-sexes w.c. at his discotheque and welcomed back all trannies save for De LaFreniere, who was demanding an apology from Anderson after being booted from the club a year ago. That's back when a member of De LaFreniere's penis-optional posse did #1 like a guy in the female-only facilities. As of the date of Anderson's concession, DeLa Freniere, chairperson of Scottsdale's Human Relations Commission, had yet to drop her discrimination gripe.
However, Anderson and De LaFreniere recently had a face-to-face confab and smoked the ever-lovin' peace-pipe. This according to the statement from the LGBT advocacy group Equality Arizona, which reads:
Equality Arizona announced today that Tom Anderson, owner of Anderson’s Fifth Estate, and Michele deLaFreniere have agreed on an amicable resolution to the nearly year-long disagreement between the two. Anderson has converted an existing single-stall private restroom into a gender-neutral facility and has agreed to welcome all people into Anderson’s Fifth Estate, regardless of gender identity or expression; deLaFreniere has agreed to withdraw the sex discrimination complaint that she filed with the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s office.
In coming to this accord, both Anderson and deLaFreniere articulated a mutual recognition of each other’s integrity, acknowledged a shared value in family, and expressed that the human dignity of all people should be respected. The agreement was the result of a face-to-face conversation facilitated by Equality Arizona on Friday, November 9th.
So, what's the difference from the week before when Anderson had announced his club's new ambisexual bog? (That's in addition to one bathroom for the hombres and one for the chicas.) Basically, De LaFreniere is dropping her complaint, and Anderson is allowing her back in the club.
"She [De LaFreniere] didn't like it at first, but she's come around," Anderson told me this evening. "And I'm glad that's happened. So let's just move on and forget about all this."
I asked Anderson what he'd do should transgenders again attempt to use the ladies' loo, and thereby engender a repeat of last year's bitching from biological babes. Anderson pooh-poohed the possibility.
"I don't believe that will happen," stated Anderson. "Michele's kind of in charge of her community, and I don't believe that will be a problem. It's not all about peeing. They want to come in and dance, and I'm at least providing them a private [restroom] for them to go. As well as for women or men, it's all unisex."
So, it's armistice day for DeLa Freniere's transgendered army. Women, men, and men who wish to be women can dance, drink and let a mighty river flow through Anderson's pipes. From this point out, all citizens who pass through Anderson's doors may enjoy the so-called "pause that refreshes," and worry not about how they approach the porcelain god.
Why, I feel warm and tingly all over. Ah, crap...I just wet myself.
