A unisex loo is now an option for you and yours at Anderson's Fifth Estate.
Well, it ain't over till the fat lady with the weenie sings, but there's been a break in the battle over who gets to use which bog over at Anderson's Fifth Estate. The club's owner, Tom Anderson, had been in a long-running dispute with transgender activist Michele de LaFreniere, whom he'd kicked out of his club along with some of her entourage after an incident in the ladies loo where a tranny dude(ette?) was peeing standing up. Now Anderson's welcoming the trannies back, according to an article in yesterday's East Valley Tribune, and making one of his toilets unisex.
De LaFreniere, however, is still persona non grata, according to Anderson.
“At this point in time, I’m treating Michele like any other person that’s been disruptive of my business,” Anderson told the Trib.
But DeLaFreniere, catty as ever, said she refuses to withdraw her discrimination complaint at the AZ Attorney General's office until she receives a "public apology" from Anderson.
And so, the struggle continues in our new daytime drama, As the Tranny Turns.
Late in 2006, Anderson declared trannies verboten because of complaints from the biological femmes about guys being gals in the women's john. De LaFreniere, the chairperson of Scottsdale's Human Relations Commission and one of the offended parties, went on the warpath, making the issue a cause celebre in the GLBT community. She lodged a complaint with the AZ Attorney General's Office, which is apparently still investigating the matter, and she and assorted other third-genders picketed Anderson's party palace.
These bathroom follies came to a head again this summer when Anderson was to be the venue for Psychic TV, the ambisexual group led by transgender rock icon Genesis P-Orridge. Anderson was forced to cancel the concert because of threats of protests and other disruptions. The venue switched to The Sets, which quickly canceled once they realized they didn't have the facilities to accommodate a passel of girl-boys with their toys intact. Only because of the quick thinking of PHX promoter/DJ William "Fucking" Reed, and the willingness of P-Orridge to go on with the show, was the Rogue secured and the concert performed.
Oddly, the Valley gay rights org Equality Arizona had washed its hands of the bathroom brawl earlier this week with a press release to that effect.
One would think Anderson's new unisex latrine would put a period on the feud, but I suspect it will not. Pantyhose-clad cats want to powder their noses with the chicks without sticks, if they can. And if they line up to use the babes bog, and there are further complaints from the customers in this relatively run-of-the-mill nightspot, Anderson may again be forced to act.
On the other hand, both sides seem weary of the fight and the endless double entendres, or just plain ol' entendres, from commenters such as this one. At last, perhaps the female patrons will be able to pee in peace at Anderson's, and the males drink bucketloads, till that broad with the broad shoulders and stubbly chin suddenly seems tempting in the very, very dim light.
