Chrissy Lee Polis A transwoman who was brutally beaten as she tried to use a women's toilet at a McDonald's in Baltimore says she has been afraid to leave the house since. Chrissy Lee Polis has told the Baltimore Sun her attackers shouted, "'That's a dude, that's a dude and she's in the female bathroom." The 22-year-old had stopped at the food outlet to use the bathroom. "They spit in my face," she says. A McDonald's worker taped the attack where Polis was kicked in the head repeatedly by two women, as a patron and an employee try to intervene. The film went viral online, leading McDonald's to issue a statement condemning the incident and fire the worker that taped it. A 14-year-old girl has been charged as a juvenile over the attack, while charges are pending against an 18-year-old woman. Polis suffered cuts to her mouth and face and has told the Baltimore Sun she continues to suffer from painful bruises, and has been afraid to be seen in public. She says seeing herself all over the Internet and all over the news has been "like walking out of the closet all over again." Polis is concerned that the public attention this has brought her could trigger more violence or hurt her chances of getting a job. "I want to cry but I need to hold my head up," she said. Equality Maryland has called on the state Attorney General to step in and investigate the case as a hate crime. "As a community we remain horrified that transgender citizens are so vulnerable that they can be brutalized … for simply walking down the street," says spokeswoman Lisa Polyak. "She was simply trying to use a public accommodation. People should not feel threatened when they exist in public space." Polyak added, "This is why we need a statewide law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression." The advocacy group has fought repeatedly to have such a law passed by Maryland's General Assembly.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 24th April 2011 - 12:59pm