Does Valkyrie Have the Right to Refuse Service?
How would you feel if you were denied of a service or goods because of who you are?
Well this is exactly what happened to fashion designer Veejay Floresca when she tried to enter Valkyrie, a club in Bonifacio Global City. Floresca said she was denied entry last June 12th 2015 at Valkyrie. Last June 20th, Floresca was again stopped from entering Pool Palace Club, another club in Bonifacio City (owned by the same owners of Valkyrie) for the reason that she was dressed as a woman.
Veejay Floresca was born "male" but she identifies as a woman. Even after showing her California driver's license wherein her gender is female, she was still denied entry. "Lalaki pa rin yan" (Still a male). This is what she was told.
This recent incident sparked an outrage and the LGBT community expressed their disappointment with Valkyrie's discriminatory "no cross dressing" policy. But this isn't the first time that a transgender was denied entry to Valkyrie. To address this troubling issue, Geena Rocero, a model and trans pinay advocate called upon Valkyrie's management to take a hard look at this discriminatory policy. She, along with other trans advocates have been pushing for a dialogue with the club owners but said dialogue which was scheduled last June 20th was moved to June 29th.
JM Rodriguez, owner of Valkyrie clarified through a post on his Facebook page that Valkyrie has no discriminatory rule against gender or sexuality. He said:
"You can ask all of my trans friends who come to Valkyrie and hang with me every week. This is not about gender. This is simply about following dress code rules, that's all. I really hope you see what we are trying to enforce. It's the same rule every club in the world follows. Again this is never about sexuality. It will break my heart for people to think that, because I love transgenders, they are my true friends and I would never let that happen to them in my club."
But why was Veejay Floresca denied entry, not once but twice if there is no such policy in existence? What did the Valkyrie personnel mean when the phrase "lalaki pa rin yan" was uttered to the designer. Floresca is just one of the many transgenders who have been refused entry at Valkyrie.
Here's another troubling statement from Valkyrie management. They confirmed with Philippine Star that they do have a No Cross dresser policy but reiterated that transgenders are allowed to enter the club as long as they follow the dress code. Here's what the management relayed to Philippine Star last March 4 2015.
"We allow crossdressers basta huwag lang po daring na iyong tipong mababastos sila." (We allow crossdressers but they shouldn't dress too daring to the point that they look like they're asking for it.)
What's troubling here is that Valkyrie seems to blame victims of harassment with the way they dress and not put the blame on the perpetrators.
To shed some light on the Dress Code of Valkyrie, here's what their signage says:
For Men: NO sleeveless shirts, tank tops, sports jerseys, hoodies, sports jackets, shorts, cropped pants, slippers, sandals, and open shoes.
For Women: NO slippers
So ANYONE should not have a problem entering Valkyrie's premises as long as they do not wear any of the items mentioned in the dress code signage. But this isn't the case. Based on the stories of those who were denied entry the main reason why they were turned away was because they either were a transgender or that they were cross dressing.
It's important to note that transgenders are not the same as cross dressers, it's important to keep in mind that both groups deserve to be treated fairly and equally just as any other person.
Although many have expressed their anger with Valkyrie's discriminatory policy, some have expressed their support saying that Valkyrie has every right to implement their policies and that as a private business, Valkyrie can make their own rules.
But when does a business have the right to refuse service or goods?
While there are certain valid reasons for a business to refuse service to a customer it should never be because of of race, gender, gender identity, religion, or nationality.
Here are some valid reasons for a business to refuse service or goods.
A business can refuse serving or selling alcoholic drinks to minors because that's against the law and that's the right thing to do.
If a customer or a group of customers is being unruly or disruptive then the business has every right to let them leave.
In these 2 examples, the reasons for refusing service or goods is justifiable and within sound reasoning.
But for Valkyrie to insist on a policy that goes against one's identity is discriminatory. If as a society, we let this slide, then we are giving other private businesses such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, stores, and other public accommodations a window of opportunity to discriminate against a group of people whom they dislike.
How would you feel if a business establishment deny you their goods or services because you are not too pretty for their standards?
Or maybe your skin is too brown, too white, too yellow, too dark, too red, too tanned for their liking.
Or maybe you're bald and they don't like having a bald person in their establishment.
While not patronizing businesses with discriminatory policies is one of the things you can do, you can take it a notch or 2 higher. Call out people and establishments for their discriminatory behaviors. Create or join a movement standing up against discrimination. Ask our government to pass the anti-discrimination bill.
It's never okay to discriminate. It doesn't matter if you're a woman, man or someone who identifies as a woman, a man, gay, lesbian, queer or whether you cross dress - NO ONE has the right to discriminate you. Public accommodations such as Valkyrie do not have the right to have a policy that discriminates one's identity.
Stand up against discrimination. Silence hate by speaking up.
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