King Soopers has lost a round in the case of a transgendered employee who wants to come to work dressed as a woman.
Denver's Anti-Discrimination Office determined it has probable cause to think the grocer discriminated against pharmacist Kim Dower.
The ruling requires the company to enter into compulsory mediation with Dower to resolve the situation. If mediation fails, Dower, 51, may begin the process of suing King Soopers under the city's anti-discrimination laws.
Dower, who goes to work dressed as a man, is undergoing male-to-female reassignment and must dress as a woman for a year before doctors will let her have surgery.
King Soopers denied Dower's request, prompting her to file discrimination complaints last summer with the Anti-Discrimination Office and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
One of Dower's attorneys, John Hummel, said his client is stuck.
Attention Mr./Ms. Dower, why would anyone choose to be a woman? Being a woman is not for the faint-hearted. There is more to being a woman than it taking an hour to get ready everyday. There is more to being a woman than wearing a skirt, stockings and high heels to work everyday.
Mr. Dower if you want to be a woman you must make the full commitment. Grow a uterus, grow ovaries; deal with the bloating and blood loss of menstrual cycles. If you want to be a woman you must deal with the permanent scars of pregnancy, and how the children you sacrificed your body for take you for granted and grow up and leave you.
Mr. Dower if you want to be a woman, you need to know that being one entails immense and intense emotions. Your mind is constantly feeding you rational and irrational emotions and you must decipher which is which. Their appearance is the same on the inside as they are on the surface.
You also must know that many times when a man speaks to you he is really just wanting to get into your pants; and when he finally does get into your pants he's thinking about the woman he recently saw in Playboy. It's not about you, that you're special and different than the other women, it's about him and his need.
Mr. Dower you must also know that the value of a woman is wrapped up in her appearance, PhD or no PhD; and the man she attaches herself to for life is likely to leave her for a younger, hotter woman as soon as her age starts to look more like a comfortable Fahrenheit temperature than a wanted mate.
Oh no Mr. Dower, you will never be a woman. If you had what it takes to be a woman, God would have made you one in the first place. So in this woman's opinion Mr. Dower, PERMISSION DENIED!!
--Help, I'm a homosexual man trapped in a woman's body-- (just a little joke for you, lest you think I've lost my sense of humor)
**Just Because You Have The Right To Do Something Does Not Mean That It's The Right Thing To Do**
Posted by Stacy at March 4, 2005 10:56 AM | TrackBack
The story of "Ms" Kim Dower was briefly on the news (which is how I found this post). From what I've seen, you're right. I find it very hard to call him "her", so I won't.
On the news story, this person was showing off his incredibly large collection of shoes and dresses. There was more in common with a costume shop than with a woman's wardrobe.
I believe that most women can sense the presence of a man, no matter what the appearance. I had the overwhelming feeling that this is a man. He's a very disturbed man, but is with no doubt, very much a man.
I have to disagree with your comment "If you had what it takes to be a woman, God would have made you one in the first place." I disagree because children are not born perfect. Thousands of children are born every year without being completely male or female, and not being able to reproduce. Many of them require surgery to repair these problems. They will never completely experience the joy and pain of living life as a complete male or female. We should still honor them as the sex they have chosen or was chosen for them.
I consider myself a Christian. I reconcile the facts with my faith as follows: we live in a fallen world, children are born with problems, we have the technology to help children that are born with these problems, and to withhold treatment would be cruel.
No one is really sure if it's possible for a male or female to be born completely with the mind of the opposite sex. There are many cases where they claim this has happened. There are cases where they can prove a hormone problem. There are cases where the hormone problem has created obvious physical evidence in their body.
Although I'm skeptical of Kim Dower's condition. We don't know enough at this time to condemn everyone in his situation.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 10, 2005 02:09 PMI saw you checking out this piece on my Stat Counter.
The comment about 'if you had what it takes' was really tongue-in-cheek, which would have been very obvious from the comments that were left. But those old comments are gone. I posted this piece on my old blog and all of the comments were lost.
I appreciate you coming by and do agree with the comments you left. Join us at the top.
Posted by: Stacy at October 10, 2005 02:15 PM