A leading campaigner for women-only spaces claims she was kicked out of a lesbian bar after a transgender customer complained about her presence.
Jenny Watson, 32, says she was charged with ‘hate crime’ in the traumatic incident, claiming the bouncers removed her with such force that she was left with bruised wrists.
Although she had no contact with anyone other than her friends at the She bar in Soho, London, last month, she believes a transgender customer recognized her from social media and urged staff to kick her out.
Ms Watson says staff told her she had “committed a hate crime” without specifying what, adding: “I suspect this trans-identifying man went to staff because he recognized me, and then they made this decision because of what he said. The expulsion was clearly motivated by my beliefs.”
Ms Watson, an urban planner, is now considering whether to take legal action, saying it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of gender-critical opinions.
Jenny Watson outside the College Arms Pub in Bloomsbury, who has had her Lesbian Speed Dating night banned because it is not considered trans-inclusive
SHE Soho Lesbian bar in Soho, a very popular lesbian bar location in London. Many of London’s gay bars are clustered around Soho, the traditional centre
She rejected any suggestion that she was transphobic: “I never say anything hateful. I believe in gender dysphoria and that transgender people exist.’
But she argues that with a growing number of men identifying as women and lesbians, there is a need to protect same-sex spaces. She plans to launch her own bar and dating app exclusively for biologically female lesbians.
‘Lesbians are not attacked by the outside world, but by the LGBTQ+ movement. If a man can control who can stay in a lesbian bar, lesbian spaces are no longer safe for lesbians. This has to change.’
A spokeswoman for the bar association said it had been “providing a safe and welcoming environment for the LGBTQ+ community” for more than 20 years, and that police had attended and “rejected all claims of unlawful eviction”.
Ms Watson was involved in a transphobia row last year when she said only “adult human women” could participate in her lesbian speed dating events.