This transgender man ‘was refused service and called a f***ing tranny in a barber shop’
(Mark Scott, Central Coast)
A transgender man was called a “f***ing tranny” by barbers who refused to cut his hair.
All 32-year-old student Casey Franklin wanted was a haircut.
But when he entered the Kingsmen Hair barber shop in New South Wales, Australia, dressed entirely in men’s clothes, he was told: “We only cut men’s hair”.
(Mark Scott, Central Coast)
He told PinkNews that he replied: “I am a man,” to which they responded: “No you’re not, and I’m not doing it.”
Casey said: “I walked out as there were customers in the shop, and I felt humiliated after having got up the courage to go there in the first place.”
He told his partner, Blaise Harris, who confronted the barbers.
“They told her I wasn’t a real man and called me ‘she’ and ‘a woman’ the whole time,” Casey said.
Blaise, a 42-year-old teacher who speaks Arabic, told Casey that one of the staff had spoken to another in the language, calling Casey “another f***ing tranny”.
Casey has lodged a complaint with the state’s Anti-Discrimination Board.
He said that he had experienced transphobia in the past, but “not at this level”.
“It has left me annoyed that they treated me like this, and I refuse to allow it to happen to any other member of the transgender community,” he told PinkNews.
(Mark Scott, Central Coast)
“It’s not fair. This place is a disgrace.”
The abuse has continued since Casey complained to the authorities, he said.
“They have tried to stare me down, they stand in front of the shop to intimidate me and mumble under their breath when they pass me.
“They have told me that I’m a liar and that I’m only after money and ruining them.
“The owner said he didn’t believe anything I said and that he believed it was a false complaint made by a competitor to ruin them.
(Getty)
“I have no idea what they are on about.”
He said that his aim was “to be a transgender advocate and community educator, so this stuff stops.”
Australia’s Daily Telegraph has reported that Kingsmen Hair’s lawyer Doug Eaton said his client “vehemently denies the allegations”.
Eaton said Casey had asked the store’s barber Hussein Al Saadi for a haircut, but was told: “I’m sorry, we are a men’s only barber”.
(Getty)
He wrote that the barber had added: “I’m sorry, you are dressed like a woman and I couldn’t tell,” before accusing Casey of grabbing his crotch and saying: “Look, I have a dick.”
Casey denied grabbing his crotch.
He also told PinkNews that he was “dressed in all menswear, including a men’s shirt, men’s chino shorts, men’s shoes and a binder which hides my boobs”.
A spokesman for Kingsmen Hair said he would let Eaton deal with the complaint.
Then, misgendering Casey, he said: “I have no idea what’s going on with that lady.”
