“It was a real teachable moment.”
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Vanity Fair
Last Sunday, Get REAL held a workshop on gender issues for more than 100 El Furniture Warehouse employees.
Led by a trans member of the Get REAL team, the group discussed the reality of living as a trans person and why what some called "just a joke" was far from funny.
"If you explain that to any logical person that is not hateful they will understand very quickly, in our opinion, why it was a big deal and why it was not funny," said Chris Studer, executive director of Get REAL.
They also spoke about using gender-inclusive language in the service industry. For example, approaching a table and saying "hello ladies" or "are you waiting for your boyfriend" makes assumptions about the identities of customers.
"After seeing them come and how moving and touching it was, it’s something that every bar and restaurant could benefit from," said Sean Young, a partner at El Furniture Warehouse.
Guidance about being inclusive of gender-diverse people is now being integrated into the bar's employee handbook, and will be included in training for new staff. Now, other bars and restaurants are reaching out to Get REAL for similar workshops for their own staff, according to Studer.
"Moving forward we wanted to get [El Funiture Warehouse] to a place where they’re leading by example," said Studer. "It was a real teachable moment."
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