Trans woman harassed by self-described ‘TERF’ while eating her meal at San Francisco restaurant
Lilly Contino was harassed at a local restaurant by a self-identified TERF. (Instagram/@lillytino_)
A trans woman was threatened by a self-proclaimed TERF for simply eating at her local restaurant.
Trans-content creator Lilly Contino was eating at a Cheesecake Factory, in San Francisco, when she was confronted by an elderly woman who described herself as a TERF.
TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, and refers to activists who attempt to use feminist rhetoric to segregate and restrict the rights of trans people.
A woman approached Contino, who was streaming on social media, out of the blue and called over: “You know I’m a TERF, right?”
She then asked if Contino would like her “to move somewhere else” despite having not even acknowledged her existence prior to the incident.
“No, actually, you should tell me about being a TERF,” Lilly Contino replied.
The woman then began threatening and misgendering her.
“Don’t f**k with me. [Because] honestly, I hit. I hit hard,” the woman continued. “Don’t judge me for being a TERF. I get to be who I wanna be, you get to be who you wanna be, right?”
After rambling on about being judged for identifying with an inherently discriminatory group, the woman then told Contino to “get your f**king dog, eat your f**king food and get the f**k out of my life”.
“This is a first,” Lilly Contino said to the camera as the TERF continued rant, accusing her of being a “white racist”.
She said: “You’re a racist. You want your rights? I want mine too,” before reportedly leaving abruptly.
After asking for the manager, staff at the local branch apologised for the behaviour of the other woman.
Instagram users reacted to the incident with a mixture of anger and bewilderment.
One said: “OK, let me get this straight, she comes up to you, harassing and threatening you… then tells YOU to get out of her life, and calls you a racist?”
Another said: “Dunno how being hateful is an identity.”
This kind of outburst is common for trans people across the world. Studies and surveys detailing personal experiences show that trans and non-binary people are significantly more likely to face harassment, assault or hate crimes.
Research from the UCLA Williams Institute suggests that transgender people are four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crimes.
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