A Vancouver punk band that was set to play in Charlottetown this past weekend cancelled its show after a transgender band member was stopped from using the women’s washroom at the venue.
Rougaroux was in Prince Edward Island as part of a cross-country tour and had a show planned at the Sportsman’s Club.
Members of the band are transgender, including singer Marina Hanly, who — as equipment was being unloaded — needed to use the washroom.
“As I was just outside of the washroom … trying to mentally prepare to just go in there, the bartender came up and taped up a little handwritten paper sign outside the door that said ‘ladies only,’ and said, ‘Hey, we’re very strict about this,'” Hanly said.
Band member George Finley said he found Hanly to the side of the stage area and asked about what happened. He said he walked to the washroom and “ripped down the sign” before approaching the bar and asking for an explanation.
“The words I used were, ‘Why, when my female fiancé is going to use the washroom, did you feel the need to walk in front of her and put this sign up?’ [The bartender] responded with, like, ‘Well, if she’s female, there should be no problem,'” Finley said.
“There are four trans women travelling with us, including Marina, and I myself am a trans man. So I walked over there and I told everyone to get the gear and get out, that we were leaving.”
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The manager of Sportsman’s Club told CBC News that the business tries to accommodate transgender people, but that doesn’t include access to washrooms and the venue does not have gender-neutral facilities.
The manager said there are no plans to change the bathroom policy.
Derrick Biso was set to perform at the show as their drag persona, Remedy, after hearing the show was coming to town and reaching out to the band.
“[It’s] certainly a really disappointing experience, very discouraging and certainly one that is a violation of people’s human rights to access washrooms,” Biso said.
“The reality is hate is on the rise, and some of it relates to deep-rooted stuff.”
Hanly said Rougaroux doesn’t hide who they are, and imagery is prominent on the band’s social media.
“It’s pretty clear that we are talking about queerness and that that is kind of like a big part of our identity as a band,” she said.
“I had talked to them on the phone when I was booking this but, at the same time, you kind of would think that a venue would do … the bare minimum in looking at who they’re booking.”
