CHICAGO — A trans person who said a nightclub discriminated against them will file a complaint about the club, and others are calling for a boycott.
Jay Graber, who identifies as transgender and uses the pronouns "they" and "them," tried to wear a dress to the club to PRYSM, 1543 N. Kingsbury Ave., on Dec. 30. Graber said they were repeatedly turned away by employees who mocked Graber and a friend, and who said Graber couldn't come in because they were wearing a dress.
PRYSM has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Now, Graber will file a complaint with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations — and Graber's alderman, James Cappleman (46th), even reached out to show Graber how to file the complaint, Graber said. The alderman's office was not immediately available for comment.
RELATED: Trans Chicagoan: Lincoln Park Club Wouldn't Let Me In Wearing A Dress
The commission investigates complaints and, if there is "substantial evidence of discrimination," the cases go to hearings, said Ken Gunn, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
Businesses can face fines of up to $1,000 if a complainant prevails in a hearing, Gunn said. Complainants can also go to court to receive damages, Gunn said.
Others who heard Graber's story have said they won't go to PRYSM or have even called for a boycott of the club. Some called PRYSM a "disgrace," "transgender phobic" and "homophobic" on posts to the club's Facebook page.
Very disappointed in @PRYSMnightclub for the denial of a transgender person in late December. Time for a new club🥂https://t.co/3VorjtKXRe
— little foot (@LyssCait) January 9, 2017
No tolerance for #transphobia. Let @PRYSMnightclub know this shit is unacceptable. Chicago, boycott the club. https://t.co/WP8mWtuAls pic.twitter.com/i2luDzNnSY
— Anarcho Anon (@AnarchoAnon) January 9, 2017
The incident started when Graber and a friend, Lux, tried to see a French musician named Madeon at PRYSM on Dec. 30. An employee turned Graber and Lux away, at first saying it was because Graber was wearing a dress and then saying it was because Graber's shoes didn't fit the club's dress code, Graber said.
PRYSM does not appear to have information about a dress code on its Facebook page or website.
But Graber went home, changed their shoes and went back to PRYSM, they said, and an employee scanned their and Lux's tickets (marking Graber's as "male"). But then another PRYSM employee stopped the two from entering and said "there was no way in h--- he would be letting a dude in a dress into his nightclub," Graber said.
Graber and Lux were "laughed at, misgendered and ridiculed" by employees at the club while trying to get in, Graber said. A supervisor saw the two trying to get in, and even though Graber held up their already-scanned ticket the supervisor "made a disgusted face," shook his head no and went inside PRYSM, Graber said.
While Graber and Lux tried to get in, several men and women — including women wearing dresses — were let into PRYSM, some of them for free, Graber said.
Eventually, one of the club's employees told Graber and Lux that "he had been told that we would not be let in no matter what I was wearing," Graber said. The two were then asked to leave.
Graber and Lux started to go when they saw another person, Jazmine, who had been denied entrance to the club separately.
Jazmine, who uses the pronouns "they" and "them," said they think they were denied because of their "general look." They were told they couldn't come into PRYSM while wearing joggers, Jazmine said, though they weren't those type of pants.
Once Jazmine started speaking to Graber and Lux, the employees "weren't having it," Jazmine said.
"I have never had any issues until last weekend" getting into clubs, Jazmine said.
PRYSM has not replied to Graber's public and private requests for a refund or response as of Tuesday, Graber said.
The club also hasn't responded publicly to posts written on its Facebook page criticizing the club and calling for its future performers to cancel.
"I hope you guys have to shut your doors after the s--- storm you created," one person wrote.
Another posted, "This place is a disgrace, and the employees are toilet humans. Start letting people in who PAID for their admission, and care less about your outdated heteronormative, transphobic ideals."
Gene Wagendorf, of Belmont Cragin, said he will not go to PRYSM in the future — and he's contacting the venue's future performers to let them know about Graber's story.
"If this happened to any trans person and I became aware of it, that would be enough for me not to want to support that business," said Wagendorf, a friend of Graber's. "It's really important to live a more principled life. We vote in a lot of ways with our dollars."
Wagendorf said Graber's story was "jarring" because people tend to think of Chicago as a progressive city while other places, like North Carolina, have tried to tamp down on rights for transgender people. This happened in "your backyard," though, Wagendorf said.
Brian Johnson, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Illinois, said being denied entry to a public accommodation because of one's perceived gender identity "seems like a pretty blatant violation of the Chicago and the Illinois human rights ordinances."
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