Forever 21 Facing Transgender Lawsuit

In a discrimination lawsuit, a former employee said she was called a “hot mess” and “disgusting” by her manager at retail chain Forever 21, writes Claire Zillman in Fortune, who points out this case is part of a pattern of legal action in defense of transgender persons that has been gaining traction from the Obama administration on down. In the Forever 21 case, a manager allegedly told the employee that, “in my eyes and in the company’s eyes, you’re still a male.” The lawsuit claims discrimination, and also harassment and retaliation. The former employee, Alexia Daskalakis began taking hormones to physically transition in August 2014, and the alleged harassment began when she started wearing more feminine clothing, at one point allegedly being sent home and told “you’re still male until you change your birth certificate.”