Pauline Davis, Pennsylvania Woman, Claims Her Prosthetic Penis Got Her Fired From Job

A Pennsylvania woman has filed suit after her New Jersey-based employers allegedly dismissed her for wearing a prosthetic penis to work.

The Philadelphia Daily News cites a federal civil rights complaint filed by Pauline Davis Wednesday, which says she wore the device to the J&J Snack Foods plant in Moosic, Lackawanna County as she was contemplating sex reassignment surgery. Davis, who was employed as a packer/line inspector, eventually confided in several co-workers about her situation. One employee eventually alerted management, according to the complaint, and Davis was subsequently fired.

The 45-year-old Davis is now seeking back pay, damages for suffering and humiliation, and punitive damages. Davis's attorney, Lalena J. Turchi, told the Daily News that the fake penis was heavily concealed and "in no way interfered with her ability to do her job."

Futhermore, as MSNBC noted, Davis also claims a male employee who was undergoing hormone treatments and wore female clothing to the workplace was treated more favorably. "[Ms. Davis] was subjected to disparate and discriminatory treatment for being a female, and for being a female who identified with the male gender," the lawsuit states, according to The Times-Tribune.

Spokespeople for J&J Snack Foods have thus far offered no comment on the case, and there is no indication in any of the reports that Davis ever completed or furthered the gender-reassignment surgery.

For other cases of discrimination related to gender identity and sexuality in the workplace, see the slideshow below:

• Arabic Translator Fired From Navy For Being Gay

• College Soccer Coach Allegedly Fired Revealing She's A Lesbian

• College Professor Allegedly Fired For Being Transgender

• Substitute Teacher In Florida Fired For Being Involved In Gay Porn

• Corrections Officer For Juvenile Detainees Fired For Being Gay

• Woman Lost State Job With George General Assembly After Revealing She Is Transgender

• Dan Choi Fired From The Military For Being Gay

• Gay Water Polo Coach Fired For Being Gay

• Man Fired From Kentucky Farm Bureau For Supporting Gay Marriage

• Study Finds Gay Resumes Hurt Job Prospects

Comments

[Janey Mack]

08:17 AM on 01/24/2012

The lawsuit, *as quoted by the lawyer,* refers to Davis as "her" and "female." I would think that the lawyer would have some idea as to the correct pronoun, and I took those references to mean that Davis was still exploring her (his) gender situation. It does not indicate that Davis had been undergoing transition or any other treatment. Obviously, this is a bit piece; more in-depth reporting might turn up a better picture of the situation.

However, based on the information presented here--especially the lawyer's mode of reference--I do not believe the HuffPo reporter erred in their references to Davis as female. So you might consider giving this writer a break; HuffPo's reporting on LGBT issues is usually fair and sympathetic; let's not alienate an ally unnecessarily. Educate, yes, but gently! This stuff is awkward to write about under any circumstances.

Also, based on the information presented, the suit seems pretty baseless. It was flatly inappropriate for Davis to be discussing her "situation" in such detail to "several" co-workers. Any man talking about his "equipment"--natural or otherwise--could rightly be accused of sexual harassment and I would suspect that Davis was fired for that reason, and not just for being trans--if Davis is truly trans, which I do not think this article provides adequate evidence to judge either way.

[dbrett480]

05:57 PM on 01/21/2012

My question is how did the employer know about the prosthetic penis?

[Vincent Mante]

01:46 PM on 01/30/2012

she took it out and hit another male employee in the face with it.. and I am being serious.

[white dude lulz]

04:10 AM on 01/20/2012

I'm sure this is just a huge misunderstanding from a conversation involving quotations from "Accepted:" "Ask me about my wiener!!!"

[Ameera Primm]

05:10 PM on 01/16/2012

I hope she wins and gets millions! It's a violation of personal rights and this kind of activity needs to stop!

[ImSooCHI]

12:01 PM on 01/16/2012

Enough is a Enough! I can't... I hope she doesn't get one red cent. A heterosexual male can not come to work and talk about his penis to co-workers, why does she think it's ok too? If a heterosexual male or any male for that matter did it, the company could be sued for sexual harassment. She should have been fired! Who goes to the work place and talks about their junk, real or fictional? This isn't discrimination! This is a case of you being a dummy talking about things you KNOW shouldn't be said in the workplace. And furthermore, why was she telling so many people? If a male did that with several different people, he would have been fired too! Get a grip lady!

[Ameera Primm]

05:21 PM on 01/16/2012

I don't think the discussions we about the prosthetic, because it was hidden and highly concealed. The discussions were about the fact that Davis had(s) a gender disorder and was considering reassignment surgery which includes a lot of things other than a prosthetic or your actual genitals!

Think about it: You go to work and work with people closely and you start friendships. Rather than have rumors and whispering going around behind your back when you have to take time off of work for surgery and start looking more masculine when you start testosterone, wouldn't you rather tell them about the serious change you're about to have in your life?

[Crash2Parties]

08:55 PM on 01/16/2012

Or just as likely...people come right out and intrusively *ask* you very personal questions. The kind they wouldn't dare to ask someone in the workplace who wasn't trans or suspected of being trans...

[DanaLane]

11:54 AM on 01/16/2012

Philly.com and HP has a long way to go to understand pronoun usage. I mean even though they have been told REPEATEDLY! But what kind of headline would it be if you couldn't poke at the tr*nny, right? Come on HP.

[northwestwreader]

05:33 PM on 01/15/2012

Hmmmm. Can I go to my doctor and *say* I have perfect blood pressure, normal weight, great blood cholesterol values? What if they (gasp!) disagree with me! Are they being oppressive or just giving facts? It seems to be OK if you disagree with all the trillions of cells in your body that say one sex but "you" say another. Very complicated. Or is it very simple after all, called "self delusion"?

[valkygrrl]

04:00 AM on 01/16/2012

What does sex have to do with gender. If you woke up tomorrow in a completely different body would that really make you the other gender? Would you be comfortable with societies expectations? Would you know how to handle every situation? Would your sexual orientation change?

But hey, billions of cells can't be wrong no matter what your brain says right?

I wish people would take 10 seconds to stop and think before forming unchangeable opinions and spouting off.

I'm going to explain something, not that you'll listen. When you're dealing with humans there are not simple answers.

[northwestwreader]

08:00 PM on 01/16/2012

So if your brain says you're.....Napoleon, Kate Hepburn, or anything else you like to think of it must be right. Your brain cells (which, by the way, also say very definitively what sex you are -- no escape) have to be right. That must come in handy in school. You can write your own grades. At what point does some observer have some business saying "No, you're not. You are mistaken" to your whims? I assume someone can decide one day to be male, the next female and back again on day three? If not, why not? Does anything you say have ANY meaning?

[the guardian]

05:26 PM on 01/15/2012

...And boys will be girls; and girls, well...will act like boys!

[WhereIsTheTruth]

11:44 AM on 01/15/2012

Gender identity is not for anyone else to dictate, but when we are talking about others we do tend to take clues into consideration when determining what pronouns to use. For example, someone named Pauline would likely be considered to be female. Being that the claimant and the claimant's attorney did not respond to inquiry, one cannot presume Pauline Davis is male because Pauline has not declared a gender identity, rather Pauline has declared consideration of changing gender. This, and the claim that Pauline believes a male who dresses as a woman is treated better than sounds as if the complaint is based upon gender discrimination, which again would reasonably lead one to believe that the discrimination is because Pauline is female. With these things in mind, I believe the complaints that Pauline Davis is being misgendered may not be fully informed.

As to the termination, it is possible that the termination was due to a sexual harassment complaint - it is not appropriate to discuss your reproductive organs with your co-workers.

There is a lot of information missing and I think a lot of people are filling in the blanks themselves.

[the guardian]

05:47 PM on 01/15/2012

So, individually and collectively, people have to be versed and trained in legal definitions of behavior and identity, whose standards no longer fit the mold of societal values of recognition and expectations! I feel sorry and apologize for my confusion and ignorance about this new trend of "interchangeable" gender-identity...

[ethelmertzrules]

01:04 PM on 01/16/2012

It's not confusing if you have an open mind. If someone who appears to be female identifies as a male, I accept that. I keep my thoughts, doubts, whatever to myself and address that person as they have identified. It doesn't diminish me to do so.

[Crash2Parties]

10:12 PM on 01/16/2012

However, you forget that he was considering surgery. Following all applicable treatment guidelines as well as the history of thousands of transsexuals (and my own good grasp on the subject), if someone is seriously considering SRS/GRS they *invariably* identify as the sex that matches their post-op genital configuration.

I have yet to hear of, say, a second wave feminist get rid of her typical female genital configuration and go through painful and expensive surgery simply to gain male privilege. In fact, I can find no documentation of such a thing having occurred, anywhere.

[loraxism]

01:53 AM on 01/15/2012

This article, as well as the Jami Love article, misgendered the people in question and made no attempts to be clear about the situation for those less familiar with transgender issues.

SNL used the information from this article and now this poor person has been misgendered and humiliated on live network television.

The HuffPost used to be so good about being an ally to the transgender community. What happened?

I sincerely hope the authors of both articles, and any other incorrect and unprofessional articles, be punished and that the HuffPost returns to its previous accuracy and acceptance of the transgender community. There aren't many safe places for the transgender community and the circle just got smaller.

[LintLass]

12:45 PM on 01/15/2012

Well, I think they're generally good about that: in this case, it would seem the person involved hasn't actually declared themself male-identified, so I'd give the author the benefit of the doubt on this one. :)

[Crash2Parties]

10:08 PM on 01/16/2012

Following all applicable treatment guidelines as well as the history of thousands of transsexuals (and my own good grasp on the subject), if someone is seriously considering SRS/GRS they *invariably* identify as the sex that matches their post-op genital configuration.

[ethelmertzrules]

01:05 PM on 01/16/2012

Don't hold your breath. HuffPo was taken over by a corporation. Last time I checked the LGBTQ community didn't have many corporate friends.

[mrchasmaniac]

01:08 AM on 01/15/2012

what does cisgendered mean?

[loraxism]

01:54 AM on 01/15/2012

Someone who is not transgender. Someone whose gender identity and the physical body they were born with match.

[Christina-Xena]

06:07 PM on 01/15/2012

Agree, a nice shortcut word saving term.

[Darr Sandberg]

03:25 PM on 01/16/2012

It is a word imposed by some members of the trans community onto everyone else - a case of some people who expect respect for their own right to define themselves, defining everyone else.

[Crash2Parties]

09:09 PM on 01/14/2012

He's a pre-op trans man.

This is a matter of either really sloppy and offensive journalism or the intentional and offensive intentional misgendering of a trans man.

The (anonymous?) author (I hesitate to write, "journalist") should be called on it. If people are willing to speak up for a seven year old Girl Scout, they also need to speak up for a 45 year old pre-op trans man.

[Christina-Xena]

06:16 PM on 01/15/2012

Really, being a trans-man has not yet been confirmed in this case, and in fact according to the article there has been no follow-up transition to support such a claim. It simply could have all been made up.

I will wait till the court case to find out if it's a true medical prosestic (expensive no doubt) designed for this purpose, or a cheap sex-shop toy. And to get an answer to why someone would invest so much, if real, before they have even begun transition? This all sounds very phony so far.

"Your honor, here is the fake penis in question, let it be introduced into evidence!"

This case has all the earmarks of a trans-hater who was trying to make fun of the true trangender male-to-female, and now is trying to embarrass the company and "out" the transitioning transsexual in the process.

And this case doesn't even compare in any way to the 7-year old trans-girl, so may I suggest (having written over 50 comments for that case) ....let's not go there.

[DanaLane]

11:59 AM on 01/16/2012

Didn't you notice how they included "[Ms. Davis]" in this article? This is intentionally offensive. I am surprised at HuffyPost.

[wildworld]

09:49 AM on 01/14/2012

As Elaine on Seinfeld once said..."how do you guys walk around with that thing between your legs"

[Christina-Xena]

06:18 PM on 01/15/2012

Guess that's why they invented briefs. Boxer shorts must be like a constant game of paddle-ball.

[S Ardent]

11:10 PM on 01/13/2012

Welcome to 2012. Ladies, time to learn something you've been telling men for thousands of years.

Keep your penis to yourself and there won't be a problem.

[Mehggie]

08:21 PM on 01/13/2012

He's being pretty massively misgendered in this article and other sources if he indeed does identify as male and is transgendered. One source (which still misgenders him) says quite clearly that he identifies with the male gender.

It does not hurt or harm anyone in any way to respect that and use the proper pronouns. It is, quite literally, the least anyone can do.

[alchemikltheory]

01:05 PM on 01/14/2012

I understand where you are coming from, and generally I agree. I'm wondering, though, if this is somewhat different when there's an ongoing legal situation and the person and their lawyers have decided to present things a certain way in order to have the best chance of winning the case. The Breanna Manning case is another example, and one which is making the trans community uncomfortable, myself included. At the same time, I'm not sure what kind of additional legal complexities may arise from gender and transition issues that would not arise outside of that sphere. For example, if Davis has decided not to live as a man, which is a valid and very possible choice, their lawyers may need to address the issue differently than if they had decided to live as a man socially or transition. HuffPo and other articles are using quotes from Davis's lawyer which use female pronouns. I also do not want to erase any complexities of Davis' identity by insisting that they be referred to as he if they have not expressed that preference themselves.