Transgender woman traumatised after being 'belittled' by airline staff
A woman boarding a flight home to see her parents said she was traumatised after an airline agent outed her as transgender to other passengers.
Lenore Herrem claims she was about to board a WestJet flight from Calgary to Saskatoon when the agent at the gate became “upset and confused” when she presented her ID on Wednesday evening.
Ms Herrem’s gender presentation is female, but her gender on her Quebec health care card is marked as male. The accompanying five-year-old photo on the ID card is also presented as male.
“She got upset and said, ‘they don’t match,’ but her colleague said, ‘Yes, they do, it’s fine, go ahead’,” Ms Herrem recalled.
“So I gently and discreetly expressed to her, ‘It’s because I’m transgender, that’s why they don’t match up. But my face is the same and my ID matches the name on my boarding pass.'”
Ms Herrem boarded the plane and was settled in her seat for about 10 minutes when she said both gate agents boarded the flight, and the agent who had been confused once again demanded her ID.
“She said something like, ‘Oh, that’s not the name I remember seeing on the computer when I looked at it,’ and she started spouting off different, other women’s names that were not mine,” she recalled.
“She rolled her eyes at me and said, ‘Are you sure it wasn’t your girl name that was on the computer?’ … She outed me in front of the whole airplane.”
Ms Herrem said it was the first time anyone has ever had a problem with her ID, adding that she felt “unsafe, vulnerable and belittled”.
“I was in shock, it was quite traumatising having someone, especially the way she did it so loudly and in front of everyone, it was really unprofessional.”
WestJet has since apologised to the Canadian resident and said it is investigating the incident.
“WestJet’s inclusive culture is a point of pride for WestJetters and our goal has always been to create a safe and inclusive environment for all,” the company said in an emailed statement.
“We have extended our apologies to the guest and are reviewing the matter as we are continuously assessing and evolving our practices and policies to maximize inclusiveness and celebrate diversity.”
The company said their policy is in line with Transport Canada’s regulations, which requires travellers to carry government-issued photo ID with a gender marker, as Ms Herrem did.
