A North Texas woman said she was followed into a public restroom at a hospital by a man who didn't believe she was female.
Jessica Rush said it happened last Thursday while she was being treated for an injured arm at Baylor Medical Center in Frisco. Rush, who is from The Colony, said she was about to enter a stall when she noticed a man following her into the restroom.
"It scared me at first," said Rush. "My first thought was I'm about to be attacked because I am a 5 foot, 3 [inch tall] female."
Rush then flipped on her smart phone and recorded a quick conversation with the man:
MAN: "You didn't look like a girl when I saw you enter, I thought it was..."
RUSH: "A boy?"
MAN: "Yeah."
Rush said she wore athletic clothing and a baseball cap. She said the incident angered Rush and her wife.
"I understand one thing if you're a cop of the Dallas Police Department but some random guy coming in I think is absolutely absurd and inappropriate," said Rush.
U.S. & World
NBC DFW reached out to Baylor Medical Center's Media Relations Department. A spokesperson said they could not verify if the incident happened at one of their facilities and had no other comments.
The encounter comes as the intersection of bathrooms and gender has become a flashpoint across the country since North Carolina passed a law that requires people use bathrooms that correspond to their genders at birth.
Several state legislatures are considering similar bills, according The Associated Press.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he would support legislation for a so-called "bathroom bill" in Texas.
Equality Texas, the state's largest LGBT lobbying organization, has said such policing is akin to "searching for a problem" and transgender people are more likely to be victims of assault than perpetrators.
