A TikTok video showing a man lose his cool in the retail chain Petco when he saw a gender-neutral bathroom in one of its stores has stoked a familiar culture-war debate online.
The viral video, which was posted to TikTok on Sunday, shows a man seemingly yelling at Petco employees for there being a gender-neutral bathroom in the store. "This is stupid, people are not putting up with that c***," the unidentified man says in a raised voice. When the store employee suggests that the customer share his views with the manager, he replies, "I just did, she just told me my opinion didn't matter." He then tells the worker to "stop with the gender-neutral s***. Men and women are different."
As the man leaves, he suggests that the employee passes his views "up the chain." At this point, another store worker says the unhappy customer "needed to leave."
The viral video comes amid sweeping new laws targeting transgender rights across the United States. Kansas was recently ground zero in the fiercely fought culture war, enacting one of the most restrictive transgender bathroom laws in the country.
In perhaps a telling microcosm of debate raging around the U.S., Laura Kelly, the state's Democratic governor, blocked the Republican bill from the state legislature, only to have her veto overridden by a two-thirds majority. The bill took effect on July 1.
The TikTok creator @rach.arianna shared her own views of her viral video in the caption: "Gender neutral bathrooms. Screaming at employees over gender neutral bathrooms. @Petco employees handled this so well, major props to them!" She added the hashtags #makeracistsafraidagain #snowflakes #republicansoftiktok #pride #publicfreakout.
@rach.arianna Gender neutral bathrooms. Screaming at employees over gender neutral bathrooms. @Petco employees handled this so well, major props to them! #makeracistsafraidagain #snowflakes #republicansoftiktok #pride #publicfreakout
♬ original sound - Rach
Kansas isn't the only red place to take a stance in the culture war debate. Conservative states across the country are passing a fusillade of bills regulating everything from medical-care access to sports teams.
Though other states had introduced similar legislation before, Arkansas became the first one to pass a bill banning transition-related health care for minors in 2021.
The states of South Carolina and Oklahoma are pushing bills to criminalize the provision of transition treatment to transgender men and women under 26.
Nineteen out of 50 U.S. states are trying to place restrictions on transgender care, with many targeting doctors who provide it to children. In Idaho, those who provide care to a trans person under the age of 18 face 10 years in prison, a fine and losing their medical license.
The states of Florida, Texas and Nebraska have recently passed their own measures designed to limit access to transgender care.
Newsweek has reached out to @rach.arianna via TikTok for comment.
