A transgender woman said she was publicly humiliated when an employee at the Utah Driver License Division forced her to remove her makeup before taking the photo for her license.
According to FOX 13, Jaydee Dolinar went to the Fairpark Driver License Office on Wednesday to replace her license. She was allowed to have her picture taken and then filled out the paperwork. An employee helping her then left and a supervisor told Dolinar she would have to remove her makeup because the gender on her license didn’t match how she was presenting, making it difficult for facial recognition software to pick up her face.
“Just being a member of the trans community, I’m used to discrimination on a daily basis unfortunately,” Dolinar told FOX 13’s Lauren Steinbrecher.
The supervisor said state policy was the reason, but could not cite the specific policy, instead shrugging her shoulders at Dolinar.
Dolinar was given hand sanitizer and paper towels to scrub off her makeup, which she had to do in the middle of the office. Dolinar said the hand sanitizer didn’t really work, smearing her makeup and stinging her eyes.
“That made me feel like I shouldn't be a part of this community,” she said.
The Utah Department of Public Safety Driver License Division has since apologized, saying the supervisor acted outside of protocol.
“We would definitely never support disrespecting any individual in our offices,” said Chris Caras, the driver services bureau chief of the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Caras explained the policy is meant for extreme makeup that alters a person’s appearance that could make it hard to identify them. American Civil Liberties Union board chair and lawyer Danielle Hawkes said the policy should be used to prevent fraud, not hurt a resident.
“We have a transgender person who wears makeup on a daily basis, and the policy was used as a sword against her to humiliate her in public,” Hawkes said. “It’s just awful.”
Caras said the division reached out to Dolinar and plan to send her a license with the original photo taken with her makeup. Dolinar said she hasn’t received any communication and felt the apology was disingenuous.
“Policy misinterpretation? No.” She said. “It was discriminatory. Completely discriminatory.”
Until her new license comes in, Dolinar will have to use her temporary license, with a photo of her with smeared mascara, red eyes and lipstick residue on her mouth and cheeks.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners
