Olivier Odom was told
on arrival at Dolly Parton's Dollywood to turn her T-shirt -
emblazoned with the sarcastic "Marriage is so Gay" slogan - inside
out and was also reminded "this is a family park", as reported
by Tennessee channel WBIR.
Odom, who visited the
Dollywood attraction with her wife Jennifer Tiptin and some friends
with children, described how she felt she was singled-out by the
gatekeeper and discriminated against by the park, which is themed
around the country singer.
"I was in disbelief. I
didn't think it was the policy of Dollywood to discriminate against
the LGBT community," Odom told WBIR.
"I was curious what he
found offensive about the shirt. If it was the fact that it had the
word gay on it or that it was in conjunction with the word
marriage," she added.
Odom duly turned her
t-shirt inside out, as she didn't want to spoil the day for her
friends' children, but subsequently wrote a letter to the park
authorities through the Campaign for Southern Equality
organisation.
She states in the
letter, as reported by WBIR: "To ensure that your customers are not
treated this way in the future, I would like to see Dollywood;
implement policies that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people; conduct staff sensitivity training; and
issue a public statement indicating that the park is inclusive of
all families."
According to the news
channel, a Dollywood spokesperson said it is its policy for the
gatekeepers to use their discretion on how to enforce the dress
code rules and stated that the park will continue to look into the
incident.
