The term "woman" is being used fairly loosely in this story. The story from the filmer was that the fight started when the victim, a cross-dresser who had all the original man parts, was confronted by the perps while using the womens' bathroom.
I wonder who started the last fight Ms. Brown got into at the same McDonalds:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/2010-mcdonalds-assault
NO not a cross dresser.They have already had the surgery to change the parts so physically she is a she.Besides most McD’s bathrooms I’ve seen are single places where you go in and lock the door behind you not stalls.
Polis said she had a sex change operation several years ago to become a woman, and said she had been attacked before.
One of the articles on the beating said he had received a sex change operation prior to the beating. However, they could be wrong.
That's the main reason behind the term "gender" replacing "sex" in describing individuals. "Sex" is imposed upon one by indifferent biology; "gender" is whatever one fancies.