M&S Apologises After Trans Employee Causes Lingerie Department Controversy

 

Marks & Spencer has issued an apology to a mother whose teenage daughter reportedly felt "distressed" after being approached by a transgender employee in the lingerie section of one of its stores. The incident, which took place in March, has reignited debate over the balance between inclusivity and customer comfort in retail spaces.

 

The mother, who has chosen to remain anonymous, described the event as upsetting for her 14-year-old daughter, who had been visiting the store to be fitted for a bra. She claimed that while the transgender shop assistant was “polite”, the situation was nonetheless “completely inappropriate.”

“Imagine her horror, then, when the person to approach us and ask if we needed help was a transgender ‘woman’, i.e., a biological male,” she wrote in a formal complaint to the company. “This is obviously the case: he is at least 6ft 2in tall... My daughter recoiled, so I politely declined the offer and we left immediately. She was visibly upset and said she felt ‘freaked out’.”

 

In response, a customer service representative from M&S wrote the following day, offering an apology. “Thank you for reaching out to us and sharing your experience,” the company said in an email. “We deeply regret the distress your daughter felt during her visit to our store. We understand how important this milestone is for her, and we are truly sorry that it did not go as you had hoped.”

 

The retailer further stated that it takes such concerns “very seriously” and promised to ensure that during any future visits, the daughter would “receive assistance from a female colleague.” The company added, “We want to make this experience as comfortable and positive as possible for her. Please let us know when you plan to visit again, and we will make the necessary arrangements.”

 

The mother, however, did not find the response adequate. She argued that M&S’s reply “fell significantly short of the response that was required to satisfy me that M&S takes seriously the safety and dignity of women and girls.” While she acknowledged that the retailer admitted “this colleague is not female,” she said that alone was “not sufficient to offer just my daughter the protection of not being approached by him.” She requested a formal policy ensuring that transgender staff would not approach young women in the lingerie department.

 

It is understood that the employee in question works across multiple departments and is not involved in bra fittings.

 

The situation unfolded just weeks before a landmark ruling from the UK Supreme Court, which affirmed that under equality law, “sex” refers specifically to biological sex. The ruling clarified that transgender women can be legally excluded from women-only spaces.

 

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the human rights organisation Sex Matters, weighed in on the incident, criticising the retailer’s handling of the situation. “This is what happens when a business centres the feelings of men who identify as women, even at the expense of their own customers.

 

It is entirely inappropriate for a man to approach a teenage girl in a lingerie department. Being dressed in women’s clothes doesn’t change that. It’s extraordinary that a man would regard himself as entitled to do such a thing; most men know how unwelcome that would be,” she said.

 

“M&S needs to rethink its priorities and remember that women and girls have rights too, and that this man should not be permitted to hang around in the women’s underwear department as a matter of common decency,” McAnena added.

 

In a statement, a spokesperson for M&S said: “We want our stores to be inclusive and welcoming places for our colleagues and customers. We have written to this customer and explained that our colleagues typically work across all departments in our stores and customers can always ask to speak to the colleague they feel most comfortable with.”

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Source The Telegraph  2025-08-06

 

 

4 hours ago, Social Media said:

The retailer further stated that it takes such concerns “very seriously” and promised to ensure that during any future visits, the daughter would “receive assistance from a female colleague.” The company added, “We want to make this experience as comfortable and positive as possible for her. Please let us know when you plan to visit again, and we will make the necessary arrangements.”

 

How about just not employing men to assist women in lingerie departments so you don't have to "make necessary arrangements" or an appointment for this 14 year old girl or any other when they need to get a bra fitted.   

"Please let us know when you plan to visit again, and we will make the necessary arrangements.”

 

What an absolute load of BS. People don't make appointments to go shopping, its more on the spur of the moment thing.

The question is why are M&S employing men who think they are women in the lingerie section?? 🫢

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

“We want to make this experience as comfortable and positive as possible for her. Please let us know when you plan to visit again, and we will make the necessary arrangements.”

 

Why should they have to do that? 

 

Just stop employing blokes to work in the women's lingerie department. The fact he is dressed as a woman makes it more creepy, not less. 

 

 

6 hours ago, Social Media said:

The mother, who has chosen to remain anonymous

She will soon get a visit from the police 

for her wrong thinking.

7 hours ago, Social Media said:

“We deeply regret the distress your daughter felt during her visit to our store. We understand how important this milestone is for her, and we are truly sorry that it did not go as you had hoped.”

This is, in absolutely no way whatsoever, NOT an apology to this young woman and her mother.  M&S you are disgusting.  They should have said something like "we are very sorry for allowing a man/transgender to work in a lingerie department, leading to this truly disgraceful situation.  It is entirely our fault.  Whilst we cannot undo what happened will make sure it doesn't happen again; not just in this store but in every store around the world.  As an apology, even though it cannot undo what happened, please accept a £500 voucher that will will give to you when you are next able to visit this store.  The Store Manager will make themselves available to you to apologise in person and to hand over the voucher."

Companies should stop employing biological males unless they dress in men's clothes.

When I first came to live in Thailand, early 80s, I went to Robinson to buy a pair of jeans. The salesgirl was very helpful. She asked if I'd like help trying them on! Why be offended. whether they've had the chop or not: they're not interested in girls!

 

Mother and daughter must lead a sheltered life.

 

If M&S would hire me to work in the bra dept, I'd tell customers you'd look much better better without one! Free the nipple!

Would those posting here feel more comfortable if the employee mentioned worked in the men's underwear department?

8 hours ago, James105 said:

 

How about just not employing men to assist women in lingerie departments so you don't have to "make necessary arrangements" or an appointment for this 14 year old girl or any other when they need to get a bra fitted.   

would the mother stop a life saving operation,take her daughter out of school want only men soldiers to defend her during war time . if her experience in MS is the only one like that she will a very happy life !!

Straight off to Room 101 for her and her daughter. They don't seem to understand the new way of thinking. O' Brien will see to that. 

4 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

When I first came to live in Thailand, early 80s, I went to Robinson to buy a pair of jeans. The salesgirl was very helpful. She asked if I'd like help trying them on! Why be offended. whether they've had the chop or not: they're not interested in girls!

 

Mother and daughter must lead a sheltered life.

 

If M&S would hire me to work in the bra dept, I'd tell customers you'd look much better better without one! Free the nipple!

You’ve drawn attention to a double standard here, but it’s a double standard that exists for a very good reason. An adult man would be vastly less disturbed by the idea of a saleswoman helping him into a pair of tight jeans than a 14 year old girl would be disturbed by the notion of discussing the technical details of a prospective bra purchase with a man.

4 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Would those posting here feel more comfortable if the employee mentioned worked in the men's underwear department?

It wouldn’t bother me if I were served by a bloke wearing a dress. I might get into strife with the law for not using his correct pronouns though.

6 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Would those posting here feel more comfortable if the employee mentioned worked in the men's underwear department?

When was the last time you needed a fitting for underwear

34 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

When was the last time you needed a fitting for underwear

Not sure why you ask. 

 

In the article above, the employee didn't mention anything about fitting. It was the mother who mentioned why they were there. The employee simply asked "do you need any help?"

Marks & Spencer might be well advised to get professionals into their Human Resources department. Should M&S really feel the necessity to hire Chicks with we-all-know-what, then put those "ladies" into the car accessory or gentlemen clothing section. &nbsp

All this transgender business really blew all borders and it is a law of nature for billions of years that there are only two genders. If M&S sees this differently, then act as noted above. Otherwise my suggestion to the esteemed clientele would be to vote with their feet; to the best of my limited knowledge brasseries are not an exclusivity of M&S.

What nonsense this all is; well done by the mother of the teenage daughter. 

 

This story made me think about when my daughter went for her first bra fitting at M&S (it was a very long time ago - she's now 48 yrs) but my wife took her there because M&S were well known for having trained staff for the job, and it's really important that the bra is fitted properly.

 

So, I just looked on the M&S website to see if they still have trained staff for the job ... they do!

 

Quote: "We have trained M&S BraFit™ experts in store who can help you find your perfect fit".

https://www.marksandspencer.com/fi/style-and-living/wear-it-your-way/bra-fit-guide/

 

Which begs the question(s): Why did they train a biological man to fit bras, or did they allow an untrained person to work in the bra fitting department.

37 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Which begs the question(s): Why did they train a biological man to fit bras, or did they allow an untrained person to work in the bra fitting department.

The article doesn't say they did either. 

 

The employee is simply referred to as an "employee".

12 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Just stop employing blokes to work in the women's lingerie department. The fact he is dressed as a woman makes it more creepy, not less. 

 

They probably can't do that due to UK employment laws. If a transgender applies for a job you basically have to give it to them. If you don't you'll be an open target for legal action.

19 hours ago, Social Media said:

In a statement, a spokesperson for M&S said: “We want our stores to be inclusive and welcoming places for our colleagues and customers. We have written to this customer and explained that our colleagues typically work across all departments in our stores and customers can always ask to speak to the colleague they feel most comfortable with.”

"We want our stores to be inclusive and welcoming"....  But, just not welcoming for biological females that are uncomfortable with a biological male helping them with bras.

7 hours ago, portisaacozzy said:

would the mother stop a life saving operation,take her daughter out of school want only men soldiers to defend her during war time . if her experience in MS is the only one like that she will a very happy life !!

Are there any tranny surgeons?

Can't speak for the mother but, if it were me, yes, I'd take my daughter to a school with proper recruitment standards.

Yes, I would want only normal male or female soldiers to defend me, not some doolally, mentally screwed-up tranny.

3 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Which begs the question(s): Why did they train a biological man to fit bras, or did they allow an untrained person to work in the bra fitting department.

And that begs the question of why you didn't read the article, he was not involved in bra fittings.

16 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Not sure why you ask. 

 

In the article above, the employee didn't mention anything about fitting. It was the mother who mentioned why they were there. The employee simply asked "do you need any help?"

A man in a dress should not be in any women's department, unless buying a new outfit to please the likes of you

9 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

A man in a dress should not be in any women's department, unless buying a new outfit to please the likes of you

555.

 

Please the likes of me? You don't know me. All I'm doing here is pointing out the mistakes you are making.

 

You've just made one more, by the way. The employee in the article is transgender. Not transvestite.

8 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

555.

 

Please the likes of me? You don't know me. All I'm doing here is pointing out the mistakes you are making.

 

You've just made one more, by the way. The employee in the article is transgender. Not transvestite.

A queer is a queer no matter what you say

1 minute ago, Grumpy one said:

A queer is a queer no matter what you say

It's not what I say. It's general knowledge. 

 

Your ignorance to the matter makes your comments inane.

3 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

It's not what I say. It's general knowledge. 

 

Your ignorance to the matter makes your comments inane.

Transvestites should be working in the mens dept, not in the bra and panties areas

2 hours ago, proton said:

Transvestites should be working in the mens dept, not in the bra and panties areas

The employee in the article is not a transvestite. 

3 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

The employee in the article is not a transvestite. 

 

He is, transferring gender is a biological impossibility.