UK M&S Apologises over transgender employee in the lingerie section

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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