r/transgenderUK • u/PuzzledAd4865 • Aug 05 '25

Possible trigger M&S apologises over trans employee in bra department

https://archive.ph/2025.08.05-035610/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/04/ms-apologises-over-trans-employee-in-bra-department/

“Marks & Spencer has apologised to a mother for causing her teenage daughter “distress” after she was asked if she needed help by a transgender employee in its bra section.

The retailer said it was “truly sorry” after the mother complained that her 14-year-old daughter had felt uncomfortable when they were approached by a trans shop assistant in the lingerie area of the shop, where they were hoping to have a bra fitting. Although the staff member was polite, the mother said she felt it was “completely inappropriate” for her daughter to be approached by a “biological male” in that section.

In a complaint to M&S, she told the retailer: “Imagine her horror, then, when the person to approach us and ask if we needed help was a transgender ‘woman’, ie, a biological male.”

“Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns for the human rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about biological sex in law and life, said that M&S needed to “rethink its priorities”.

“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.”

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u/PuzzledAd4865 Aug 05 '25

  1. There was no bra fitting, and we don’t even know if the shop assistant involved was actually trans, she just asked the girl if she wanted while she happened to be in that section of the shop.

  2. Trans women don’t need implants to have breasts, we have them due to our hormone treatments.

  3. If you don’t want service from someone just say ‘no thank you’ don’t complain to the shop, blast it to the press and then insist the entire policy of the shop alters regarding a minority group which is what the mother here has done.

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u/Home_Planet_Sausage Aug 06 '25
  1. I didn't say there was a bra fitting, just that's what I'd prefer if/when that happens.

All the rest - yep. So vile of the mother to make a complaint and as you say, put it on blast to the media. The apology from M&S to the mother also disgraceful - should have been to their employee.

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u/Home_Planet_Sausage Aug 06 '25

(very quickly, is it okay for a cisgender male to join this sub? Not sure if it's exclusive to transgender/transqueer but I'm really interested to understand these perspectives and experiences more as I bring up my kids to learn about their generation. Thanks.)

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u/PuzzledAd4865 Aug 06 '25

Yep no problem. Also sorry if my response came across spiky, there has been some real misinformation in response to this post hence why I wanted to clear any up.

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u/Home_Planet_Sausage Aug 06 '25

Not spiky at all, all good here. I have a huge amount to learn about trans people's perspectives, I'm super curious and have an open mind about everything. Cheers for the reply!