Two gowns on his shoulder
Oh goody, an opportunity to hassle the workers at a clothing store. Always fun.
A non-binary shopper said they felt ‘dehumanised’ and accused a fashion brand of being ‘transphobic’ after they were refused entry to a women’s changing room.
That’s just silly. Humans are the only ones who pretend to be the opposite sex and make a big fuss on social meeja if no one believes them.
Giorgio Firico, 21, tried to go to the ladies changing room at Zara in Oxford when the female assistant told them it was against the rules and refused to give them a number for the clothing.
Giorgio, who studies in the US and is in Oxford visiting a friend, said: “I was wearing men’s clothing but I had two gowns on my shoulder, it was obvious what I wanted to try on.”
It was obvious he wanted to be a pest. That so often is obvious.
Zara has been contacted for response, but had not responded by the time we went to press.
Yeah and it never will. Your attempt to be interesting has fallen flat.
So is that how it’s supposed to work now? The women’s room is for if you’re trying on women’s clothing, and the men’s room is if you’re trying on men’s clothing?
Is that all he was trying on?
I’m guessing that Zara also fails to provide changing rooms based on astrological sign, or the colour of one’s aura.
No, there’s no such thing as a “non-binary shopper.” Someone might claim to be “non-binary”, but that declaration does not change their sex, or remove it altogether. They might, at most, be “gender nonconforming”. But, being a beardy bloke, he should not be trying to access women’s changing rooms.
A clothing store specializing in women’s clothing can’t be expected to offer facilities for male crossdressers, or male crossdressers claiming to be “non-binary.” If he wants to, he can shop online, buy whatever he wants, using whatever name he wants, and nobody would be any the wiser. But that’s no solution, that’s part of the problem; he needs to be noticed. He’s special, and must be pampered, catered to, and validated. If he’s not sufficiently satisfied, he gets to pout in front of an audience. Not only that, he gets to bully and shame real, live people. Shopping online robs him of all of these pleasures; in cyberspace, no one can hear you whine.
As far as “dehumanized”? No. I’d say it’s more likely the other way around. Just as “bringing your whole self” to work doesn’t really help job performance or workplace morale if your fellow employeses have to alternately genuflect,and walk on eggshells because you’re so much more fucking awesome than they are, because of your invisible gender feels, “bringing your whole self” shopping doesn’t enhance the retail experience for those forced to deal with your fucking awesome invisible gender feels. For you, they’re a captive audience, doing their best to please customers in order to make a living. Making unreasonable demands of store staff, who are obligated by their positions to try to make you happy, is abusive. Your money gives you power over them. Your actions might cause problems for the company they’re working for (like bad publicity, when you go running in tears to the press with your non-story, on a slow news day). In fact, you’re counting on exactly that implicit threat in order to get your way. Depending on the employer, the clerk you’re pressuring might be sacked if the boss decides “The customer is always right,” even though sometimes, the customer is just an asshole.
Staff refusing to let you access women’s spaces to which you are not entitled to enter, for the safety and dignity of their female clientelle (let’s not forget them, shall we), does nothing to damage your “humanity”. It might make you confront the boundaries of your delusion, and the limits of your ability to force others to accommodate, and participate in it, but that’s on you, not them. Seeing your comfort as more important than women’s safety doesn’t make you the good guy, let alone a “victim.” Your interest in women’s change rooms makes you a suspicious man. A similar insistance in accessing a children’s area in which to change would also, correctly, raise a safeguarding flag. Claiming an NB “gender identity” does not change that. You are no less a man, and therefore, under prudent, and necessary, safeguarding rules, no less a threat than any other random man.
Tying your “humanity” to others’s compliance with your selfish, unreasonable demands is not a sign of good psychological health. Ditto investing so much (anything?) in a nonsensical “gender identity,” in order to be special or different for just existing. Everyone exists. You’re not that special. Get over it, or get help. Shop from home; leave the clerks (and the female customers) alone.
On a sort of related note, I was attending some plays this weekend (a special repertory summer stock theatre that exists in Brownville, NE, to help young theatre students from all over the place get some real live experience). One of the actors in all three plays was a young (obviously) woman with a man’s name and they/their pronouns listed in the bio. So she rejects being a woman, whether she considers herself non-binary or trans. She doesn’t want to be part of the rest of us in our womanhood, facing the shit a woman faces. There is no evidence she is transitioning, but I suppose that could come later.
So why, if she doesn’t want to be considered a woman, was she taking up three roles for women? She would not have been believable in a man’s role, but if you want to deny being a woman, THAN DON’T ACCEPT ROLES CASTING YOU AS A WOMAN. If you are non-binary, you shouldn’t take roles casting you as a man, either, since you have rejected both sexes. When a role comes up for a clownfish? By all means, audition.
[…] a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Two gowns on his […]
iknklast, that sounds very much like Quintessa Swindell. Very obviously a very attractive woman. Considers themselves non-binary and uses they/he pronouns. Complains that they can’t get male roles in films because they don’t look androgynous or male enough. However, perfectly happy to play female roles in plenty of movies and TV shows.
I hope it’s true that this guy has jumped the shark, and businesses feel able to ignore this kind of thing from now on (at least in the UK).
@3 it seems that there are a few of these women in more high-profile positions – Bella Ramsey and Emma D’Arcy come to mind. She’s just doing what they’re doing.
@ YNNB:
” in cyberspace, no one can hear you whine.” Just wanted to say I loved that.