Calgary trans woman reportedly denied fitting room use in lingerie retailer store
By Mikaela Delos Santos, Publishing Editor
A Calgary trans woman was reportedly hindered accessing a La Senza fitting room at CF Market Mall last June 11, 2023. La Senza reportedly denied the trans woman access to their fitting rooms unless all cis women were cleared out of the said space. This report is according to a Tweet by Queer Alberta Safety Net (QASN), an Alberta based organization that assists in giving mutual aid and advocacy promotions for gender and sexual minorities. The trans woman’s identity was left unnamed for their personal safety.
According to Will Conner, QASN Executive Director, the La Senza staff informed the trans woman that the said incident was standard corporate policy.
“We reached out to La Senza via social media both publicly and privately and asked if this was indeed corporate policy. They expressed regret at this customer’s experience and said that it was not in fact policy.” says Conner.
The Reflector reached out to La Senza Market Mall on June 22, 2023. La Senza Market Mall shared no comment.
QASN called La Senza headquarters again on July 11 and was told that they would get an official response from management within a week. Currently QASN is expecting a response by July 19.
“[We] have been fairly disappointed with their ability to manage this issue.” shares Conner.
According to Conner, La Senza has left the gender and sexual minority community of Alberta with a sense that they don’t care.
“All we’re asking from La Senza is to follow the law, follow their policy, and if none of those are good enough, to respect the basic dignity of trans folk… It seems that they’re not enthusiastic about offering some closure and a sense of accountability, of justice to the trans folk they purport to serve. So that leaves it to us, to badger them and pressure them into doing the right thing.” Conner tells the Reflector.
“Until trans folk can move throughout the province with the same expectation of safety and dignity as any other citizen, we’ll continue to champion their cause.” adds Conner.
UPDATE July 25, 2023
Conner would like to emphasize that QASN does not mean to or convey crossing lines by using the word ‘badger’ in their statement above.
“I regret that confusion. Our intent is not to harrass the vendor but to be persistent in the pursuit of some closure as is reasonable.” says Conner in an email sent to the Reflector.
