- A trans person claims that Topshop refused to let them into an all-gender fitting room and instructed them to go to a gendered room.
- The alleged incident would violate Topshop's preexisting policy of having gender-neutral fitting rooms.
- The original tweet has since gone viral, and other people are sharing the similar experiences.
- A spokesperson for Topshop and Topman confirmed to INSIDER that "both the Topshop and Topman fitting rooms are available for all customers to use."
Travis Alabanza, a trans person, has claimed that Topshop employees at a Manchester, UK, store refused to allow them to use an all-gender fitting room and instructed them to go to a men's fitting room on Sunday.
If true, the alleged incident would violate the retailer's policy that permits customers to use any fitting room they wish.
"All Topshop and Topman customers are free to use any of the fitting rooms located within our stores," a representative for Topshop confirmed to INSIDER. The representative also confirmed that this policy was in place before Alabanza's experience earlier this week.
Alabanza identifies as trans feminine and uses "they/them" pronouns, according to BuzzFeed News. They called out Topshop for violating its own policy over Twitter.
Hey @Topshop just experienced transphobia in your Manchester store. Not letting me use the changing room I decide is shit, sort it out.
— Travis (@travisalabanza) November 5, 2017
Gendered changing rooms , effect and put queer and trans shoppers at risk from harassment from other shoppers. It's dated and dangerous
— Travis (@travisalabanza) November 5, 2017
Who made you in charge of deciding who is woman enough to use ur changing room? U just lost an easy sale and money.
— Travis (@travisalabanza) November 5, 2017
"Hey @Topshop just experienced transphobia in your Manchester store. Not letting me use the changing room I decide is s---, sort it out," they wrote in a thread. "Gendered changing rooms, effect and put queer and trans shoppers at risk from harassment from other shoppers. It's dated and dangerous."
Alabanza told BuzzFeed News that when they attempted to try on a selection of dresses in the general fitting room, they were told to go to the Topman changing room instead.
"I said, 'I'm not going to be safe down there. What do you want me to do?' and they just kind of shrugged," Alabanza said of the employees' reactions.
Alabanza left the store without purchasing the dresses and took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
Their experience seems to have resonated with other people. At the time this story was published, Alabanza's original tweet had over 200 retweets and over 1,000 likes.
Other people have shared similar experiences — and one person said they had a nearly identical experience earlier this year.
That's disgraceful - according to their new official policy people of any gender should be able to use any changing room... I have written
— Ferntree (@Fern_tree) November 5, 2017
proof of their policy should you need it to throw in their faces. I hate that this is still happening even after they changed their policy😣
— Ferntree (@Fern_tree) November 5, 2017
Here's the email they sent me - I hope it helps! Email them too, it was a barrage of emails that got the policy updated (supposedly!) pic.twitter.com/HDP7ww6Udq
— Ferntree (@Fern_tree) November 5, 2017
Based on the time stamp on the above email, Topshop's all-gender fitting room policy seems to have been in place since at least July 2017. However, Alabanza told BuzzFeed News that they had heard conflicting reports from other people regarding Topshop's fitting room policy.
Representatives for Topshop did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for a clear timeline of the retailer's gender-neutral fitting room policy.
Alabanza also did not respond to INSIDER's request for comment about the situation. Early Thursday morning, Alabanza tweeted that they will respond to media requests when they are ready.
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