Myla Corvidae, 30, was born female and now identifies as transgender non-binary using they/them pronouns.
Myla Corvidae /SWNS.COM
They had picked up a few items of clothing from the menswear section of M&S in Aberdeen, Scotland, and wanted to try them on in the store.
But a member of staff told them they could not try the clothes on in the changing rooms by the menswear section.
Myla says they were told the facilities were "only for men" during the incident on December 31, 2019.
A spokesman for M&S admitted "a mistake was made" and the store has apologized - including a personal letter from the manager.
Google
Myla, of Aberdeen, said:
"I'd picked up some shirts and jumpers from the menswear section and went into the changing rooms nearby. There was no attendant so I just went on in."
"I left the changing room to grab a bigger size in one of the jumpers and a female attendant approached me on the shop floor."
"She told me I couldn't use the changing rooms there as they were 'only for men' and said that I had to use the changing rooms downstairs which are for women."
"I was utterly shocked and the only thing I could think of to say was 'I'm not female' to which she looked me up and down, apologized and walked off."
"I felt sick, like I was being accused of some kind of crime just for trying on clothes. Afterwards, I went home and cried - I have never been accosted like that in a store before."
"I had to go back in and speak to someone in store because no one took it seriously the first time and I started crying even trying to talk about it again with them."
Myla Corvidae /SWNS.COM
Myla had been shopping in the Aberdeen City Center branch of Marks & Spencer regularly for the past five years before this happened.
Following the incident, Myla has complained to Marks & Spencer who have formally apologized to them both in person and via letter.
Despite the apology from the company, Myla feels unable to return to the shop due to the distress caused on that day.
Myla said:
"I don't think the apology was enough to be honest, it shouldn't have ever happened to start with and I have lost confidence in Marks & Spencer as a company for standing up for trans folk like myself."
"I still feel scared to shop at Marks & Spencer in case it happens again elsewhere or if I have to deal with that same person again."
"The fact that I saw a female using the space at the same time in full view of the attendant when I left the changing rooms just made it so much more of a personal attack."
"I honestly don't think I would go back there, I don't want to have to experience something like that again or see that staff member again."
"I am still very much upset by what happened and if I were to go back I wouldn't go on my own and I would not be shopping for clothes there again."
Myla Corvidae /SWNS.COM
An M&S spokesperson said:
"With our fitting rooms we only offer individual lockable cubicles and this is to ensure every customer feels comfortable and has the privacy they need."
"The fitting rooms are located within our womenswear and menswear departments and therefore are mainly used by customers of that gender. However, as an inclusive retailer and in line with most other retailers, we allow customers the choice of fitting room in respect of how they identify themselves."
"Clearly on this occasion a mistake was made, we have apologized to our customer for this incident, additionally our store manager wrote a personal apology assuring the customer they have spoken to the team."
When she was initially hired, McMahon did not hide who she was, but her boss, Darren Pilling suggested she keep quiet about the fact that she is gay.
According to the court documents, the exact reason was
"…The owner of the business (Mr. Brian Atherton) was old school and that the company did not have any other gay people working for it."
The description of the owner being "old school" has many calling foul.
Nope. It's the 'old school' that has to evolve-not the 'new school' who has to hide in the shadows so as not to ups… https://t.co/1FEbB2Suqy— Totally Fucking Gay (@Totally Fucking Gay) 1548197575
Not wanting to lose her job, McMahon complied. However, the request made her uncomfortable. During her tenure with the company, she claims she was subject to discrimination twice over her uneasiness with the arrangement. Once, Pilling requested she remove her radio from the office.
This was particularly telling, as no other employee was asked to get rid of their radio.
"When she asked him if the denial of a radio to her was because she was gay and he was uncomfortable with this he stuttered and went bright red before saying no though he was unwilling to allow her to bring her radio back in until everyone else's radios were removed,"
Eventually, the other employees did have to give up their radios temporarily, but the decision was quickly overturned by the business owner, Mr. Atherton. Despite this, McMahon did not receive permission to bring hers back for 11 more weeks.
The other case of discrimination that McMahon endured concerned the office Christmas party. McMahon decided to sit out, as she was feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation.
However, she was told everyone was accounted and planned for, so she'd have to pay for her ticket anyway.
"She says that she vented this frustration at Mr Pilling but that he merely sat there, stared and shrugged his shoulders before saying that it was her problem."
Pilling's persecution of McMahon feels wrong, but is quite common.
@PinkNews I've been called dyke on the job and then told, by the lesbian that hired me, there were no protections..… https://t.co/tlIdWQfZbW— Stacy Hislop (@Stacy Hislop) 1548169040
When she was eventually selected for redundancy, McMahon fought back. She presented the evidence of sexual discrimination, along with unfair treatment at other instances of time working there.
Mr. Pilling disagreed that he ever knew she was gay until she brought it up as one of her complaints during the redundancy appeal process.
Her appeal denied, McMahon took the issue to the courts.
Lesbian textile employee told to keep her sexuality quiet because ‘there were no other gay people at work’ wins law… https://t.co/36T51eXlz3— Nicholas Lex Patrick (@Nicholas Lex Patrick) 1548164361
While some of her complaints surrounding her redundancy were dismissed, her claims of sexual discrimination were upheld.
"…we believed that the claimant did make Mr Pilling aware of her sexuality early into her employment, despite his protestations to the contrary and whilst not considering him to be homophobic in any way we also believed that he did suggest that she kept it under wraps as we felt that the reference to Mr Atherton being 'old school' had a ring of authenticity about it…"
McMahon will receive an award for the grievance to be determined at a later date. While her claims of being terminated for whistleblowing were dismissed, we can hope she receives some small comfort in this vindication.
Washburn tried showing the employees his phone with his order, but they refused to look at it. They instead tried to invite him inside to be served.
This is where the video starts.
The video shows Washburn at the drive-thru window of the restaurant. He is trying to get the employees attention to read his phone, where he's typed up his order.
The night manager opens the window, and hands him a message written on a piece of paper.
Washburn tries to show the employee his phone, when the employee responds,
"It's against company policy. I can't do it."
The manager then closes the window and walks away. A little bit later, he comes back and says he will be calling the police.
It was very upsetting.
The video was taken by Washburn's girlfriend in the passenger seat and uploaded to Facebook by his mother, Becky Rosemont Burch. It has been viewed over 1.5 million times.
In an interview with NBC News, she says,
"He has done this many times before at other restaurants, and has never had a problem."
The video went viral, extending beyond Facebook.
@wics_abc20 This is so wrong— Amanda Helm (@Amanda Helm) 1546891579.0
@ABC7NY #Disgusting— Jodeci888 (@Jodeci888) 1546860087.0
@FOX26Houston I think it’s not that he refused to serve him because of discrimination. It was more of not knowing h… https://t.co/G0InqjOi4c— Juuuust a bit outside. (@Juuuust a bit outside.) 1546880246.0
The employee, Michael Brown, was fired, and Taco Bell has issued a statement that they are going to be retraining the employees of the restaurant.
"Taco Bell has a fundamental policy to respect all of our customers and employees, and we are committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or harassment."
Brown has spoken out since the incident. He's lost his job and has faced death threats since the video went viral.
As he describes it, he was trying to do the right thing.
"I wasn't just absolutely denying them, because I go through it every day… We tried our best to accommodate them, with them being deaf and none of us in there knowing sign language or having prior experience with it."
He goes on to explain that he asked the couple to come inside so he could ensure the order was correct and better assist them. There was an added element of safety to the situation, as Brown says the restaurant has been robbed at gunpoint through the drive-thru.
To some this just shows how better training is needed, while others feel it's no excuse.
@ABC7 Was the worker trained to handle these types of situations? Good this has been exposed so the Fast food chain… https://t.co/tJU7eEGt1S— Dark_Room_Perfume1129 (@Dark_Room_Perfume1129) 1546811292.0
@snackpack210 @j_grixx @tacobell @Chipole okay but in the same article it says he refused for “safety reasons” mean… https://t.co/IpoRss4uoh— Stoney Joey (@Stoney Joey) 1546816957.0
@snackpack210 @j_grixx @tacobell @Chipole typical, no valid counterpoints to make so just say its a troll. You’ve a… https://t.co/9RoAPOrasf— Stoney Joey (@Stoney Joey) 1546820170.0
In the end, Brown is glad the video was shared.
"I do appreciate them doing that because it's going to allow my Taco Bell to improve - or, that Taco Bell to improve - but I wish they would at least put the full video out so the people could see I tried."
It hasn't been a great time for fast food companies. The age of smart phones has allowed videos to surface of extreme interactions between their customers and their employees, requiring the company to perform damage control.
Earlier this month, a McDonald's employee was forced to defend herself after a belligerent customer tried to assault her across the counter. And back in November, a viral video of a group of young men being told they had to pay up front at Chipotle had the internet on their side, until their dine and dash tweets were discovered.
We can only hope that eventually, these situations go from a normality to less than once in a blue moon.
