I don’t shop at Saks Fifth Ave. I occasionally shopped there, but the company tends to stock fashions that don’t match my sensibilities.
I haven’t ever shopped at Forever 21. I never actually checked the stores’ fashions out, so I don’t really know if I liked theirs or not.
I used to do a lot of shopping at Cabela’s, to include clothing and fishing gear.
Saks, Forever 21 and Cabela’s are all businesses I actively avoid now because alleged discrimination against transgender employees. Each of these businesses have had lawsuits filed against them over their alleged discrimination based on gender identity. I’ve added Barnes & Noble to that list.
Well, Saks had a discrimination lawsuit filed against them by former saleswoman Leyth Jamal, who said she had been subject to harassment and retaliation due to transitioning in the workplace. Saks, in turn, filed a particularly noxious defense, frequently misgendering Leyth throughout, and despite a recent Department of Labor ruling to the contrary, had argued that discrimination based on gender identity was not prohibited by federal law. After backlash from the LGBT community, Saks withdrew their defense and settled the case. Saks has a Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI) score of 90 percent, indicating a disconnect between their policy and their policy implementation.
In my mind, Saks needed to do a very public settlement.
Forever 21 is a Christian-owned apparel company. Owners Don and Jin Chang attend church daily, give generously to their church and attend mission trips. On the bottom of each store bag shoppers will find the simple imprint “John 3:16.”
Alexia Daskalakis sought to transition at a New York Forever 21. In a lawsuit she stated that a manager told her that she was “a hot mess,” “disgusting,” “looked offensive,” and that “in my eyes and in the company’s eyes, you’re still a male.” Forever 21 responded by stating, “At Forever 21, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in our stores and in all business related activities, and strive to maintain a safe and respectful work environment for all employees … We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any sort.”
Of course they don’t.
Cabela’s allegedly went out of their way to treat Kate Lynn Blatt as male, and the Department of Labor agreed that discrimination likely occurred. Blatt told the Philadelphia Gay News over the alleged Cabela’s discrimination, “I’m very interested in outdoor adventure sports. It could have been a dream job if management wasn’t so transphobic.”
I miss shopping Cabela’s.
I now have another business I’m not going to shop at for a while at least, and this is a business that has a 100 percent rating on the HRC CEI – another apparent disconnect between great policy and implementation of the policy.
“Today, Transgender Law Center, Alexander Krakow + Glick LLP and the Law Offices of G. Samuel Cleaver filed suit against Barnes & Noble, Inc. for its discriminatory treatment of a transgender employee, Victoria Ramirez, who worked for six years at two Barnes & Noble stores in Orange County, California,” the Transgender Law Center (TLC) posted to their Web site May 6. “When Ms. Ramirez informed management that she was undergoing a gender transition from male to female, the company responded by prohibiting her from working as a woman and then firing her when she protested.”
“I loved my job at Barnes & Noble,” said Victoria Ramirez in that TLC posting. “I put myself through college working there. I thought this company shared my values of hard work, integrity and respect for all people. But when I came out as transgender, they didn’t live up to those values – instead they responded by mocking me and forcing me to hide who I really am. After giving six years of my life to Barnes & Noble, I was devastated when I was fired simply for being myself. I lost my livelihood, my financial stability and my confidence.”
Barnes & Noble responded by touting that HRC CEI score. When I shop for books, I skip Amazon. I bought my copy of Warrior Princess by Kristen Beck at Barnes & Noble.
I’m tired of avoiding stores because of discrimination based on gender identity; I’m tired of adding to the list of stores I don’t shop at.
