Women-Only Foundation Course
By Katie/David Solomon
Why do so many companies elect to alienate their potential customers? Why indeed?
Out shopping in a major high street department store recently I chanced upon a stall especially set-up to advertise a range of foundations produced by a very famous and well-established cosmetics company. The store was Boots and the foundation was by No.7. So sue me but it’ll still be true. Noticing that the Sales Rep near this stall was only approaching female shoppers struck me with bitter irony. Most of the passing women (accidental pun or Freudian slip?) if caught by this young Rep, seemed to be trying their level best to get her out of their hair. On the other hand myself, a transvestite, must have passed that stall at least half a dozen times and the eager Rep had each time completely ignored me. Yet I was probably one of the few people nearby acutely interested in discovering which foundation was right for me.
Finally, it was I, the prospective consumer who had to muster the resolve to be proactive and approach her, the, in any other circumstance, desperate salesperson. ‘Excuse me’ I inquired pointing to the brochures stacked upon the tabletop, ‘Could I have one of those?’ ‘Um…yes’, she giggled. Please note here, it was more of a nervous laugh than a mocking one. ‘Er…certainly’ she continued politely.
This made me a happy shopper. Trivial for most but I felt I had achieved a substantial victory. Perhaps it’s down to not wanting to be pigeonholed into a gender stereotype or maybe it’s because I’m a conceited princess who just can’t seem to cope when people don’t treat me like a ‘laydee’. I needed to do this because I knew full well just how upset I would be if I didn’t. Press my buttons and I cry. Even if it didn’t read so on the packaging. Instead of that inner turmoil, my mind was now at rest.
It wasn’t until I peeked at my prized copy of the glossy brochure on the train home that my gender-bucking bubble burst. ‘Ask your Consultant to help you decide which of these featured foundations is ideal for you…’ it suggested. Here was a tick box survey with the aim of helping an individual work out which shade of foundation would be most suitable for that person’s skin type. Thinking back, no wonder the in-store Sales Rep/Consultant had spent more time talking to the female customers. She was actually giving her half-hearted recruits a free consultation. Yet, although clearly interested, I was not offered this. I was miffed.
According to the brochure over two thirds of women use the wrong foundation and need help in finding the right one - apparently. Rub it in? I could have really done with someone helping me choose the ideal foundation for me. Being a ‘rubbish’ transvestite I simply don’t have a clue. In contrast to the women shoppers whom the Sales Rep unsuccessfully tried so hard to win over I would have been an easy sell.
Gliding through Boots’ perfume and cosmetics department two weeks’ later, yet another super cool ‘freebie’ passed me up. The cosmetics brand in-store promotion this time was Ruby and Millie. Predictably, the two sales reps offering ‘free makeovers’ to passing female customers once again totally ignored me. Again I asked for a leaflet. Hey. Well whaddya know? I actually got a leaflet but no offer of a free makeover.
The high street: forget it? Perhaps I ought to take my custom elsewhere to a nice transgendered store which is called the Internet.
On their website, high street chain Debenhams for example, advertise a Colour Consultation Makeover available at 180 locations nationwide. ‘Want to wear more colours but not sure which ones suit you or how to wear them?’ we’re asked in the ‘Live Your Dreams’ section. Well, yes, I do actually. Extremely useful for the transgendered who are popularly the butt of jokes when it comes to poor dress sense. Bring it on! ‘This activity is for women-only’ continues the Debenhams ad. Dream on, Missy.
Flaming Nora! Doesn’t this contravene Section 29 of the UK Sex Discrimination Act that prohibits less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender regarding the provision of goods and services to consumers blah, blah, blah..?
Whatever. If Debenhams can tear up Section 29 then so can we say the others.
Take Topshop for instance… The Topshop VIP Experience (18 locations), according to the ad on the Red Letter Days website, provides the aforementioned VIP the opportunity to ‘relax in Topshop’s VIP fitting rooms while your personal Style Advisor puts together a range of looks for you to try.’ What’s more, you’ll have £100 worth of Topshop vouchers, champagnes and refreshments for two and a special Topshop gift to take home with you. Wow! Anything else..? Yes, continue Topshop: ‘What you need to know: Women only’.
Never mind, what on earth would a transvestite do with a private place to try on women’s clothes with the help of a personal Style Advisor and £100 in Topshop vouchers, eh? Um…plenty? However, according to Topshop if you’re not legally female then they don’t consider you to be one of their VIP consumers. Tranny equals minority consumer. Minority consumer equals dispensible. End of.
You’re on your own? But I’m not the only tranny in ivillage. There’s a huge untapped market out there of male-to-female transgendered folk who are lacking the same sort of upbringing as women consumers. Many females learn at a very early age which sort of make-up to use and what colours suit them, which type of clothes they feel most comfortable in. Unlike boys and transgendered children, sexist society considers such experimentation by girls to be the very opposite of taboo and despite 40 years of third wave feminism, lipstick, powder, paint and dressing up are still very much encouraged. Conversely, one of the principal objections that feminists level at male-to-female transfolk is that because we do likewise we reinforce patriarchal gender stereotypes. However, don’t get me off on that one…
One thing’s for sure, if male-to-female transvestites don’t use cosmetics then nobody does! For starters, we’re most likely to use more of the stuff than any other gender, owing to the practicalities of the urgent need to conceal a five o’clock shadow.
Oh, and men wear make-up too. Reportedly, Tony Blair spends thousands of pounds on slap every year!
So, back to my original question: just why do cosmetics companies and clothes shops seemingly forget about us trannies when gender-profiling likely customers and endeavouring to so vigorously target their predicted clientele accordingly?
Oh no…they don’t forget us. Most salespeople are told that sooner or later there is likelihood that they’ll come face-to-face with a transgendered customer. Shop staff are specifically trained in the correct way to deal with such eventualities. Overwhelmingly, they are advised to go out of their way to be obliging and sympathetic.
So why hide you’re light under a bushel? Why don’t ‘trans-aware’ stores readily advertise this aspect of their supposedly enlightened customer care policy to their potential customers?
Dishearteningly, I think I know why. We live in a heterosexist world. Homophobia and its mean ass little sidekick, transphobia are widespread. Organisations and companies fully understand this. That’s why you won’t see many cosmetic companies or women’s clothing chains openly marketing to transgendered consumers.
Don’t wait up for the ‘transgender welcome’ signs, my friends. Like it or not, pre-op, post-op, non-op transsexual, trangendered or transvestite, the popular misconception is that we’re all a bunch of perverted ‘widow twankies’. When it comes to transfolk Retail plays a two-faced, hypocritical double game. Privately, they welcome us with open arms because they want our shopaholic money. Publicly, the harsh reality is that companies simply don’t want to be associated with us ‘freaks’ because they are afraid they’ll lose custom from ‘normal’ women, many of whom may very well be transphobic.
Quelle surprise. After all, they reason, don’t all trannys want to be real women? They’ll never mention the T-word because transgender embodies all that’s deemed to be inadequate in a bi-polar gendered regime. Not being woman or man enough is considered the disease not the cure. So as long as the beast of the ancien regime survives it’ll always be big it up for Ken and Barbie. Get real. The ideal of the beauty industry is that beauty can only be achieved and understood through gender purity. Life’s no fairy tale when you’re an ‘ugly sister’.
www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&userType=G&categoryId=59213
(Postscript: Written in a 'strop' sometime last year - 2006...a few months' later, did get a makeover in Boots, however! Seemingly, the make-up artists in Boots can 'do' any of the three-plus genders whilst those in Debenhams only have the ability to do one:)
Out shopping in a major high street department store recently I chanced upon a stall especially set-up to advertise a range of foundations produced by a very famous and well-established cosmetics company. The store was Boots and the foundation was by No.7. So sue me but it’ll still be true. Noticing that the Sales Rep near this stall was only approaching female shoppers struck me with bitter irony. Most of the passing women (accidental pun or Freudian slip?) if caught by this young Rep, seemed to be trying their level best to get her out of their hair. On the other hand myself, a transvestite, must have passed that stall at least half a dozen times and the eager Rep had each time completely ignored me. Yet I was probably one of the few people nearby acutely interested in discovering which foundation was right for me.
Finally, it was I, the prospective consumer who had to muster the resolve to be proactive and approach her, the, in any other circumstance, desperate salesperson. ‘Excuse me’ I inquired pointing to the brochures stacked upon the tabletop, ‘Could I have one of those?’ ‘Um…yes’, she giggled. Please note here, it was more of a nervous laugh than a mocking one. ‘Er…certainly’ she continued politely.
This made me a happy shopper. Trivial for most but I felt I had achieved a substantial victory. Perhaps it’s down to not wanting to be pigeonholed into a gender stereotype or maybe it’s because I’m a conceited princess who just can’t seem to cope when people don’t treat me like a ‘laydee’. I needed to do this because I knew full well just how upset I would be if I didn’t. Press my buttons and I cry. Even if it didn’t read so on the packaging. Instead of that inner turmoil, my mind was now at rest.
It wasn’t until I peeked at my prized copy of the glossy brochure on the train home that my gender-bucking bubble burst. ‘Ask your Consultant to help you decide which of these featured foundations is ideal for you…’ it suggested. Here was a tick box survey with the aim of helping an individual work out which shade of foundation would be most suitable for that person’s skin type. Thinking back, no wonder the in-store Sales Rep/Consultant had spent more time talking to the female customers. She was actually giving her half-hearted recruits a free consultation. Yet, although clearly interested, I was not offered this. I was miffed.
According to the brochure over two thirds of women use the wrong foundation and need help in finding the right one - apparently. Rub it in? I could have really done with someone helping me choose the ideal foundation for me. Being a ‘rubbish’ transvestite I simply don’t have a clue. In contrast to the women shoppers whom the Sales Rep unsuccessfully tried so hard to win over I would have been an easy sell.
Gliding through Boots’ perfume and cosmetics department two weeks’ later, yet another super cool ‘freebie’ passed me up. The cosmetics brand in-store promotion this time was Ruby and Millie. Predictably, the two sales reps offering ‘free makeovers’ to passing female customers once again totally ignored me. Again I asked for a leaflet. Hey. Well whaddya know? I actually got a leaflet but no offer of a free makeover.
The high street: forget it? Perhaps I ought to take my custom elsewhere to a nice transgendered store which is called the Internet.
On their website, high street chain Debenhams for example, advertise a Colour Consultation Makeover available at 180 locations nationwide. ‘Want to wear more colours but not sure which ones suit you or how to wear them?’ we’re asked in the ‘Live Your Dreams’ section. Well, yes, I do actually. Extremely useful for the transgendered who are popularly the butt of jokes when it comes to poor dress sense. Bring it on! ‘This activity is for women-only’ continues the Debenhams ad. Dream on, Missy.
Flaming Nora! Doesn’t this contravene Section 29 of the UK Sex Discrimination Act that prohibits less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender regarding the provision of goods and services to consumers blah, blah, blah..?
Whatever. If Debenhams can tear up Section 29 then so can we say the others.
Take Topshop for instance… The Topshop VIP Experience (18 locations), according to the ad on the Red Letter Days website, provides the aforementioned VIP the opportunity to ‘relax in Topshop’s VIP fitting rooms while your personal Style Advisor puts together a range of looks for you to try.’ What’s more, you’ll have £100 worth of Topshop vouchers, champagnes and refreshments for two and a special Topshop gift to take home with you. Wow! Anything else..? Yes, continue Topshop: ‘What you need to know: Women only’.
Never mind, what on earth would a transvestite do with a private place to try on women’s clothes with the help of a personal Style Advisor and £100 in Topshop vouchers, eh? Um…plenty? However, according to Topshop if you’re not legally female then they don’t consider you to be one of their VIP consumers. Tranny equals minority consumer. Minority consumer equals dispensible. End of.
You’re on your own? But I’m not the only tranny in ivillage. There’s a huge untapped market out there of male-to-female transgendered folk who are lacking the same sort of upbringing as women consumers. Many females learn at a very early age which sort of make-up to use and what colours suit them, which type of clothes they feel most comfortable in. Unlike boys and transgendered children, sexist society considers such experimentation by girls to be the very opposite of taboo and despite 40 years of third wave feminism, lipstick, powder, paint and dressing up are still very much encouraged. Conversely, one of the principal objections that feminists level at male-to-female transfolk is that because we do likewise we reinforce patriarchal gender stereotypes. However, don’t get me off on that one…
One thing’s for sure, if male-to-female transvestites don’t use cosmetics then nobody does! For starters, we’re most likely to use more of the stuff than any other gender, owing to the practicalities of the urgent need to conceal a five o’clock shadow.
Oh, and men wear make-up too. Reportedly, Tony Blair spends thousands of pounds on slap every year!
So, back to my original question: just why do cosmetics companies and clothes shops seemingly forget about us trannies when gender-profiling likely customers and endeavouring to so vigorously target their predicted clientele accordingly?
Oh no…they don’t forget us. Most salespeople are told that sooner or later there is likelihood that they’ll come face-to-face with a transgendered customer. Shop staff are specifically trained in the correct way to deal with such eventualities. Overwhelmingly, they are advised to go out of their way to be obliging and sympathetic.
So why hide you’re light under a bushel? Why don’t ‘trans-aware’ stores readily advertise this aspect of their supposedly enlightened customer care policy to their potential customers?
Dishearteningly, I think I know why. We live in a heterosexist world. Homophobia and its mean ass little sidekick, transphobia are widespread. Organisations and companies fully understand this. That’s why you won’t see many cosmetic companies or women’s clothing chains openly marketing to transgendered consumers.
Don’t wait up for the ‘transgender welcome’ signs, my friends. Like it or not, pre-op, post-op, non-op transsexual, trangendered or transvestite, the popular misconception is that we’re all a bunch of perverted ‘widow twankies’. When it comes to transfolk Retail plays a two-faced, hypocritical double game. Privately, they welcome us with open arms because they want our shopaholic money. Publicly, the harsh reality is that companies simply don’t want to be associated with us ‘freaks’ because they are afraid they’ll lose custom from ‘normal’ women, many of whom may very well be transphobic.
Quelle surprise. After all, they reason, don’t all trannys want to be real women? They’ll never mention the T-word because transgender embodies all that’s deemed to be inadequate in a bi-polar gendered regime. Not being woman or man enough is considered the disease not the cure. So as long as the beast of the ancien regime survives it’ll always be big it up for Ken and Barbie. Get real. The ideal of the beauty industry is that beauty can only be achieved and understood through gender purity. Life’s no fairy tale when you’re an ‘ugly sister’.
www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&userType=G&categoryId=59213
(Postscript: Written in a 'strop' sometime last year - 2006...a few months' later, did get a makeover in Boots, however! Seemingly, the make-up artists in Boots can 'do' any of the three-plus genders whilst those in Debenhams only have the ability to do one:)