Bestselling author J.K. Rowling has called for a boycott of a well-known British retailer after it appeared to defy April’s Supreme Court ruling on single-sex spaces.
The proposal follows reports that M&S—formerly Marks and Spencer—apologised after a male-born trans employee asked a teenage customer if she needed any help with fitting and buying a bra. Rowling took to X, formerly Twitter, declaring:
It’s time for women to vote with their wallets. If stores like M&S continue to flout the Supreme Court ruling on women-only spaces, prioritising the wishes of men who want to undress near, or help fit bras on teenage girls, a boycott seems appropriate.
To date, the company will not commit to stopping its trans staff from approaching teenage girls in the lingerie department. The girl’s mother called it “completely inappropriate” for a “biological male” to approach her daughter in the lingerie section. It appears that many of the safeguarding concerns addressed by the continuing use of same-sex spaces are still being ignored.
Rowling’s support for women’s rights has prompted years of unhinged campaigning against her, most recently around a new TV adaptation of the Harry Potter books.
