Teen Feels 'Humiliated' After Getting Kicked Out Of Store While Trying On Prom Dresses
No one deserves to be treated with discrimination.
Adolescence is a time for teenagers to figure out who they are and how they want to present in the world. Fashion choices are an important part of their identities, but not all teens are automatically accepted for the way they look.
One teen discovered that certain places in the world aren’t as accepting of differences as they should be.
Charlie Moore felt ‘humiliated’ after getting kicked out of a store while trying on prom dresses.
The 18-year-old, who’s studying A levels at a sixth form in Birmingham, England, went with a friend to try on prom dresses at the store Monsoon on April 11, 2022.
Moore is non-binary, yet was told by a store associate that “males aren’t allowed to try our clothes on.” Moore reported that they “picked up some dresses and went into the changing rooms’ individual cubicles. There’s only one area, it’s not labeled.”
As they and their friend each went into a cubicle, Moore heard a voice say, “Excuse me, males aren’t allowed to try our clothes on.” Moore stated that they were “set back by that, but not wanting to grossly embarrass myself or draw attention, I complied.”
The store attendant asked Moore to wait outside for their friend, so they sat on a bench outside of the dressing room. Five minutes later, the same staff member ordered them to leave the dressing room entirely.
They reported that their friend, who doesn’t identify as female but presents “in a more feminine way” was able to try on dresses without the store associate bothering them.
Moore realized as a young child that their “mind and body didn’t align.”
They spoke of the specific challenges of shopping for clothes while being nonbinary, saying “it would be daft to assume it doesn’t take a person any amount of courage to walk into a shop like that and try on a dress if they are typically male-aligning.”
Moore stated that to be told they weren’t welcome to try on clothes meant that “a lot of built-up courage [was] immediately knocked down.”
'I felt humiliated and like I wasn’t welcome or wanted,' Moore said after being kicked out of the store for trying on dresses.
The Trevor Project states that “while nonbinary people have existed and expressed their genders throughout human history, public awareness of nonbinary people has grown exponentially in recent years.”
The Trevor Project pointed to data compiled from their 2021 Survey On LGBTQ Youth Mental Health to highlight the diversity that exists along those who identify within the nonbinary spectrum. 26% of LGBTQ youth in the study identified as nonbinary, and an additional 20% reported being unsure or questioning their gender identity. 72% of those questioned as part of the survey reported using the specific term “nonbinary” to describe their gender identity.
Yet even as LGBTQ youth continue to explore and redefine their gender identities, the rest of the world hasn’t necessarily caught up.
In regards to being kicked out of Monsoon for trying on dresses, Moore said that the store should “be open about whether it was that member of staff or if it is company policy. If it is store policy, I think questions should be raised about whether that policy is compliant in the 21st century.”
They advocated for themselves on Twitter, asking whether the incident was part of store policy. They received 400 retweets and over 2000 replies in under a day.
A spokesperson for Monsoon responded to Charlie’s tweet, saying, “we’re sorry to hear of the experience you had in one of our stores. Our fitting rooms are open and available to all our customers and we have opened an investigation into this incident.
“Everyone deserves to feel magical for prom so we hope this gets your prom journey on the right foot again and hope you find something you love,” Monsoon’s spokesperson continued.
Moore certainly does deserve to feel beautiful at prom, and at peace with their body. They started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for gender-affirming hormone therapy, so they can “feel more comfortable in [their] body and live [their] life as a young nonbinary person.”
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.