Call to action for Bravissimo customers

[Itsallgonetoofar]

So any woman with large boobs quickly learn she a subset of men are obsessed and fetishise large breasts. Any woman without personal experience can confirm this by a quick look at a porn site.

So Bravissimo is loved by many of us. Up until now it's largely been a male free zone staffed by helpful women who are almost always with plenty of norkage themselves so they understand their customers challenges. Joanni Walshe's article in the Sun shows that is changing as they are saying they will welcome transgender customers.

I contacted customer services online to check, got a message that it's no time al all the case and if I left my phone number someone would ring me! Somewhat to my surprise they did, nice young woman spent 30mins telling me in shocked terms that of course they would never let a man in Bravissimo changing rooms but also explained that if someone's was 'on a journey to being a woman' they'd would be welcome. There was much talk of the 'woman on a journey' and of course they would never do anything that would lead to anyone being uncomfortable but that's even though I would be uncomfortable I was to be nice and kind to this person on a journey.

Several things struck me,

• they've clearly were concerned about the numbers of customers getting in touch
• the person I spoke to was very ignorant about transwomen, trans activism and woefully naive
• they have give no thought to the dangers of hidden cameras being placed in their changing rooms and if we think about those men with a large boob fetish I think that is a real danger not envy

What I don’t get is how they can differentiate between a ‘woman on a journey’ and say, my husband. What criteria will they be using to determine who is and who isn’t allowed in? We could just go to their fitting rooms and march straight in with our DH/DP in tow? Their poor (female) staff are going to be policing this. For everyone’s safety this should not be happening.

Bellyfullofbiscuits hidden cameras can be tiny, a friend worked for a woke company and discovered when he was charged that a colleague had left one in the ladies toilet. She has no idea whether footage of her on the toilet has been shared.

Access to place the camera and to go back to retrieve footage is key which made female only changing rooms safer. The cameras can be tiny and very hard to detect.

Access to Bravissimo would be more appealing to any male with a boob fetid

@VinandVigour Agreed. And I imagine some cross-dressing men would get a thrill out of having a female dress them up in lacy underwear, which is effectively what is happening.

I meant to type fetish.

@Itsallgonetoofar I thought 'fetid' was a Freudian slip .

Midgebabe you are right

I realise I cope by trying not to think about it or spell out what it's really like but it's awful. There are lots of creeps like Toby Young out there

I found them years ago when they were 'Bras for big bosomed women'. It was a huge revelation. Before that, I would travel to a large department store in a major city where I would buy what I could from a choice of about 5 that fitted.

Gutted.

There are lots of creeps like Toby Young out there

Only too true

She said it was common for men to insist that they had to go into the area to see bras on their female partners

????

I have emailed them. Both me and my daughter bought bras there. No longer.

Hmmm. The bravissimo near me is all individual cubicles, but the possibility of hidden cameras is a bit worrying.
I might drop them a line.
A man wouldn’t necessarily have to have out of the ordinary sized implants to shop in Bravissimo since they start from a D cup (not that huge).

Gutted. I valued their privacy and expertise in fitting bras for large boobs, they also saw me through pregnancy and breastfeeding.
I want to be nowhere near a man on a journey of exploring his surgically created large boobs and with this new policy will feel uncomfortable both on the shop floor and in the changing area after hearing reports of cameras fitted in changing areas in other places that welcome male bodied people into female spaces.
I do not want to have to explain why I don’t want a male bodied person to fit me, especially when I feel already self conscious due to pregnancy or breastfeeding.
I do not want to have that awkward conversation after I have travelled an hour to get to a store to get fitted with a comfortable bra.
Cos if they welcome male bodied customers why can’t they welcome male bodied staff- will be the argument. Great job for someone who has a liking for big boobs.
Will be writing to them and looking for other stockists

Bravissimo has full length lockable doors and a manned changing room. Of course they cannot discriminate if a male born person wishes to try on clothes. It's this thread that's being discriminatory. There is no safety risk unlike changing rooms in leisure centres that are not supervised and have open changing.

It’s worrying that when women bring up concerns about risk of predatory behaviour that they are called discriminatory.

Bravissimo only has curtained clothes changing room in at least one store I've visited

Now I think this is pushing things too far. You can search me: I have been in this board for a long time. But I am not trying to make life impossible for trans women. They need to buy bras and they should be allowed to do so. You seem to be advocating for complete bans on trans women going into shops. That’s unfair. We are not after apartheid. And I am old enough for that to mean something to me.

It sounds like Bravissimo have a sensible and careful approach which meets both women’s needs and transwomens needs. Serving a trans women in a closed off area sounds perfectly fine.

It’s the approach of John Lewis I don’t like where they let trans women into what was a female changing room.

Kristina, sounds like they may have come up with an 8nclusive solution to a targeted problem?

I've been in a good number of stores over the years. Love bravissimo. From what I can remember they were all proper doors.

I got the impression that breast growth was often disappointingly small, for those on hormones, so top surgery aka boob job, was a thing. Absolutely no fetish in the screen shot attached. Nope.

Looks like bravissimo have thought it through from the comment above, separate third space. My main concern would be the staff (who are generally really great, I've had fantastic service) are happy to work with semi naked people of the opposite sex.

If the staff are happy, then I don't see a problem either. I worry about compulsion though.

katvon and yet their wish is still for 'terfs' to 'die'? ....

Am I right in thinking that stores such as these must be already using the EA 2010 to ensure that they are not obliged to employ males as bra fitters?

This is very disappointing. I will speak to my local store to find out if they have a separate room for males upstairs. I'm afraid that rigby and pellar are also mixed sex.

There is no safety risk unlike changing rooms

Oh no, because this never happens ...

www.womenarehuman.com/male-teacher-confesses-to-wearing-wig-cross-dressing-to-film-women-in-restrooms/

Just the first example I found. There are more.