Boycott JL and Waitrose? : James Esses' latest Substack on John Lewis LGBTQIA++ 'Identity' mag

[PersephoneSeethes]

I saw it this afternoon on Twitter and read the article with utter horror.

I was hoping it would be uplifting stories about people being accepted and living full lives

John Lewis and Waitrose are seemingly actively promoting and policing
pronoun usage by colleagues, Stasi-style. This seems like it is a court case, a-la-Forstater, waiting to happen.

They have an article about 'raising non-binary and transgender children', not from an information position in case Partners come across such families in their stores, but with a heavy activist slant.

I think I have finally been pushed to the edge with this beloved company. I can no longer shop with them, and I shop at Waitrose every week for our main shop, have done for over a decade.

This is a real gut punch because I believe in what Waitrose does, or used to do: they pay their farmers better, their animal welfare is better, their shops don't have the bright lights and loud noises that set off my migraines and irritate family members autistic temperaments. But as someone who grew up a tomboy, and would have been thrown under the gender bus by Stonewall and all the other organisations if I had been a child today, I can't stand by and accept all this nonsense.

The other thing is just trying to pick least worst. Having been unfortunately treated to the official staff picture of the JL staff member in what appears to be fetish gear, as well as worse images on twitter, at least Ikea haven't taken it quite that far.

FYI John Lewis and waitrose won't know if you've deleted their apps, unsubscribe and tell them why.

I've had a post in AIBU deleted for being "somewhat inflammatory in tone."

I do think JL deserve scrutiny and public awareness for this.

I just can't believe that it's normal to think that signposting to Mermaids and featuring a person holding a whip is ok given the controversy. Do most people really think this is ok? It feels insane. I've shopped in JL for 30+ years.

They seem to be doubling down internally according to James Esses' latest post.

BoycottJohnLewis is trending on twitter

Some incredibly sad images.

The public opinion is NOT in JL's favour

Bringing it all out in the open and showing it for what it is-wonderful

Runningwildish · Yesterday 17:18

I've deleted the JL and Waitrose app, I'll have to cancel my card later, and unsubscribe from emails. will this show up in their stats?

It will if you do as BigBurrata did and explain why.

The photos of Ruby just Appeared on my Twitter feed.

I AM NOT POSTING THEM

Click on the tweet if you dare

https://twitter.com/BigBillMoon/status/1758855870849388805?s=19

I'm prepared to believe that staff who naively brought their "whole self to work" now feel alarmed at the feedback that bondage gear, fetish photos, abuse of women comments in the workplace are unacceptable. It shows a massive naivety on the part of management in assuming that their customers and co workers find all this socially acceptable. It may be fine in the corridors or boardroom at JL but most people are busy safeguarding their children, ensuring women's personal safety from online and in person abuse, ensuring age appropriate boundaries and so on.
The fact that JL sees themselves as fit to lecture parents about breast binders and the desirability of transitioning children demonstrates a real lack of awareness at the global direction that transitioning children to a lifetime of infertility etc is heading.

Platforming male fetishes also isn't a positive advert for why JL has introduced mixed sex changing rooms either - in fact it suggests a very different agenda. 😑

Pretty outrageous they removed the thread. All that's being discussed is public. Perhaps if you don't want to be the subject of scrutiny, you might be well advised not to post pictures online that advertise how keen you are on your chosen fetish? Just a thought.

Boiledbeetle · Today 17:57

Click on the tweet if you dare

I did and was rude to you in Twatter.

Fucking hell @Boiledbeetle 😳😳😳

did no one in JL stop to check people’s social media first?? What were they thinking!

John Lewis head office has been stickered

There must be so many John Lewis employees who are saying 'not in my name' about this situation. I hope they are able to organise from within the company.

https://twitter.com/CityBoy446BC/status/1758883070290104479?s=19

I'm down at John Lewis Oxford St. to see this 'exhibition' for myself. It's supposed to be open today, but as you see the event space is well & truly closed. Furthermore when I tried to peek behind the curtain security descended upon me and told me I couldn't. (1/2)

They also denied all knowledge of what was supposed to be on display.
Anyone besides me get the impression they're shitting bricks?
(2/2)

Is it so you get to wave armfuls of different flags, or does it show that you are more speshul than those who are only trans or only non-binary? Or can you start to trans and decide you have gone far enough? Or can you just take a breather before pushing on to complete your 'trans journey' all the way to some mythical end point? Maybe it's so you can have blue AND green hair? Who knows?

https://twitter.com/OldRoberts953/status/1758810117313585245?s=19

Just popping down Waitrose, anybody want anything?

We always used to shop online from Sainsburys but in lockdown could only get Waitrose deliveries, and have stuck with them up to now out of gratitude. But no more.

And I won't be going into any JLP shops again either. When I think of the money we've spent there over the years...

I had cut down already and no longer shopped for clothes in person because of the changing room issue, but this is the final straw.

James Esses might welcome that photo and info! (I'm assuming you and he are not the same person 😀)

😁

It's not my tweet,

I don't know if City Boy is the same person as James, I suspect not!

Oh well. 😁 I rather like her tagline My pronouns are bull/she/it. And so are yours.

Talking of pronouns

(I have no idea who produced this wonderful photo!)

It’s so predictable by now! Just like the girl guiding stuff and the NSPCC wank man and the Mermaids trustee who even they had to chuck out. One moment it’s all “platforming our trans staff”, and the next moment it surprisingly turns out that these people have open online histories full of perverted fetish stuff that goes well beyond the usual. Why don’t people do a bit of quick online checking before they go along all so credulously with this stuff?

And it’s ALWAYS THE MEN. Nonbinary handwringing they/them just sounds daft and silly. But whip person has seriously unpleasant fetish stuff online and harness man is clearly signalling that he is a “pup” (dog/leather fetish). I can cope with a bit of blue hair, but WTF are JL thinking with the “clearly signalling my fetish” stuff? Breast binders, Mermaids, kink and leather? They’re employing some fecking idiots if that think that’s OK for their brand positioning! Just like The Body Shop, their main market is middle aged (and pensioner), middle class people, largely with families, and even if not Conservative voting certainly socially pretty centrist/conservative with a small C.

And the iron rule of their kind of market is that even if men are providing some of the money, the women largely make the buying choices. Even when it’s electronics and big ticket items.

All this nonsense centred around men’s fetishes is disastrous for brands’ public image. But I can hardly feel sorry for JL given that this is hardly a new effect, and anyone with more than half a baby toe on the pulse of public opinion is backing away from the marketing catastrophe that is the alphabet queer trans train.

Looks like a classic Waitrose reduction!

A tip for all organisations.

Before you let your alphabet network loose anywhere in the public's view, which is pretty much everywhere these days, check what the TQ++ always and inevitably includes.