TL;DR: QueerAF reader Sasha Swift faced in-store harassment and continued deadnaming after complaining. In response to QueerAF, Asda apologised for the deadnaming and for the offence caused by an old greeting card, offering to hold a meeting with the victim and senior leadership.
Asda has apologised for deadnaming a customer and has invited them to meet senior leadership, after an in-store incident which saw two staff members mock her with transphobia.
The staff members used Little Britain quotes and gender-based tropes to loudly mock Sasha Swift in store as they discussed ways they planned to "suss" Sasha out.
Sasha tells QueerAF she was left feeling "extremely upset" after the incident, but was also driven to ensure nobody else has to experience this kind of behaviour in store in future.
However, when she reported the incident to Asda's Ethics team, they refused to escalate the matter - until QueerAF put in a press request on the incident.
They have now committed to arranging a meeting with Sasha and a "member of the leadership team".
Asda's LGBTQIA+ track record
Sasha felt compelled to pursue this case after a catalogue of errors which did not match up with the brand’s regular appearance at, and support for, local Pride events across the country.
Previous to the in-store incident, Sasha also faced repeated deadnaming from the Asda customer services team, despite her initial polite requests for her details to be updated in 2021.
Asda apologised "for using old details in previous communications" and confirmed to QueerAF that her account has now been updated "with the correct information."
It also follows a tricky history of transphobia from the brand, which in 2013 stocked a greeting card picturing cavemen and a 'Tr**nysaurous'. In correspondence with Sasha, an Asda executive apologised for this for the first time, saying they were sorry "if the stocking of this card 10 years ago caused you or anybody else offence."
The card ran through its sell period and was never restocked in the UK. It also faced complaints in New Zealand, where it was later stocked - New Zealand Herald
Analysis: The power of the pen
At QueerAF our audience often asks us to put the spotlight on community grassroots activism. Sasha's persistence in this case is a powerful example of where we can get to when we are prepared to fight for our rights.
It shouldn't have taken a press request to shift Asda from inertia to action on Sasha's case - but it shows the power of her work on the ground up to that point, gathering evidence and speaking to the Asda LGBT ERG and their ethics team.
The correspondence we've seen was polite and calm, sharing the detrimental impact this kind of prejudice from staff members has on customers.
This approach shows the power of getting to the table, and then being in the room as a voice to be listened to.
So, although Asda’s track record is shaky, I'd also be remiss to not say that it's good that they’re prepared to meet Sasha and listen. Anyone who is prepared to put their hands up, recognise their mistake and take an approach to change should be welcomed.
Of course, the real test will be what actions they take next. It’s the show, not the tell, that counts.
We're not afraid of putting a call into a press office. As you might have seen over the last weeks with our coverage on the NHS, we spend a lot of time on those calls.
In fact, it's amazing how quickly it can shift the dial on an otherwise slow response, whether that’s from government or, in this case, a consumer brand.
Sasha had been trying for weeks to get a response from Asda - and just 24 hours after we put in a press request, she got a response.
"I have no doubt [the response] was due to your prompting of them - so thank you."
That's what we're about at QueerAF. Working with our community, holding powerful brands, leaders and organisations to account.
As we'll cover later in the newsletter this week, the government responded to our journalism on trans suicides and puberty blocker bans in a report last week.
Because of our work, the government interrogated trans youth suicide figures, and while it disagreed that there was an "explosion", it found a number of unexplored deaths could well be linked to declining mental health in trans youth.
QueerAF keeps the receipts. We dig up the truth. We hold power to account - and we make all of that journalism free to everyone, so it has the biggest possible impact.
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