Clothing store Zara Philippines has reached out to transwoman Louis Marasigan, whose video on her experience of getting shunned from the women’s fitting room went viral.
Marasigan, also the municipal councilor of San Juan, Batangas, shared this update in a TikTok video last Friday, October 21.
“Yes, officially, Zara has reached out to me from a global perspective,” she said.
Marasigan also showed a screenshot of the calls that the clothing brand made where they had long conversations to settle the issue.
@luismarasigan Replying to @Angelo Marasigan LGBT community tagumpay naten eto! Habang nag iintay pa ng durther updates mula sa @ZARA ♬ original sound – Angelo Marasigan
According to Marasigan, the Philippine counterpart of the Spanish clothing company apologized to her for the dressing room incident.
Zara then offered for Marasigan to return to its store in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City to help raise awareness about SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression) among the staff personnel there.
“Unang una, nag sorry po sila sa nangyari sakin. And with that sorry, may inoffer po sila sakin. Nag-offer po sila for me na mag visit sa Zara BGC again. And I said na pag-iisipan ko muna,” Marasigan said.
“Pero after a while, ayan (she pointed to their call history on the screenshot) in-accept ko yung offer. They wanted to show me how their staff will be trained [in] gender sensitivity. They will show me how they can provide better customer service to people like me in the rainbow community. At papapuntahin po nila ko dun para makapagbigay ng sarili kong input para mapaganda pa ang customer service ng Zara,” she added.
Before she accepted this offer, however, Marasigan asked about the gender-inclusive policy of Zara’s parent company, Inditex.
“I ask them if this policy applies to all companies Inditex holds, including Zara. And they said yes,” the video creator said.
Marasigan then went on to ask if Zara Philippines has a specific policy against transwomen from entering the women’s fitting room.
“And Zara said, ‘that would be impossible’. Impossible po na magkaroon ng polisiya ang Zara na ganon sabi nila dahil nga sa global policy nila sa Inditex about gender inclusivity,” she said.
Finally, Marasigan asked Zara Philippines if it is willing to teach all its branches that transmen and transwomen can enter the fitting rooms that they identify with.
“Sabi nila, of course, willing po sila,” she said.
The municipal official noted that the only place any adult cannot enter is the children’s fitting room.
Marasigan ended her video with: “Sa lahat ng LGBT, tagumpay natin to.”
Her video has since garnered more than one million views on the video-streaming service.
In the comments section, several personalities cheered Marasigan for her efforts for the LGBTQIA community.
Last week, Marasigan took to Tiktok to complain about a Zara employee at the BGC branch who refused her access to the women’s fitting room even if she informed the former that she is a transwoman. The TikTok video went viral and reach many LGBTQIA+ advocates.
Several groups and personalities rallied behind Marasigan to further stress that transwomen are also women.
It also revived calls to pass the long-awaited Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression or SOGIE bill that would uphold the rights of all individuals, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
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