Sainsbury’s tell woman to ‘cover her shorts’ after man complained despite 32C heat

A Sainsbury’s shopper has shared her experience at a store this week after being told to cover her shorts after a male customer complained they were too short. 

Lauren O’Conner, 33, was minding her own business shopping at Sainsbury’s in Staines when a staff member approached her to tell her to ‘pull down her T-shirt’ to cover her shorts.

The member of staff went on to explain that despite the scorching 32C heat, they received a complaint from a male shopper about her outfit. 

Of course, Lauren was raging. She Tweeted: “I am so angry right now.”

She continued: “Just been approached by a Sainsburys staff member in Staines store to ‘pull my t shirt down’.

“An elderly man made comment to staff member who felt compelled to come and tell me as I was shopping.

“It’s 32 degrees. If I want to wear shorts I will.”

Laura attached a picture of her outfit – pink jersey shorts and a green and white striped t shirt – with the Tweets. 

She explained: “For reference, this is my outfit. All I wanted was ice lollies and I get shamed in store doing so. So disappointed.

“When are we going to stop telling women how to dress? Especially when topless men frequent supermarkets, which I highly doubt are told to change [sic].”

Speaking to FEMAIL, Lauren said she was ‘humiliated’ by the incident. She added: “I was at a loss for words that A, someone felt the need to comment on what I was wearing and tell a member of staff.

“And B, that the member of staff told me about it. I was mortified. I was wearing a mask but can you imagine the colour my cheeks would have been.”

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s told FEMAIL: “We are speaking to the store to understand what happened and would like to apologise to Lauren for any offence caused.”

Lauren’s case is not the only example of this situation. Throughout history women have continually been told what they ‘can’ and ‘cannot’ wear.

In 1942, America introduced restrictions on women’s clothing due to material rations while simultaneously keeping men’s clothing exactly the same. Swimwear became smaller and so the bikini was invented – at a time when women weren’t allowed to show their belly button.

In 1919 an activist was sent to jail for wearing a man’s suit in public. In the 1890’s table legs were covered because ‘they resembled women’s legs’ which also had to be covered at the time.

Just four years ago in 2016, France banned Burkinis – a type of swimwear – forcing Muslim women to remove headscarves while on the beach.

Many Twitter users responded to Lauren’s Tweets with similar disgust for the situation. 

One user wrote: “so Sainsbury’s you’re [sic] not going to police people to wear a mask in a pandemic but will happily police women’s bodies in a heatwave?”

Another wrote: “I’m sorry this happened to you. They shouldn’t be able to say things like that. It’s your body not their’s.”

Contrastingly, some users have argued with Lauren claiming she is wrong. One wrote: “This is inaccurate. I have been with a shirtless man in Sainsbury’s when he was asked to put his shirt on whilst in store. However upset or angry you are, it was not sexism. Might feel harsh or misplaced judgement but not certainly sexist. Men do get treated the same.”

Lauren responded to one user with: “I’m so livid about it. When are we going to stop giving the space for men who can’t stop being perverts? I am so tired of having to defend my existence and love of booty shorts!!”