A Fitting Room That Fits

(This clothing store has a men’s floor and a women’s floor with corresponding fitting rooms. Today, I have a more masculine look and am wearing a binder. Unfortunately, I find techs all over both the store escalators, so I have to leave the store and use the mall’s escalator. The clothes I’m carrying also all have security tags. I flag an employee.)

Me: “Hi, I would like to try on these clothes but the escalators are broken.”

Employee: “Oh.” *thinks* “Uh, actually, which fitting room do you prefer to use?”

Me: “Well, I honestly don’t really care. I’m non-binary, but I can get in trouble with the law if I use men’s, so I usually don’t try.”

Employee: “Follow me.”

(He takes me to the men’s fitting room and speaks quietly to the attendant. The attendant then goes inside and shouts:)

Employee: “Anybody have a problem with a non-binary person in here?”

(Various customers reply with a, “No.” The attendant comes back out.)

Employee: “Come on inside. No one’s going to report you.”

(I went back a couple months later when the escalators were working, and that same first employee saw me and asked which fitting room I preferred to use that day.)