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Supermarket changes parent-and-child car parking sign to ensure it is 'gender neutral'

Spaced out: the offending parking berth - Kennedy News and Media
Spaced out: the offending parking berth - Kennedy News and Media

Parents have hit out at a supermarket after they were unable to park in a designated parking bay while an attendant painted the space to make it "gender neutral".

Many were dumbfounded after the Aldi in Dunstable, Beds, painted over the figure in the sign's skirt in order to be more inclusive to male and non-gender-conforming parents.

Ema Taylor was unable to park in the parent bay when she turned up to the supermarket with her three children Cerys, 10, six-year-old Blake and Ariya, one, at 4pm on Tuesday.

When she asked why the staff member was painting over the sign, she said she was told that it was to make it "gender neutral."

The 29-year-old mother-of-three posted a picture of the hastily-painted sign on Facebook, which has now been commented on and shared thousands of times.

She said:  "The world has literally gone MAD!! So went to the shop today to be told I couldn't park in the parent space as they were painting it........painting the dress off the stick person because they need to be 'Gender neutral' as the dress is offending dads with children and people who do not identify as male or female?!

"If you are a dad and you don't park in the parent parking because they have a dress on unfriend me pleasseeeeee!! It's a joke! Second to that if you look at the new and 'improved' sign you will see that it now looks like a stick man with a cape on so if you don't identify as Superman you can't park there."

The mother was eventually allowed to park in another space that had been painted earlier but was dry enough to stop in.

She said: "There were two guys standing in front of bays they had just painted. I asked if they were taking the spaces away and when he told me why they were doing it I thought he was joking at first.

"He said they needed to be gender neutral as the dress is offending dads with children and people who don't identify as male or female.

"Now it looks like a man with a superhero suit - do people identify as a superhero?

"He thought it was hilarious too but said he was just following instructions."

Aldi confirmed they had changed the car parking space.

A spokesperson told The Telegraph: “All parent and child car parking spaces at Aldi stores are gender-neutral. This sign was painted incorrectly and will be changed.”