I wrote to Steve Rowe and copied in the M&S chairman asking this list of eight questions:
- Why were fitting rooms sex segregated in the first place?
- What has changed to make single sex fitting rooms unnecessary now?
- What are you doing as a company to ensure the safety and privacy of women within your mixed sex fitting rooms?
- How are you ensuring that there will be no voyeurism, no hidden cameras?
- Will you be expecting your staff to be able to distinguish between male bodied people who genuinely identify as female and male bodied people who wish to access female spaces for other reasons?
- Why does the safety, dignity and privacy of female bodied people take second place to the demands of male bodied people?
- What will your provision be for women who do not feel comfortable in mixed sex fitting rooms?
- If women are no longer allowed to object to the presence of a male bodied person in areas where we’re undressed and vulnerable, then what boundaries are women permitted to hold in your stores? Do we have to wait until someone has been assaulted or spied upon before we can complain?
I got an obvious cut and paste reply from M&S customer services using different sizes of text which for me just highlighted the lack of interest or care taken in the correspondence. Their reply was the standard blah about allowing customers to use whatever fitting room felt most comfortable. Not a single one of my questions was addressed.
I emailed again asking if they could at least explain what had changed to make single sex fitting rooms unnecessary and received the following answer:
“Thank you very much for your email to XXXXX. I hope you do not mind I am replying on her behalf.
I am very sorry you are disappointed with our reply and our position. I have noted all of your further points for review. We value your feedback and have shared your views with our team for their consideration.
Unfortunately, as we have fully outlined our current position, we are not able to add anything further to what we have already advised you with regards to our fitting room policy.
Thank you again for contacting us. With my best wishes.”
I took this to be a polite way of saying they were not interested in the safety and well-being of female bodied customers and did not want to be contacted on the subject again.
I’m not on twitter but could forward the email correspondence to Baroness Nicholson, does anyone have the appropriate email address?