Mark's and Spencer's food

[Cccsss011]

Always loved treating myself to bits in Mark's and Spencer's food but I've been in today got afew meal deals eg 2 x large pizzas and 3 sides for ten pounds great and yes I'm never going to buy my weekly shop in there but some stuff is actually really good price and it's such lovely quality food!

@JessicaRarebit Noone is saying that, but read the research conclusions posted up thread. You know, actual facts.

I (female) would feel most comfortable getting changed in an area I know there is no chance of my being observed, assaulted or recorded by predatory males. If we need to exclude all males to accomplish that, so be it. How do we otherwise separate the predators from the large proportion of decent men?

It is of little consolation to say that attacks or incidents could be reported to the police. The rape prosecution rate in this country abysmal, in many cases there is actual evidence. How to prosecute someone a voyeur who is seen offending in a space which, by its nature, does not allow for CCTV? Basically impossible.

May I ask, genuinely, why are some PPs presuming that a man in a unisex dressing room is going to be a predator! I mean wtf is happening to us!

Are you really this dumb?

May I ask, genuinely, why are some PPs presuming that a man in a unisex dressing room is going to be a predator! I mean wtf is happening to us!

I don't. I am presuming that someone in a changing room who is likely to assault, record, or covertly watch me for sexual thrills is likely to be male. Honestly can't remember hearing of a female doing any of these things in a female changing room. I suspect we'd struggle to find many instances of it.

It's not just M&S. Jean Hatchet and others have been doing stalwart work visiting lots of high street stores to find out from assistants what the policy is. I haven't been following this systematically but am left with the impression that almost every big chain has announced now that they want to be inclusive so it's absolutely fine for their customers to use the changing rooms (and by inference the loos, I suppose) for the gender they feel most comforable with.

They seem not to have grasped that being inclusive to the tiny proportion of the population who're uncomfortable with their birth sex means being quite the opposite to religious groups that maintain strict sex-segregation in public (Islam, Judaism, some Christian sects) and to survivors of sexual abuse. They also seem not to have bothered to ask their customers what they want, which is pretty stupid at a time when the high street is really struggling.

Top Shop has also gone over to gender not sex, because of the fuss Travis Alabanza, a non-binary male person, made when denied entry to the women's changing room.

May I ask, genuinely, why are some PPs presuming that a man in a unisex dressing room is going to be a predator! I mean wtf is happening to us!

Since the convention is (even in this day and age of mixed gender sex facilities) that changing rooms in the ladies dept is for women then I would wonder at a man in there (especially if he has lingerie to try on).

Since he 'feels more comfortable in the 'woman's' room he wants to be next to me then? Why's that then? I won't engage with him and certainly won't say 'yes that looks lovely dear'. And if he is there for shock value, I refuse to play along.

If a changing room is genuinely unisex and signs in the shop clearly state it is, my first thought is I wouldn't want to use it. My second thought is if I did use it I'd want to check first that the cubicles had lockable doors and no gaps at the top or bottom of the walls and door. I'd also feel a lot happier if a member of staff was there and looked likely to stay put.

I say all this as a woman of mature years who's had the great good fortune never to have been sexually assaulted.

If a changing room is marked as being for women, or if it's not signed but it's the only one on the same floor as the women's clothes, I would up to now have felt perfectly relaxed about using it. Not now.

Those women who genuinely don't have any preference for women-only facilities over unisex or gender-segregated (as opposed to sex-segregated) - fine. But plenty of us do have a preference and I can't for the life of me see why we're being ignored. Don't we matter?

I remember going to a shop called Jean Jeanie in the 80s where the changing rooms were stable type doors (with a gap top and bottom) for both men and women, and were lined up along the side of the shop. Nobody turned a hair!!

M&S is so handy for a few good items and a few treats. Some of their stuff is just higher quality. Some of it I’m not bothered with. But as the person who cooks every meal in this house it’s a relief to have it as a weekend fall back when I’m just done with bloody cooking everything.

Couldn’t give a shiny shit about men in changing rooms.

I should have mentioned disabled women also, struggling to change in the disabled changing room which generally only has a curtain, and who may not be able to respond as quickly to being filmed/observed/assulted.

I used to eat there most days for working lunch but since finding out I’m gluten intolerant don’t go there any more. Loads of their products (even salads which you would expect to be gluten free) contain wheat products- presume this is to fill them out with cheap ingredients?

Maybe years ago when unisex stable doors were the norm the assaults of women hadn't become acceptable. Maybe the victims weren't able to report or if they did they weren't supported. Maybe you have to be a victim of an assault to truly understand the horribleness of this situation and it means fuck all that perpetrators will be dealt with. The victim will have to live with it forever and no part of dealing with it will help that.

I like their food and wine and buy it regularly and will continue to do so.

Far more likely to get in a lather over not being able to have access to a female gp
Sometimes the lack of critical thinking really gets to me.
Do you see how self Id gets men into a previously womens change room? That very same self id gets you a Male doctor or male nurse when you wanted a female. So do you get it now? Self id bad for women, self id let's men in anywhere that was previously women only.

I remember going to a shop called Jean Jeanie in the 80s where the changing rooms were stable type doors (with a gap top and bottom) for both men and women, and were lined up along the side of the shop. Nobody turned a hair!!
You mean while you were ever in there no one turned a hair. Honestly if they were such a brilliant idea why do they not still have them as standard in every other shop?

They had that in lots of shops in Wood Green right up till the 90s. Some were just one room where you all changed. It was the worst and made you feel like you were in a market place. It was cheap and tacky, can you honestly imagine any respectable shop having effectively an unmanned back room where everyone gets naked.

If they were that great, why did Selfridges etc not have them? Because they were for £5 shop style places where there are no rules and it’s every man for himself.

I had one of their 'Best ever prawn sandwiches' today. OMG it was bloody lovely! But a bit pricey........

Wish they did gf prawn sandwiches ! I think I saw them once but they disappeared.

Ignoring all the wanky comments... OP I think they're food is great but a treat! The gluten free bread is fab for DS and thrir creamed spinach is amazing 👍

What’s a wanky comment?