Next’s fitting room policy

[Darkwoodfurniture]

Long story short went into Next changing room on the women’s floor and there was a man in there.
I complained onsite to just get ‘oh ok’ so complained to HQ.
Their response was that all their fitting rooms are now unisex (even though store staff said they were women's) even if they are on separate floors I.e women’s or men’s.
I queried with them why they didn’t provide lockable doors etc and provide some level of security other than a curtain, along with some signage.
They escalated my complaint and they got back to me saying they feel their fitting rooms are appropriate as they are and won’t be publicising the unisex nature via signage.
I get it’s a trend to make fitting rooms unisex, but surely letting customers know so that they get to make a decision if they want to use them or not, should be the bare minimum.

Why do men want to specifically use the womens?

I have no clue. In this case a man was using the unisex changing room so I’m not sure why your comment is even relevant.

Why do you want to use specifically the men’s changing room?

Because it's right there whereas the woman's is down the stairs at the front of the store and then right to the back.

And as a protest. It's tiny, just three spaces so I don't feel like anything could happen to me in there and the woman's is big and on a long corridor with about ten to twelve spaces. So it feels like a small way to cause a commotion and draw attention to the fact that the changing rooms are unisex in a safe way.

Looking at it in a slightly different way, how many of your DH/DP would feel comfortable sharing fitting rooms with the opposite sex where only a curtain is there to protect them from possible fake accusations? Not many I imagine? DP sees it this way as well as the fact he doesn't want a woman walking in on him either.

Why do men want to specifically use the womens?

Well quite.

I have a feeling h&m ones used to be like this. No idea if they still are, this would've been at least a decade ago.

I think those were lockable ones though not just a curtain.

I would expect in this day and age that it would be clear. Weird that they don't want to publicly display their policy - surely it's confusing to everyone if everyone has different expectations of who the changing rooms are for.

I'd definitely expect mixed sex ones to have more than a curtain.

I'm not bothered whether my DH would or wouldn't feel comfortable in unisex changing rooms tbh.

This is about women's safety, comfort and dignity. We know women and girls are less safe in unisex changing rooms. That's what the discussion should be centered on.

Even that isn’t enough in my eyes. Have you not heard of Primark Porn? Men hiding cameras in changing rooms then sharing the footage with porn sites. Unisex changing rooms facilitate that.

Just boycott these places. It’s the only message they take seriously. It’s disgusting tbh and no words for the poster who thinks it’s only an issue if when something untoward happens

All part of their cosplay delusion

There are also fetish sites where men use women’s changing rooms to wank into women’s underwear before putting it back on the shelves and waiting for an unsuspecting woman to pick them up. (This started as a result of M+S changing their policy.)

You might be cool with that but as the mum of a teen girl I’m bloody well not.

Lockable doors is a reasonable expectation.

I saw the policy had changed when I last used a changing room at M&S. It wasn’t especially comfortable but at least they have lockable floor to ceiling doors. Without that I wouldn’t use them.

Definitely just boycott them. There’s a reason why I tend to take clothes home now to try them on (I hate fitting rooms anyway!) but why should I have to do this?

I don’t want men in changing rooms full stop unless they’re proper trans and have had the full operation. But stores like Next would prefer me to be in changing rooms with men who are going through the process which isn’t right. God knows how this affects teenagers and young girls, I’m lucky that I can use words to express my dissatisfaction as an adult but a younger person may not be as confident doing this.

As they should. But even then I don’t want a random man prowling around especially if I’m trying on bras.

I don’t want men in changing rooms full stop unless they’re proper trans and have had the full operation. But stores like Next would prefer me to be in changing rooms with men who are going through the process which isn’t right.

Less than 5% of transwomen, “proper” or not, have surgery. How do you identify who has?

Separate sex changing rooms is a reasonable expectation.

Women in some religions are expressly forbidden to be in spaces which are mixed sex. What are they meant to do?

(Women have the absolute right to expect single sex, not gender, when they are in a state of undress.)

And lockable doors don’t prevent hidden cameras or rape.

But surely you can see the issue that it really doesn't matter if a man is in there to do harm or not. I am lucky, I was a victim of childhood SA, but I suffer from no long lasting fear of men and it actually wouldn't bother me personally to share changing rooms. I'm a strong, big lass who fears no man and indeed, as an adult gave a man who tried to attack me a lesson he won't forget.

However, I am not so insular as to not recognise that some of my friends, and indeed total strangers, are not so lucky. Why should they not be able to have a nice shopping trip to buy new clothes for fear of being triggered by having a male in their space when they are in a vulnerable position of being partly unclothed? And what about my Muslim friends (and strangers)? I'm an atheist, but again, I'm not so insular, to not recognise that it is haram and actually distressing for them to be put in that situation.

It really doesn't matter how an individual person feels about the situation, it is about the right of women as a collective to feel safe, irrespective of whether there is an actual threat or just a percieved one.

As yourself this: why would a man actively choose to go into the changing room in the women's clothing section rather than the changing room in the men's clothing section? Unless he was a lone parent out shopping with his female child, or accompanying a female disabled shopper, there is no other ordinarily legitimate reason I can think of.

I don’t know!

Our branch has fitting rooms on both floors but you can use either. I sit on the seats in the middle whilst dp tries clothes on the "men's" floor, and ditto the other way around. They have a member of staff is around so hardly an issue

And children's clothes share the "men's" floor so there's girls trying on in the "men's"

As long as they have cubicles I can't see the problem. The signs say fitting room and 90% of the men I see there are with women who are trying on clothes wanting a second opinion!

Could have been picking up a click and collect near on the women’s floor or be using the ones near the till as the men’s floor tills are never open in my local one. He could have been waiting for the woman he was with to try something on. There’s a few reasons other than him being a creep.

@citrinetrilogy

With his partner to help her decide if it look good. They have seats in the middle for you to sit on

If they are unisex then I agree its needs to say so. At least M&S have lockable doors.

Why can't they be more like Primark where there's a woman only bit, futher down is unisex and men's?

I'd not be happy if my dd was out shopping because voyagerism is a thing.