To think women in men's changing rooms is a bit off

[notinbed]

Took 18mo son to his swimming lesson yesterday (my wife normally takes him, but she was sick). In the changing room when I get out is a school group getting changed to go swimming supervised by a couple of women. Meant that instead of stripping off completely as I normally would I ended up keeping my trunks on until they'd gone - makes it rather more awkward trying to keep son's clothes dry as I get him changed. I suppose I could have used one of the two cubucles (one in use by a woman getting changed) rather than the communal area, but that makes it so much more hassle when getting stuff out of a locker trying to get a little one changed.

Kind of wish I'd not been there last week and seen the women go in - otherwise I don't think I'd have known, so would have taken trunks off in the shower before trooping in, as it was I bottled it, having suggested to wife I'd just strip off. What do you think the reaction would have been if I'd done that - not like I can be done for indecency in a malke changing room?

I have to agree with Snorbs, sadly. Although I would be fine with it and would take the sight of a naked man as par for the course in a male changing rooms, I do know (a small handful) women who wouldn't be OK with it. They would argue that they had to be in the male changing rooms as part of their job, but exposure to the sight of adult male genitals is beyond their job description. I think that's ridiculously prissy, but hey.

It's such a shame that in the UK we can't be more relaxed about nakedness in general. I truly don't understand that automatic assumption Brits seem to make between the state of nakedness and sexual impulses. IME, Europeans are far more healthy in their general attitudes to nakedness.

And FWIW, when I was at primary school we didn't have any teachers in the changing rooms with up to supervise. It was explained that we were being treated like the big boys and girls, that we would live up to this responsibiltiy, and we did.

I sometimes think that nowadays we assume the worst of our kids and get it - if we assumed the best perhaps they would pleasantly surprise us!

Why are women in the men's changing rooms? It's nuts! I can perfectly see why men wouldn't be comfortable with this - what's the point of setting aside a changing space for men only and then letting women in it?

I wouldn't like men in the women's changing rooms (in fact, I didn't like it when our headmaster used to loiter in the doorway of the girls changing rooms when we were trying to get changed from swimming, but he was a minky old perv and that's another story...)

Get out of the men's changing rooms! Is nothing sacred?

I have been turned away from my local swimming pool when I took my Daughter swimming when she was a nipper.

The reason cited was that it was a parents and toddler session...I was gobsmacked to be honest but at the time I just walked away without the swim.

The OP definitely shouldn't have used a cubicle, the Mens locker room is for Men and their children (Obviously depending on age and sex)

"I have to agree with Snorbs, sadly. Although I would be fine with it and would take the sight of a naked man as par for the course in a male changing rooms, I do know (a small handful) women who wouldn't be OK with it. They would argue that they had to be in the male changing rooms as part of their job, but exposure to the sight of adult male genitals is beyond their job description."

But surely the point isn't that women going into the changing room might be offended or whether or not they are ok with it, it's that men who are using the changing room might feel uncomfortable and objectified etc. I mean if a man had to go into a womens changing room on his work, nobody would be arguing that he might be offended by the sight of naked women it's that the women in their shouldn't be made to feel uncomfortable in a womens changing room.

Yes, entirely fair point MQ.

My post above was to agree that a man stripping off in a male changing room might indeed (wrongly) find himself at risk of prosecution if he stripped off when women were present - as suggested by OOOStevenOOO and reiterated by Snorbs.

To be honest, I think the risk is less from stripping off in front of adult women and more of stripping off in front of primary school-aged children. Paedophile hysteria is still very much alive and kicking in this country.

Yes snorbs, you may or may not have a point.
But the fact of the matter is, men should not be forced into stripping off ( If it is the only option ) infront of women who just walk in un anounced claiming they have a responsibilty as a mother to superise their son in our changing room. If a mother has a son who is too old to go in the womens room, then she should have arranged for a close male family friend or relative to take him into the mens room, not just barge in like she owns the place. As i have said before, if a man turns up with his daughter who happens to be too old to go into the mens room, he will be refused and turned away meaning his daughter misses out on a swim session, if a woman turns up with her son then she is told to use the mens room because of course her child needs to swim!
There is no consistancy here, it just boils down to it being fine for a woman to ogle naked men, but not at all fine for men to ogle women.
I say that because everybody looks/Notices what and who is around them, your eyes see eveything, but it is then how your brain processes that information that makes the difference. You cannot stick a label on men only for say' looking innapropiately, because indeed just as many women are exactly the same.

An interesting point to be made!

Women walk around most of the time with their boobs on display, be it topless on holiday or out and about in a see through or low cut top. They don't have any dangly bits lower down and are mostly free from any unsightly forestry. Men on the other hand DO have dangly bits.
Most decent men out there are used to this and accept it as normal.
My point here is, if i was to walk into a womens changing room what would i see apart from some boobs? There is nothing to see down below so what is the big deal about men being in the womens room?
I am not making this point because i want to be in a womens changing room, but rather because it seems odd that women are allowed in our area given that more can be seen that isn't usually in a public place.

Holy cow! You really feel that it isn't that big a deal for women to be naked because we don't have such dangly bits? It's a huge deal for me. I bet it is for 99% of women (particularly those that have had children).

But I agree that the mens' changing room is for men.

No i didn't say that! It is the same for 99% of men but that doesn't seem to matter to these people who allow women all the freedom they want to invade mens privacy.

This topic is being discussed on two other forums that i visit, and quite rightly so.

There are many different cases where this so called ' Last resort free pass ' is being used as an excuse and not really required.

One example is a man in the shower area just washing his hair and a boy of about 4 enters with his gran, the conversation he heard was that the boy was cold and she had brought him in to warm him up. Now why wasn't he taken into the womens showers, he was well under the age limit.

Another example is a man who has two sons who play hockey. There are all age groups there and they all shower and change at the same time. Women ( Mums ) Are constantly walking in and out time and time again to so called check on their sons and seeing all age groups of boys/ men in various states of undress.

There are many more but i aint going to write an essay.

The fact is, women were given this right and have decided to abuse it ' Big time ' just because they can. The idea was that in rare cases and no other option was available, they would be allowed to use the mens room ( I still think that is completely wrong and degrading to men )
I read a post from a woman who claimed that men were over reacting because why is the odd woman here and there such a problem! Well one woman a lifetime is a problem in reality, but we all know that this is a daily passtime and not rare at all.
Men in a womens room would be very rare though, given that statistics show that women are the highest percentage of visitors to pools!
If it is so rare as they claim, why have those incidents happened above and all the others that i have read? If it is so rare, why can't the mother use a hygenic womens toilet facility cubicle instead of insisting on degrading men?
I wonder who passed this rule, hmmmm, i bet it was a woman!