About our new "Mixed gender changing village"

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-46862566

"Anger over 'naked men' at unisex changing rooms"

DH says maybe they are sort of adjusting to it perhaps! I'm not sure how would feel, go to the other pool myself but would find this a bit off-putting especially with girls.

How did introducing family changing rooms satisfy the TRAs?

It didn't. There is still a lot of emails and such coming in from people quick to label the pool/staff transphobic. I only know about it due to my best mate working there. I just think, an addition of a mixed sex area, rather than turning the whole place mixed sex, is surely the best solution. And is the solution ours did anyway, still in the wrong though and harassed like fuck

To be honest in the past 10 years or so I've never been to a pool that has single sex changing. All the public pools near us are unisex and I've never ever had an issue. I actually like them because it means that dh can take our DD to the pool without having to either send her in to the women's changing rooms alone when she would prefer to stay with him or take her into the men's. In my experience, everyone stays in their swimsuits in the public showers etc and changes in a cubicle. If this is not happening at your pool you should immediately report it to staff. The article says they have had no such complaints. Seems to me that it isn't really effective to moan on twitter about it hours after the fact.

Ah yeah I see why my post was read like that, sorry. I meant its the best solution for all, though TRAs still wail about how horrendous it is to keep single sex areas too.

God I wish they would just have cubicles like they do at my local pool. They have quite a few big family ones and loads of single ones. Much easier for everyone.

Ah yeah I see why my post was read like that, sorry. I meant its the best solution for all, though TRAs still wail about how horrendous it is to keep single sex areas too.

It was a genuine question as I was a bit confused!

I agree that single male, single female and then family changing is the best solution for the majority of people.

Much prefer unisex. It’s great. All we need is cubicles to get changed in but it means DH, I, DD’s and DS’s can all get changed within arms reach of each other. I’ve no issue wandering between cubicles, toilets, pool crossing paths with men and boys. My dds don’t see anything strange either thankfully. It took me a minute to realise all the pools I go to have these unisex changing villages you’re talking about. I never actually noticed or thought about it.

This wouldn't have bothered me but there's currently a police investigation ongoing here in Northern Ireland that a man used a mirror to watch two young girls getting changed in the next cubicle and now I just think - yes sick fuckers like that will try to do it anyway but actually it's best to try to cut off any opportunity for them to do so.

The new shower area is a pain, it is also mixed and by the entrance where the kids queue for lessons. DH mentioned he felt it was a bit awkward. and they can't take their kit off to have a wash now.

I don’t see anything inherently wrong with nudity. I am 100% the normalisation of nude natural bodies and have art featuring nude bodies (willies and all) in my house. I see nothing wrong with it at all in principle. BUT it’s very obvious that in a culture where nudity is taboo providing men with the opportunity to spear naked in front of women and children will attract exhibitionists and perverts. I think that long term the solution is to normalise nudity but at this point in time the British public is not ready for mixed changing faculties without a no genitalia on show rule that is strictly enforced.

I much prefer mixed changing rooms. The cases of boys being raped in men's changing rooms/toilets meant I didn't feel safe letting my boys go in on their own. Mixed changing rooms means the boys can be with me or if DH takes the children he can have our girls with him rather than have them go off on their own.
No one can see anything as the cubicles are all closed off top and bottom. They have individual cubicles and family changing rooms.
Much safer for everyone - boys are just as important as girls and at that in between age when they are too old to come in with mum and too young to go in to the men's in their own it's really difficult. Mixed changing rooms and toilets solve this issue and are better for everyone.
I get a bit fed up of all the militant feminists on this site who seem to disregard boys needs completely and see them purely as the enemy.

Considering the last thread about boys in the womens changing area Im very glad we now have communal changing at our pool. No way would i send DS into an all male changing room alone in 6 months time when he turns 8! But all showers are open amd all changing takes place in cubicles. Have never seen one naked man or woman since it opened!

Presumably since there are pervert who would film children changing in a changing village there would also be other perverts keen to have naked children of the same sex in a communal changing room with them. What’s the solution for them? I get that many changing villages don’t currently prevent filming but surely they could - we could have fully secure cubicles to use.

I won’t change without a cubicle so wouldn’t use a single sex open room. I stopped using clothes shops when this was briefly the norm. Safety and dignity are both important and for some nudity in front of strangers is not ok. I, for example, am a teacher and I would resign if ever inadvertently see in the buff by some teenagers!

We got a new pool near us in 2017, the old one had single sex changing rooms but there is a big unisex changing village in the new one (all cubicles of varying sizes so you can take kids in with you into the bigger ones). I thought it was a good idea - not been aware of there being any problems. There are communal showers but I think it's understood you keep your swimming cozzies on. There are showers in cubicles as well.

I think they are better and avoid the problem of 10 year old boys having to go into the gents changing room on their own and possibly meeting unsavoury characters - or more likely - forgetting things and you can't go in to look for them and have to rely on them going back and finding things they've lost. not that this ever happened to my ds several times over the years

I stopped using our local pool after they unveiled the new family changing village as even though there were private shower cubicles it was very obvious that someone was having a noisy wank in their shower cubicle.

Why didn't you just tell a member of staff if you were that convinced - he'd be banned from the pool. Problem solved. It's hardly normal behaviour for a bloke in a changing room and it wouldn't be solved by having gendered changing rooms - I wouldn't want my 8 year old son without me in a changing room with that bloke!

I prefer changing villages to having communal changing rooms for those who identify as women/men TBH.

It’s much easier for staff to supervise, and if a man is going to exhibit problematic behaviour- then it’s better he does it where there are going to be staff (and other adults) around than doing it alone in a room with somebody’s 8 year old child.

The women shouting about unisex changing village and risk or sexual assult are exactly the same women who want to send wee boys, who are also at risk, into mens changing rooms on their own.

Unisex changing villages at least get rid of the issues of children and opposite sexed parents.

Our local leisure centre swimming pool has a unisex changing area. It has done for over 10 years. There are lots of lockable cubicles (though not floor to ceiling), there are no changing benches like you'd find in single sex open changing rooms and no one walks around naked. The only showers are pool side and everyone keeps their swimming costumes on.

It works well in my opinion as families can all stay together.

Our leisure centre has a unisex changing facility. I have never seen anybody walking around naked there.

Anecdotal, but my experience.