Man cleaner in women changing rooms

[Globaluser]

So I moved to Europe a year ago nearly and just recently started coming to the gym.

In this gym there were no notices up to state there’s both male and female cleaners. So I was caught kinda off guard when I walked out the shower and came across a man mopping the floors.

So I’m wondering since I didn’t really go to any u.k gyms. Is this actually normal?

I mean for me that means I will be showering at home from now on, as I see a difference between women seeing me naked and a man seeing me naked.
So I just wanted to ask how many of you would mind and how many of you have come across a male cleaner in a womens changing room in the u.k.
Thank you ☺️

CounsellorTroi - I think you misunderstand. He was inside the female changing rooms. Not on a till. If people would ask for a size 12 instead he'd have to go and get it and pass it into them.

So now you're conflating a bloody changing room with a single sex therapeutic space? (Which I also disagree with but find it odd you're comparing the two)

It's a female single sex space which excludes adult men. For safety, privacy and dignity. As per the EA and human rights act.

Also female changing rooms aren't a single sex space
Young boys for example often change in there with their parents

Children. Child safeguarding. Small boys hardly present a risk to adult women. Nice try.

I have indeed been sexually assaulted, raped in fact. However that experience doesn't define me, or make me fearful of all men everywhere.

And your response to this is to minimise other women's concerns and feelings. How terribly progressive of you. Not your place to give away other women's safeguards.

I don't need a special womens only space, thankfully many don't.

Other women do. Go get changed in the corridor then if you're happy to have a male audience when you undress. You don't have the right to dictate that women should give up their spaces just because youre happy to have men in there.

If you have been through trauma that has left you so fearful of half the population you need therapy.

Sounds like it's you that needs the therapy. Your willingness to give up other women's safety and minimise their concerns is disturbing.

[quote JigglyPiggly]@Mollysocks

So now you're conflating a bloody changing room with a single sex therapeutic space? (Which I also disagree with but find it odd you're comparing the two)

Also female changing rooms aren't a single sex space

Young boys for example often change in there with their parents

I have indeed been sexually assaulted, raped in fact. However that experience doesn't define me, or make me fearful of all men everywhere. I don't need a special womens only space, thankfully many don't. If you have been through trauma that has left you so fearful of half the population you need therapy. [/quote]
Seek the help you need..the shame is not yours.

"Also female changing rooms aren't a single sex space
Young boys for example often change in there with their parents"

There is no comparison. Small children of either sex are allowed in either changing room, it's the adults that are not.

@MrBlobbyLivesNextDoor there has been many many many posts in here about men being a dangerous breed and I’ve never participated in these threads because I always felt they were right after an incident e.g a woman being brutally raped, murdered or badly beaten. Because perhaps nobody has read or heard anything happen to a woman in the gym recently or ever then anyone concerns over something like this are minimized.

Like if someone mentioned on here not wanting to get in a police car with some police officer 4/5 years ago nearly everyone on here would’ve told her she’s being utterly disrespectful to the police officer and to get over herself and “let him do his job”.

Because perhaps nobody has read or heard anything happen to a woman in the gym recently or ever then anyone concerns over something like this are minimized.

It seems that this particular set of circumstances is minimised because of that. But of course there's a huge amount of evidence to show the lengths men will go to to access women and children. In changing rooms, toilets, prisons, in teaching, in refuges, anywhere, in fact, anywhere there are vulnerable women and or children. One has to wonder what the end goals are for these serial deniers.

Like if someone mentioned on here not wanting to get in a police car with some police officer 4/5 years ago nearly everyone on here would’ve told her she’s being utterly disrespectful to the police officer and to get over herself and “let him do his job”.

Yes. And look how that's turned out 😢

Well yes, it’s a shame really.

I feel the towel comments are the most disrespectful on here to be honest.

And is it just me or has this post gone on to body shaming now?

@Globaluser

Well yes, it’s a shame really.

I feel the towel comments are the most disrespectful on here to be honest.

And is it just me or has this post gone on to body shaming now?

Yes it's moved on to body shaming older women. Nasty misogyny in full force.

Yes it's moved on to body shaming older women. Nasty misogyny in full force.

Agreed.

[quote JigglyPiggly]@shellylongbottom ?

So you don't want to see a man's bits but are fine seeing womens bits?

Christ, some of you really need to go back to the 1800's and stay there. [/quote]
I really can’t believe this confuses you in any way. Single sex changing spaces are the norm and have been since the introduction of recreational sports facilities. The idea that you’re shocked that a woman might be just a little more comfortable around other women in a state of undress compared to a mixed group is laughable.

In the gym I referred to earlier, if you were actually in the shower cubicle when the shout came that the male cleaner was coming in, you wouldn't even hear it. It just felt really wrong and weird for an adult male to enter a single sex communal changing area. The very point of single sex is that you don't have to cover up.

So you don't want to see a man's bits but are fine seeing womens bits?

No, I'm not comfortable with an unknown male seeing my private parts. That is not unusual or fucking objectionable.

Some people who seem to have very odd ideas about staffing.
Even if a gym was able to hire a male cleaners for the male changing room and females for the female changing rooms, those cleaners are still entitled to days off, annual leave, sickness, parental leave etc.
You would need a surplus of staff to be able to do a rota so that there are always men and women working which many businesses simply can't afford to do.

Also, many gyms don't hire cleaners directly. They work with an agency who will supply cleaners to several different businesses ie car showrooms, office buildings, gyms etc. Tbf, cleaning agencies have a high turn over of staff so they cannot guarantee the sex of the cleaners available for the shift.

The simple solution which will cost the business hardly anything and make some customers feel more comfortable is to display a sign in the changing rooms, at the reception and on their website when you sign up to become a member. It is possible there is a sign somewhere at OPs gym but if there was then it's clearly not visible enough.

As many have said, my old gym would have a female staff members announce that a male cleaner would be coming in in 10 mins..

I'm still baffled at posters trying to insist men/males should be entitled to a female changing room. Not being personally bothered by it is fair enough but actually arguing against those who would rather not? And questioning why one might not want to see a penis/partially clothed male in a dressing area?

And what about female cleaners being expected to clean male changing rooms? I’d feel a bit vulnerable in that situation to be honest. There was a thread recently about a woman being deliberately flashed in a male changing room.

@shellylongbottom

I'm still baffled at posters trying to insist men/males should be entitled to a female changing room. Not being personally bothered by it is fair enough but actually arguing against those who would rather not? And questioning why one might not want to see a penis/partially clothed male in a dressing area?

You've got to wonder who these people are. Women with deep rooted internal misogyny. Or men with one hairy hand holding their phone, and the other hand... somewhere else.

Sorry male should have read mixed in the last sentence of my last post.

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

Some people who seem to have very odd ideas about staffing. Even if a gym was able to hire a male cleaners for the male changing room and females for the female changing rooms, those cleaners are still entitled to days off, annual leave, sickness, parental leave etc. You would need a surplus of staff to be able to do a rota so that there are always men and women working which many businesses simply can't afford to do.

Also, many gyms don't hire cleaners directly. They work with an agency who will supply cleaners to several different businesses ie car showrooms, office buildings, gyms etc. Tbf, cleaning agencies have a high turn over of staff so they cannot guarantee the sex of the cleaners available for the shift.

The simple solution which will cost the business hardly anything and make some customers feel more comfortable is to display a sign in the changing rooms, at the reception and on their website when you sign up to become a member. It is possible there is a sign somewhere at OPs gym but if there was then it's clearly not visible enough.

As many have said, my old gym would have a female staff members announce that a male cleaner would be coming in in 10 mins..

I would think the fact that many gyms use agencies would make it easier, not harder. You engage the agency on the basis that you will need both male and female cleaners due to the nature of the premises. It would be a pretty poor agency that couldn’t plan for annual leave or sickness; for example, by reallocating staff from jobs where the gender of the cleaner wouldn’t be an issue.

As for gyms that do employ cleaners directly, surely they have some contingency for annual leave and sickness (e.g. a temp agency)? I don’t agree that some companies ‘simply can’t afford it’ - in a situation like this, you can’t NOT afford to have options.

Two cleaners on shift at once - one male, one female. Two shifts a day. Only one staff member allowed on annual leave at any one time. Simple.

@shellylongbottom

I'm still baffled at posters trying to insist men/males should be entitled to a female changing room. Not being personally bothered by it is fair enough but actually arguing against those who would rather not? And questioning why one might not want to see a penis/partially clothed male in a dressing area?

I haven't seen this tbf, ive seen people (like me) explaining that it's not always possible if you want the facilities cleaned and maintained in a hygenic way and that the gym should have made more effort to alert people to the probability of the opposite sex needed access to do their jobs

@CounsellorTroi

And what about female cleaners being expected to clean male changing rooms? I’d feel a bit vulnerable in that situation to be honest. There was a thread recently about a woman being deliberately flashed in a male changing room.

That’s fine as long as she’s wearing a towel and he’s holding a mop…

I haven't seen this tbf, ive seen people (like me) explaining that it's not always possible if you want the facilities cleaned and maintained in a hygenic way and that the gym should have made more effort to alert people to the probability of the opposite sex needed access to do their jobs

Jiggly questioned not wanting to see men (implying it's unfair to be bothered by men and not unclothed women)

Also.

The others going on about trans things. You may not mind, fine, but you're not the only one using the space

The whole thread is about a man in women's chatting areas

@MrBlobbyLivesNextDoor

Because perhaps nobody has read or heard anything happen to a woman in the gym recently or ever then anyone concerns over something like this are minimized.

It seems that this particular set of circumstances is minimised because of that. But of course there's a huge amount of evidence to show the lengths men will go to to access women and children. In changing rooms, toilets, prisons, in teaching, in refuges, anywhere, in fact, anywhere there are vulnerable women and or children. One has to wonder what the end goals are for these serial deniers.

Yet still no evidence of men taking minimum wage jobs cleaning womens changing rooms and doing anything untoward

I don't fear situations that are so unlikely to happen, so unlikely they've never happened before at all, or at least never been reported in any form

I don't care whether you fear male violence or sexual assault.

I don't care whether you (if you are actually female) are happy to undress in front of men you don't know.

There's plenty of documented evidence that men seek out these positions to access women and girls. You're too lazy to look for it, because it doesn't suit your narrative.

And even if the cleaner is perfectly lovely. The majority of women do not want to get naked in front of a random bloke. What part of that are you incapable of understanding?

You don't get to decide for the women who are concerned about these things and who do not want males in female space.

MrBlobby when you say you don't want a male in the changing rooms, are you saying at all? So the gym can't hire male cleaners even if they make it clear and give women a chance to coverup/leave/hide? Or are you saying you oppose it generally?
Sorry, genuine questions, Ive gotten a bit lost on this thread now