To be annoyed that my gym only has open mixed sex showers

[Hothothothothotdog]

My local council gym with a swimming pool only has open showers in the mixed-sex swimming pool. This means I have to rise off, dress, then go home and shower which just seems absolutely ridiculous to me.

AIBU to be fuming about it? It means an early morning swim is off the cards as I’ve not got time for that faff (or ever tbh!).

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/sexual-assault-unisex-changing-rooms-sunday-times-women-risk-a8519086.html

My swimming pool has open showers like this and I showered with my costume on. However the chlorine caused vulval irritation and was advised by GP to rinse area with water prior to going in the pool (obviously washing before pool anyway) and after. I ended up having to bring a water bottle to do this sitting on the loo. Mixed sex changing rooms are more problematic for women too.

Um. Swimming in a public pool full of chemicals, pee and plasters does not count as a wash for your parts

Much easier and saves the faff about women’s, men’s, trans etc spaces. Ours is cubicle changing and mixed showers you can wash your hair and have a basic rinse then shower when you normally do.

Mixed sex changing villages suit many people.
Others prefer single sex
You just find somewhere that suits you.

(

It's why they have chlorine in the water. It's not dirty water at all. At my pool the only showers are open to everyone so both men and women dont take their costumes off as they would be flashing the kids.

I’ve not been to the local pool for quite a long time, but it had a changing village with 3 sets of cubicles - male, female and mixed plus family/disabled rooms. That’s fine, caters appropriately for all needs for changing. But the showers were just a very small number of completely open overhead type, really only suitable for a quick rinse - some people did lather up and wash their hair which would result in others having to wait dripping for a rinse.

seems like they really didn’t want to provide facilities for proper washing. I suppose proper amounts of hot water for each user can get expensive, I think this is deliberate not an oversight.

My local council gym is just like this - swimming changing and gym changing are both off the same hallway. You need a gym card to get into the gym changing too. So you'd have to walk wet and barefoot in your swimming costume to go and use the gym shower and you'd have to have the right card.

Men rummage around under their costumes to "shower". They also go into the women's changing village and shout at you if you tell them it's for women only "I'M HERE WITH MY DAUGHTER".

Assuming you have the funds available to be that choosy, of course.

If your budget doesn’t stretch to a Ballantyne’s or Nuffield Health etc etc or if you’re on benefits (free or heavily subsidised access to council facilities) then you’re going to be stuck with whatever the council decides to provide.

Which, in my City, means communal showering and changing cubicles.

Somewhat ironically, they’ve obviously been forced to recognise the safety and modesty needs of women (whether due to religious needs, sexual trauma or just personal choice) and have recently started “women only” swimming sessions. Which is commendable - if the women in question’s schedules suits the council’s timings.

It’s been a thing at my local council pools since at least the 1980s

Many pools don’t use chlorine these days. UV systems are quite common.

(I agree that I’d want to rinse off but my local pool is open showers and people rinse, wash hair and get in with their day)

My local pool is the same. I just shower and wash my hair with my costume on.

I’m confused - are there not wet and dry changing rooms? Or are the wet changing rooms mixed sex only?

In our local leisure centres it’s single sex changing rooms and showers for swimming.

Yes it’s similar to this.
the pool is on one side of the building and the gym (and single sex changing rooms) are on the other side. The only way to get through is work through the gym including the lobby where there is a coffee shop!

People do bat an eyelid. It's great for families to get changed together but anywhere mixed has a much higher rate of problems with sexual assault.

You need to join- and pay for- a posh gym.

Council leisure centres in my London borough are single sex for swimming (don’t know about the gym side of things).

I’m pretty sure the Somali women changing into their burkinis for the women-only swim session at one of our local pools would bat an eyelid.

A massive international pool opened in my town. This is the shower set up and it baffles me. Our local council pools are better.

Center parcs showers are rubbish too😁

Doesn’t anybody want to use soap on your bits?

I wouldn’t bel clean either.

And to those who say you shouldn’t use soap there, I’ve always done and never got infections.

A pool near me used to do women only sessions.
They stopped about 25 years ago because the men complained they should have a mens night too.
It became an adults only session.

I haven't been for a while (about eight years) but I used to take DC swimming often when they were younger and never once saw a mixed sex changing room or shower. All the pools and leisure centres I ever used were segregated.

I don’t understand why you would have to go home and shower?

Well thats all lovely but it’s the only gym that I can walk to which works with a busy schedule. Other gyms I would have to drive around 20 mins. I would happily pay for to have a proper shower.

Only being able to shower while wearing your costume is nasty, can't get properly clean then. Don't get those kinds of shower arrangements in my country, single sex only as the rule is always that you shower naked before swimming so you enter the pool clean, then obviously shower naked afterwards to clean off all the chlorine. Wouldn't like to swim anywhere that didn't have this setup

I definitely preferred where I lived previously. It had mens, womens and family changing rooms. There was a big room with benches and lockers etc plus a few cubicles (in the women’s anyway, I assume the men’s was the same). Plus a decent amount of showers in cubicles with doors inside the changing area. There were also poolside showers.

The family changing area had one communal area plus several large cubicles, some with showers in the cubicle. Basically so your kids couldn’t escape!

Now it’s a changing village with poolside showers only. Sadly I don’t have a choice really of where to go.