Man in ladies swimming pool showers with his phone out.

[CreativeNative]

Today, after my daughters had their swimming lesson, I went to the ladies showers. There used to be separate changing rooms for men and women, but both changing areas are now unisex. There is one shower block at the end of what used to be the ladies changing rooms. These are still for ladies only. There is another shower block for men.

A man and his son, who I hadn’t seen at the pool before, ended up in the ladies showers. I have seen mothers helping their sons in these showers before, but I also think the man may have not realised that these are for women.

Anyway, the man was standing in the shower block, with his phone in his hand.

Now, there is a corridor that leads to the showers, but he was literally right in the shower area, maybe a foot from where the water was spraying. I realised because a mum friend of mine took her daughter out of the showers immediately, whilst her hair still had soap in it. She told me she alerted the swimming pool front desk staff.

I understand that this is likely completely innocent, but AIBU to not understand why a man, or anyone for that matter, would deem it appropriate to have their phone out whilst in close proximity to young children showering?

Yet most people’s first response is to assume he’s doing something wrong

I never said this particular man had his phone pointing at anyone. I said, going by the responses on this thread, some women would see a man literally pointing a phone at them in the shower and still make excuses for him. A theoretical situation.

He is.

Nobody should be using a phone in a changing / showering area, let alone a male doing just that in the female area.

And before you ask, I spent a decade running swimming lessons, and I frequently had to tell people to put their phones away despite it being clear in the lesson Ts and Cs that mobile phones were not allowed on the premises and clear signage everywhere.

It’s called safeguarding.

How convenient he hadn’t read the signs or taken notice of his surroundings

a little too convenient

And convenient it was in the female shower area too. I bet he wouldn't try it with men around.

He felt awkward with semi clothed girls around so he thought he would get his phone out to look less creepy? Best case scenario he has incredibly low situational awareness/is thoughtless which is plausible. But arguing he had his phone out because he was aware it was an awkward place to be and wanted to alleviate that is too far. If he felt awkward he could have moved away even if he didn't realise it was for girls/women only (despite it being all females there).
I agree there are situations when men can be unfairly suspected but this isn't one of them "these days a grown man can't even stand in the female showers we're underage girls are washing and get his phone out without someone suspecting him of being a creep". It's reasonable to expect other people to think that in those circumstances.

More than likely oblivious and I would like to think mortified if it was pointed out to him . I know someone this happened to (minus the phone) and he was mortified and quickly made escape. As for phones, showers, changing rooms, toilets should all be phone free zones