It's official, Marks and Spencer have fallen

[MrsSnippyPants]

I know we have 'known' this for a while, but this is now their official response. How many 'inappropriate' incidents will be necessary before they see sense?

#BoycottM&S

This is our space. Fuck off out of it.

Needs to be on the door of every womans' space, everywhere.

I do wonder what some people think we get up to in there?

Like comedy shows when creepy guys think that all ‘us gals’ like pyjama parties where we comb each others hair and have pillow fights in teensy teddies.

The sight of me in my unmentionables would be enough to send anyone screaming from the changing rooms. And like Mary Beard - I don’t care who I shock.

Of course staff do not need training. It is now the responsibility of the victim of an assault to make themselves known to M&S. M&S are no longer taking any steps to be proactive about safeguarding in their changing rooms.

"M&S shareholder here - when’s the next AGM?"

Me too LordProfFekko, good point. Maybe I won't sell them just yet......

It’s usually summer and in London. But you can contact the chair...

corporate.marksandspencer.com/investors/shareholder-information/agm-information

Isn’t it M&S who in one of their branches have a trans woman doing bra fittings! So if they think that’s acceptable I’m not surprised by anything else they do.

"Man who doesn't want to get changed near other men = stunning and brave, we all need to do everything we can to accommodate.

Woman who doesn't want to get changed near other men = hysterically paranoid."

^^ Well said Peter.

I like M&S's winter tights and bras. Their Halloween sweets very good too not stuffing my face right now Recommendations for comfy warm tights elsewhere welcome!

If they're alienating women (and as a by-product their husbands) and daughters, who is going to be their customer base? Not the woke neo-liberals, they'd not be caught dead in the granny hall of lavender doom!

It is great to see some ManFridays popping up on this thread

This would not bother me. Doors are lockable.

Not RTFT. Assuming this is re. transgender people in changing rooms? Well in that case, what would you rather happen - that a trans woman is forced to use the men's area? If the changing rooms can be locked, I don't really get the problem anyway.

M&S is usually the first stop for the first bra fitting and purchase, so lots of young girls go there to get changed in the cubicle then often come out to discuss with their mum, the current setup only allows women in that area. Totally wrong to even consider such a change.

This is M&S saying that anyone can use whichever changing rooms they feel more comfortable in. The T issue is another can of worms.

This would not bother me. Doors are lockable.

Then that's fine for you ED - but it bothers a lot of women, myself included - and it is the tip of an iceberg

it is hyperbolic to get people frothing

To be perfectly honest, if I were to froth, it would probably be over Karen White sexually assaulting women in a female prison. Or I may have frothed a bit about 'Katie' Dolatowski attacking a girl in Tesco's toilets, and then being housed in a women's shelter, I admit. I might have got 'worked up' or even 'hysterical' about one of the women and/or their children murdered by their partner or ex-partner. It has happened, it's true, I get over-sensitive about violence and rape committed by misogynistic males.

So far this policy is just an enabling motion, a foot in the door for any male who wishes to access female space. Perhaps nobody will abuse it, and that will be great. I very much hope they don't.

Unfortunately, it will impact on women who don't want to be unclothed around males. As suggested, they may well 'stay at home'. So - that's fine? Women are intimidated out of the public sphere, and that's fine so long as males who want to access female space are comfortable?

To be perfectly honest I'm too fucking depressed to get frothy. It's over. We've lost. Women don't have spaces any more - we don't have rape shelters, we don't have toilets, changing rooms or any other spaces where we might prefer to have the absence of a male presence. Women in prison are being locked up with males, they can't 'stay at home', can they?

Why are so many areas going unisex? Was that the goal?

It didn’t work when I was a kid (unisex was the trend in the 70s but widely hated).

Well in that case, what would you rather happen - that a trans woman is forced to use the men's area?

Not quite Zuri - more that self-ID-ing, untransitioned (ie not surgically transitioned) TWs are expected to use a gender neutral changing room - but that the gender-neutral changing room be the one which was formerly the mens' changing room (NOT the women' changing room). After all, as you say, if the doors can be locked, what's the problem anyway?

It’s all sex vs gender innit 😷

That 😷 was supposed to be zippy 🤐

Excellent post Scrimshaw

zurigirl

That's exactly what I want to happen

It's not my place to make them feel comfortable. And if the doors are lockable so therefore ''what's the issue'' the mens have lockable doors too so they can get changed in there.

NRTFT wasn't it M&S who employed a tw bra fitter?

They deserve to go bust (pun intended and probably made upthread).

Unfortunately, it will impact on women who don't want to be unclothed around males. As suggested, they may well 'stay at home'. So - that's fine? Women are intimidated out of the public sphere, and that's fine so long as males who want to access female space are comfortable?

To be perfectly honest I'm too fucking depressed to get frothy. It's over. We've lost. Women don't have spaces any more - we don't have rape shelters, we don't have toilets, changing rooms or any other spaces where we might prefer to have the absence of a male presence. Women in prison are being locked up with males, they can't 'stay at home', can they?

This. And those women saying 'It wouldn't bother me' - maybe not. But can you for once imagine that it DOES bother quite a few women and girls?

@ScrimshawTheSecond me too. Sadly.