It’s official; Marks and Spencer have fallen, the sequel.......

[MrsSnippyPants]

First thread getting full and and I continue to be interested in responses received to people’s emails and store visits.

Husband takes the dog out for a little last stroll before bed. He often goes down to the river, which is fairly close. He will come home and tell me about wildlife he has seen.
I would never, ever walk alone down to the very dark path and walk by the river at midnight. I would love to, but even in the day I get nervous, if I am there alone I worry. It is such a small thing, but he has the freedom, and I do not. Of course I could go there every evening, and nothing might ever happen to me, but the fear of what could happen keeps me indoors with the dc, while he can go out.

So small things like that are part of daily life for women, and the fact that a shop where I spend hundreds of pounds every few months, can’t even respect me enough as a female customer, to allow me and other women to keep a bloody changing room just for us actually makes me want to cry with rage.

actually makes me want to cry with rage.

YY, I'm furious. It's the casual disregard.

I used to think feminist writers like Julie Bindel were going a bit far. Now I realise they were just talking great good sense and I was the one who needed a good shake.

PureGym has the same policy - everyone can change in the changing room they feel most comfortable with. When I challenged this and asked if that meant any man could simply change in the women's changing room on a whim I was told that any woman having an issue could go and use the disabled loo to change in. I cancelled my membership.

France hits it out of the park on the M&S thread! 😂

Falala, falala, fa la la.
Does anyone know a member of staff in Marks ? I wonder what they feel about it ?
Sailing very close to Yaniv territory to make female staff fit bras on blokes, there to satisfy a fetish.
If stores want so much to be inclusive, why is this always the option, when they could add a mixed sex space, and keep the other spaces sex segregated ? I can’t believe anyone who isn’t a total creep thinks making 12 year old girls get bra fittings , with an adult man able to listen from the next cubicle, is a good idea ?

So an awful lot of women don’t want this. Quite a few men don’t either.

Why are they doing this?

Perhaps people should point out to them that Yaniv lost his case?

They believe it to be “progressive”? It is a cheap way of looking woke, without needing to spend any money ? As I am sure they won’t up the staffing ratio to police these mixed sex spaces where girls and women are half naked.

Progressive my arse.

I'll certainly be fascinated to see the post holiday sales figures.

Agree it certainly is the opposite of progressive, if women can’t use fitting rooms or loos when out shopping.

Heres a handy list.

Of shops who have the same policy as m and s.

I see Next isn't on that list yet. Does anyone know their policy? Please join me in emailing them to find out (I did so about 4 days ago and still not heard back). I really want to find somewhere to buy the kids clothes from that I would previously have bought at M&S.

As for where to buy my own clothes if JL has fallen too.... hmmmmm.

I've started buying clothes from stitchfix. Avoids the changing room issue altogether.

I'm going to try the Next Chief Exec, the grandly named Lord Simon Wolfson, Baron of Aspley Guise!

[email protected]

PurpleCrowbar
Rigby & Peller worked for us. We now make it a stop every time we come to London.
I only shop at M&S for food. Buy undies online. Not ideal but fortunately I know my size.

Mumsnet mum, winter 2019, after trying to find one woman-friendly non-woke shop to buy clothes from and failing.

Champagne

I spoke to an M&S staff member last night on their customer service live chat. I said that I had shopped there for >30yrs, as did my mum & gran. Advised her that I like most women shopped for me, my hubbie, my kids- shopped for groceries and Christmas . That they have effectively said we don’t matter whilst we are their main customers- i told her that I was genuinely so upset and disappointed in them. I said they could easily use the specific exemption in the EqA2010 as Centre Parc have done but they have chosen not to. She was very polite and there was no hint of ‘take it or leave it’ she said that she was so sorry M&S had made me feel that way and she would relay everything I said back to her manager. I finished off our conversation by saying that if they were so committed to this line of ‘equality’ why did they not use transwomen modelling their lingerie and fashion in their tv ads........

Champagne

On the plus side, Always have given me the push into resusable sanpro, maybe M&S and JL will equally help the environment by pushing women into re using clothes instead of buying new ones.

And again with the 'comfortable' thing being utter hypocrisy: plenty of customers are explaining loud and clear they're uncomfortable. For some reason those customers aren't the ones supposed to be comfortable, and oh look, they're all ones born female.

They are supposed however to play an important role in ensuring that other customers (who do get listened to) are comfortable.

It's sexism on crack. I did my first Christmas shop this morning. Didn't even walk into M&S, and it would usually have been my main destination.

We stopped at motorway services earlier. I had the choice of M&S and WH Smiths for snacks. I chose Smiths when I’d normally have gone in M&S.

I would usually go to M&S at least every other day for lunch, groceries, tights etc. Bit since this nonsense thought.