Glasgow M&S Changing room debacle

[Lordfrontpaw]

Now I can't quite get my head around this. I must be missing something. Please note this was two men, no claims of them being anything other than two men.

So - 2 men wanted to use the changing room in the ladies clothes section because (just the) one was trying on trousers.

A member of the M&S team then told him: “I can’t stop you from using it,”

One was told by a member of the public that it was for women only to “try on bras”

While in the changing room, they heard the member of the public say, “I wouldn’t want to get my t**s out in front of other men.

It is then claimed the M&S staff member laugh and agreed before saying, “we have to allow it because of all this new stuff."

The couple complained to a manager instore who told them that she would reiterate to staff that fitting rooms were unisex. They also complained in writing to the store and are now looking to escalate their complaint further. (of course they are)

The men said that while they don't identify as women, if they had, then the negative comments they heard from women could have driven them to suicide

One said “I could have been a non-binary or trans person, they don’t know that.”

M&S apologise

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18302422.amp/

In my local M&S (when I went to return nearly £200 worth of clothing before closing my account), changing rooms are labelled changing room, lingerie changing room, men's changing room.

To be fair most people click and collect and try on at home now anyway

You do wonder if someone else has tried them on first though!

it sounds as though they have vague "inclusive" guidelines to appease everyone which the shopfloor staff then have to try and enact. When someone complains they can then just blame it on the poor Saturday girl for getting the guidelines wrong
I know this is in reference to JL not M&S but it's terrible management.
I wonder if GMB/UNITE/USDAW give a fuck that their members are being used as scapegoats for a two-faced policy?
I bet they've been Stonewalled into submission too (I know UNITE have).

I give up I really do. I read a horrible news story ‘man raped in park’ - I though‘that’s bloody terrible - I wonder if they were a trans man?’. What is happening to society when we can’t even say who is who?

@fascinated "Scotland has gone from being deeply homophobic" are you for real? Dont talk absolute bullshit. Deeply homophobic. How dare you speak for a whole nation, how deeply offensive.

I don’t think it’s worse than anywhere else. When my sister came out my parents were absolutely fine - when my cousin came out my uncle went spare, then was ok. (This was the 80s).

What parts of the UK weren't deeply homophobic before acceptance by the general public started to grow in the 80s? Anywhere I went was deeply homophobic.

Ok. Maybe two generations.

And I fail to see how you interpret my statement as saying it was worse than anywhere else. That’s your gloss on it.

Dont talk absolute bullshit. Deeply homophobic. How dare you speak for a whole nation, how deeply offensive.

I found it deeply homophobic, and decided not to live there as a result. I found the southeast to be far less homophobic.

I didn't go to every Scottish town and city and I didn't speak to every single person who lived there but that was my impression.

It seems less homophobic now.

I think that homophobia is alive and well everywhere. It's just that those sort of people have learned to be quieter about their hatreds.

I will miss the syrup sponge puddings - but this will be good for my health. And as for my comfort I will desist in spending any money at Marks and Spencers as of today and will encourage all my female relations to do the same.

I had a thought. Are these two lads someone’s mates? Maybe trying to expose the batshittery of the policy?

It sounds to me as if the men wanted to make a point about the absurdity of the policy but possibly I'm being over-optimistic

I was thinking about it, and could imagine some of the lads I knew in my youth thinking it was outrageous that their mums and nans could be put in such a situation, and that it would be a gas to do such a thing (and have the brass neck to make a performance out of it)! I really hope so.

I really hope Glaswegian youth haven’t disappeared up their own backsides.

I really hope Glaswegian youth haven’t disappeared up their own backsides.

Nah. They'll be twats through fae Embra Yooni.

Arf! Does the youth no longer say ‘wee nyaff’?

I always thought it was just Princess Anne who said that... ;-)

That’s ‘naff’ as if ‘naff off’.

‘Wee nyaff’ is (not) a term of endearment (when you can’t quite get away with calling someone an absolute arsehole/little shit).

ahh. So she didnt say nyaff off? It would have been appropriate in Marks in this instance, anyhow.

Scotland has gone from being deeply homophobic to utterly woke in one generation

This is so true. I’m Scottish, but haven’t lived there for around 20 years. I rather lost touch with scottish politics for quite a while (living down under) then caught back up when we moved back to Europe. It was like a different country. I don’t recognise it at the moment. It seems like there are loads of smug, gay men in spanky waistcoats setting all the agendas - and no one seems to question them, out of politeness or not wanting to be called homophobic.

It’s like the whole country has overshot, when trying to address its homophobia. Like when people try to become more assertive and overshoot into aggressiveness until they get the balance right.

Yep. I was going to reference the notion of “the lady doth protest too much..” (or whatever that quote says)

But I thought it might be a bit sexist!

And I am actually now thinking how ironic the “professionally offended” comment about my dating to speak for all Scots is...

Sorry, “daring”