Gender free changing rooms

[londongirl12]

I went to primark yesterday as needed a new bra. When I went to try it on, the changing rooms were gender free (can’t remember the exact wording that was used on the sign). I did hesitate about going in, but I was rushing and needed the loo so no time to dither 😂. You could still go left and right (which would have been male and female in the past) and it seemed like each gender was still keeping to one side or another. Maybe men don’t like the fact of sharing changing rooms with women either!! I went on a cubicle that was next to a mum and daughter, but I still did feel on edge knowing a man could come in. If the cubicles were locked doors then I probably wouldn’t have cared, but these were curtains. I have never tried on something so fast, no one wants to see me with my boobs out 🤣. But I think it will put me off using their changing rooms again.

Do you mean they were mixed sex?

I think other places used to do this like H&M but I have a feeling they stopped it and separated it into m/f some years ago - possibly because of issues...

I wouldn't like it as the curtains never close properly.
were there other single-sex ones elsewhere in the store?

I won't be trying things on in Primark then, not with only a curtain for privacy they don't close properly at the best of times.

Primark does this to keep TiMs happy and give them access to women who are undressing. The Women’s Rights Network in Wrexham did a (conspicuously law abiding) protest a few weeks ago and surprise surprise something like 97% of Primark customers don’t want mixed sex changing rooms.

My DH would be horrified at a mixed changing room and so would many men I think. He's more of a Matalan man so I wonder what's happening in there ?

christ,
Well that's primark out then! That's horrifying!

I used a gender neutral changing room at Primark a few months ago because I wanted my husband's opinion of what I was trying on so he came in with me, it was very handy at the time. I would have used the ladies otherwise.

Looks like Zara is taking a more sensible approach and is more considerate of the safety of women and girls. Well done Zara.

All the Primarks near me have a dedicated female changing room and then a mixed sex changing room

I went into Primark the other day to buy a jacket. The downstairs changing room was labelled 'Women only', with a note that there were 'gender free' changing rooms upstairs, i.e. for men. The signage is new.
M&S OTOH have a sign saying 'Try It On' (or similar) with locked cubicles with room for 2 people and an inner divide curtain. Both shops are in my local shopping park.
You would probably have found the Women only changing rooms had you had time to look. Can't remember if Primark have loos - do they?

They should all have a women only changing room as well.

https://corporate.primark.com/en-gb/a/news/corporate-news/important-changes-to-fitting-room-uk

Their clothes are poor quality but they are quite good on this.

Are yoi sure you read the full signs? All the Primarks I've been in have one sort of lobby area, staffed, then you can turn left or right for 'female only' or 'mixed gender' changing rooms.

All the primariks I've been in have a women only changing room.

Was in H n M today and it was a mixed sex changing room only. 20 minutes wait to get in it, man in front of me was not impressed with that.

That makes no sense to me.

If they are NB, they don’t identify with either sex so if denied access to the female change room, they would feel just as comfortable using the male changing rooms.

Yes I read the sign. Can’t remember the exact wording now but there was no gender. You could still turn left or right but the arrows went both ways so you could use either side.

This is the large one at Bluewater. I was upstairs in the kids area, so there might have been a female only one downstairs.

No loos unfortunately!!!

I suppose it makes a change, but why are men not allowed a single sex changing room too? Or is this to accommodate the TWs by not calling it men only?