M&S Colchester claim mixed changing is ‘completely safe’ for women.

[PeachOctopus]

How is it that M&S can continue to flaunt the high court ruling and do not offer single sex changing rooms?

Abouterf in this video confronts the store manager and is fobbed off and told that it’s head offices policy:

Colchester @marksandspencer I asked where the women’s changing room was to try on swimwear. Manager Andrew (he/ his /him) says gender neutral changing areas are “completely safe” for women and girls. For asking him this question, he told me to leave the store.

Abouterf x account

If he was being.a dick I'd think he had it coming.

I think you need to be clear about the context of that study, which was swimming pools not department stores, and I would contend which are a significantly different environment.

They both involve changing rooms, so not fundamentally different?

Nice try. I would hazard a guess that the number of women who are concerned about a trans man having access to the area where she or her daughter is or will undress is zero.

It’s males they worry about - however they identify or present- due to a lifetime of experience and verifiable statistics.

You may call these women misandrists if you wish, but they’re not transphobic.

Do you have to get fully undressed to try on a pair of shorts?

You have to be down to your pants. That's quite enough for many of the voyeurs.

Ok so if he has a mental health crisis as a result of social media fallout that's ok with you? Nice! Glad you're not one of my relatives.

@PollyNomial I linked to the study, so I was pretty clear about the context.

Men with bad intentions don't want to get caught. They prefer unisex spaces because they have a better chance of enjoying their paraphilia.

I have to be topless to try on a bra, though. But you presumably know this already.

And what about all the women and little girls who have a mental health crisis because they are raped, assaulted or filmed in mixed sex spaces?

A manager has a responsibility to follow the law and keep customers safe.

This manager ignored the law and treated a woman like a pest simply because she asked for her legal rights.

And what about all the women and little girls who have a mental health crisis because they are raped, assaulted or filmed in mixed sex spaces?
They’re not men, so seem to be regarded as collateral damage in
the interests of men getting what they want.

Oh so because some women and little girls have mental health crisis that means we are justified in bring on mental health crisis to anyone. Yeah you're embarrassing yourself here..."Two wrongs don't make a right"

No, she is not the one embarrassing herself. Bless you.

Oh yes she is...

@thedramaQueen because women and girls are 9 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in mixed sex spaces, managers are expected to follow the law.

And if he was this dismissive of his female customer's legal rights, it doesn't inspire confidence that he listens to any of his female staff's safety concerns either.

Not in this particular store they aren’t, perhaps in other stores they are. If it is the case and there’s no single sex space for this women to use, she doesn’t have to like it, nor does she have to shop there - I completely agree she shouldn’t have to use a mixed sex space if she doesn’t want to (although we are talking about individual lockable cubicles not shared rooms with/without curtains.

But as I’ve said a fair few times now that doesn’t give the person that filmed this man the right to do what she did.

As she was in no danger (she wasn’t being forced to use the changing room), she should have left the store and made a complaint to head office if she felt she wanted to.

Following an employee (who has no ability to change things whether he wants to or not) around the store hollering at him and then filming the tail end of the interaction and posting it for people to cast judgement on him was never the answer and is completely unacceptable. I would be furious if someone did this to me in the course of my working day because they didn’t like the work policies I was forced to implement.

I'm not disputing any of that.

What I find disgusting is how this retail worker has been treated online by people. Filming someone like that and sharing online is not on. Film to share with the manager or the police is one thing...but the way this was upload on to social media is shameful.

There are a million ways a complaint could have been made.

If you can't see what is wrong with that there is no point in discussing this with any further. You will turn people off the cause by using tactics like this. It is shameful.

@thedramaQueen men who are putting women and children at risk by not following the law often find it unpleasant when they are caught out.

Stop blaming the whistle blower.

Whistle blower 🤣

This just makes you look silly and people won't listen to your cause.

Next you'll be telling me that the "Whistle blower" can murder someone...

Why do you keep blathering on about “the law”. The store, and the manager, aren’t breaking any law. Just stop.

And if you didn’t have the foresight to see that complaining about trans women in women’s spaces would ultimately lead to more and more mixed sex spaces, that’s on the community complaining.
It was obvious, and the consequence is now women are no longer exposed only to the utter minute number of trans women who happen to be sexual predators, but to all men where vast numbers are sexual predators. Thanks for that 👍🏻 good job.

You still haven't specified what "law" actually states that shops must provide sex-segregated changing rooms for customers...

So, women, do you understand?

You don't have to shop there. Just stay at home.

Don't be noisy. Certainly don't "holler" at people even if they are walking away from you. Just stay nice and quiet.

@MyLuckyHelper Many women have raised this concern with M&S (and other stores). They have written to managers and head office. They have stood (quite quietly, you'll be pleased to know) outside M&S, collecting comments and opinions on whether women want signposted, single-sex changing rooms. And what has M&S (and others) done? Ignored their concerns about safety, dignity, privacy, etc. So yes, perhaps we do need to raise our voices now. Hopefully the consequence of those five million views will be for more women to realise how little M&S care about their female customers.

Therapy might help improve his outlook.

Being pretty clear about it would be saying "these statistics are about changing rooms in swimming pools and they show..."

You didn't do anything like this, so anyone not sufficiently interested to click on the link may have formed the incorrect impression you had shown crime statistics about department stores.

And I doubt most people with "bad intentions" wants to be caught, men or women, whether they commit opportunistic theft, acts of voyeurism, or worse.