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

Thanks to the wonderful sleuthing of pingponghavoc we know that this M&S store is directly contravening the law and advertising women-only spaces which then turn out to be mixed sex.

Women and girls are around 9 times more likely to be assaulted in mixed sex spaces - we're not being difficult to insist that single sex provision is in fact safe, any more than a parent is being difficult if they insist a baby has the appropriate car seat. It's basic safety laws.

This manager has a responsibility to consider the safety, privacy and dignity of his female customers. If the store is breaking the law, it's not good enough to hide behind company policy.

It's unacceptable that on other sites his sexuality and appearance have apparently been commented on. But not one single person is doing that here.

It doesn't change the fact that a single sex space has to be single sex, and this manager should have been trained to understand that. The Supreme Court Ruling was over a year ago.

It's completely unacceptable. He didn't create the policy. He's doing the job he's paid to do. She could have written a paragraph and posted that to highlight the point without harassing someone in their place of work and recording it for public flogging.

The fitting rooms aren't labelled based on sex in store. They're labelled as fitting rooms.

So they're not contravening anything. The law only states that if a single sex space is offered, it must be based on biological sex. They aren't offering that and aren't required to do so.

The clip has been viewed 4.8 million times on Twitter alone. That raises awareness of M&S policy and, if people don't like it, creates pressure on M&S to alter it. How much publicity would she have got from 'writing a paragraph' do you think?

Thanks for noticing, heathspeedwell I was being to think i was writing in invisible ink!

What im trying to say is that M&S do say they have male and female fitting rooms. And they are generally placed in the men clothing, women clothing and bra sections.

Is it unreasonable to read that they offer single sex changing, see a changing room in the women's or the bra section and expect them to be single sex? Even if the sign says just 'fitting rooms'?

Lots of people here say they have never seen a man in the fitting room in the women's clothing area. And why would we? It'd be odd for a man to pick up a jumper in the men's section and walk into the changing rooms in the women's.

M&S are saying thats unnecessary- they are providing facilities close to where he was, but if he wants to change in the ladies, he has their full support.

People here say that it doesn't matter because the doors are lockable and the security is so tight nothing could happen.

The assistant said that there is no danger to women in mix sex changing rooms.

Ive googled but cant see any completely floor to ceiling walls and doors. Therefore its easy to hear what's going on the next cubicle and easy to slip a phone through gaps and take a photo.

The security is for shoplifting, not to stop voyeurism and indecent exposure.

So what is more unreasonable- the women assuming single sex changing, the men who just fancies using the fitting room in the women's clothing area, the member of staff dismissing the need for single sex, or m&s for unclear advertising and using shoplifting security as a proxy for reducing the risk of voyeurism and indecent exposure?

There is a separate question about if its unreasonable to video him and then post online.

But however unreasonable the recording and social media posting was, it doesnt negate the concerns about the changing rooms.

Exactly. Women have been complaining directly to head office for a long time, and other women will be still unaware of their policies because they do not describe their facilities accurately online.

She could have blurred his name and face. It would have still gained the views. She knew what she was doing and that was to bully a male member of staff who is simply trying to earn a living.

Really disappointed this in Essex, I thought we had more common sense than mixed sex changing rooms.

This TRA below writes about it and then pretends that no feminist has spoken up about the recent story on teenage boys not being given prison sentences for the gang rape (he's forgetting the fact that it has been the national headline for days).

Another case of TRAs just blatantly lying.

https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/27/incident-m-amp-s-changing-rooms-proves-anti-trans-women-need-get-a-life-28541601/

I would say that M&S are being irresponsible in their attitude. They're sending staff out in pronoun badges which many people find offensive and provocative, they're being deceptive in how they describe their changing rooms as the PP said, and also if this man is answering per staff training, it's patronising, questionable and manipulative. In the clip I saw - not the whole thing of course - his attitude stank frankly, and that is the reason it has so many views unfortunately for him and M&S. Blurring his face out would have lessened the impact.

I don’t like it but then again I would be hypocrite if I didn’t call all the other videos of line where customers are shouting at staff in bars, airlines or even the WiSpa. I guess sometimes people become so angered and frustrated by the situation they feel they need evidence to show they are not being taken seriously.

The woman filming is a disgrace.

She needs to realise its 2026.

@TheseWordsAreMine I think you need to realise it's 2026. Women won the Supreme Court ruling.

If a changing room is advertised as being for women, then it can't be mixed sex.

Women and girls are 9 times more likely to be assaulted in mixed sex changing rooms, which is why most women really don't want them.

Exactly!

A woman finds a way to highlight - and get serious attention for - an issue that we've all known about for some time, but MSM ignore it and M & S can't give two fucks.

And she's the baddie?

No, it seems some are labelled 'men's' and some are labelled 'fitting rooms'.

So men get their own spaces but women don't. How is that right or fair?

But the women’s changing wasnt female only - they included TW in their definition 🙄

Surely the solution to this is for women en masse to use the changing in the men’s section? With just regular blokes there the chance of encountering a creep or hidden camera will be much lower? Those people target the women’s specifically - counterintuitive but possibly the solution as it might cause the men to start complaining about the inconvenience to them?

she could have just sound recorded rather than video.
she could have aimed the camera at the floor so didn't capture his face.
she could have uploaded the video with just audio.
she could have uploaded the video blanking out his face.

making an individual staff member identifiable and lying that he was liable for not enforcing a law that doesn't actually apply in those specific circumstances, added absolutely nothing to whatever she was trying to "prove", which, as above, she doesn't even seem to know herself given people are trying to claim she was doing it because of concealed cameras and whatnot, none of which she actually mentions on the video - the only thing she says is "why should I HAVE to change in front of men," which she doesn't. Even if she used the changing rooms (which nobody is making her do) she would presumably shut the door so wouldn't be changing in front of anyone.

@tokennamechange of course the law applies at the store. It's advertising a changing room online as female, but turns out it's mixed sex.

The manager has a duty to know the law and a duty to keep his customers safe.

If he didn't know the fire regulations would you be so sympathetic about his ignorance?

This is blatant self publicity - horrible click bait linking himself to two tragic stories attracting a lot of media attention. Horrible behaviour

Does this idiot know how utterly filthy and depraved some men are?
My daughter works in a retail store and recently had the unfortunate experience of picking up and being handed clothes covered in spunk from some filthy degenerate who was "just using the changing room".

No, we don't want to share with MEN thank you. Even one in a dress.

And even if it's 2026, whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean.

Heard exactly that story from a friend who worked for M&S - men regularly masturbating into the women's clothes. This was a while back so maybe men have totally changed 🙄

"Why should I have to change in front of a man?"
If that is part of the message people take away from the nearly five million views - given that they might then make the connection between this and other mixed-sex changing spaces - then good job.

Let’s hope you don’t have relatives working in customer facing retail… shame on you thinking filming like this is acceptable.

The women would probably get turfed out of the men's fitting room, a la Hampstead Ponds.

This is bollox