Shoppers boycott M&S for the gender-neutral changing rooms

The policy of using gender-neutral changing rooms makes it unsafe for women to visit the stores.

The British retailer Marks & Spencer’s policy of giving customers the “right to choose their fitting rooms” has been widely discussed on social media. The initiative has been promoted by M&S for three years, but the debate has started now after the company publicly confirmed the existence of gender-neutral changing rooms on its Twitter account. Another British fashion retailer, Topshop, has been tacitly using similar practices since 2017.

Most have called for a boycott of the chain’s stores, noting that the policy of using gender-neutral changing rooms makes it unsafe for women to visit the stores. Others, on the other hand, praised the retailer for being inclusive.

The discussion began after M&S representatives commented on one user’s question about the right to choose changing rooms in department stores. 

“Although they are primarily used by shoppers of that gender, as an inclusive retailer and in line with most other retailers, we give shoppers a choice of fitting rooms,” M&S commented.

The #BoycottMarksandSpencer movement began spreading on Twitter in the following days, and was joined by thousands of store customers who believe the company’s policies infringe on the safety and dignity of women.