Macy's allowing cross-dressing men to use the women's dressing room

[v-girl]

What are your thoughts on men in the women's dressing room? What's to stop a pedophile/pervert/rapist from posing as a cross-dresser and to gain access to his next victim? I don't see it as a religious issue or a LGBT issue. I see it as a safety issue. Macy's dressing room doors (in the stores here at least) have slats that you can see through if you look carefully.

Thoughts?

[Ladybug]

If you own a penis, regardless of how you feel about, you don't need to be in the women's dressing room. Next it will be locker rooms and showers. Awesome.

[SuzySunshine]

I agree with you V, there is no way I'd let my daughter use the dressing rooms with slat doors with a man in there too.

[GrayMatterWife]

Why would a man need to use the women's dressing room, regardless of gender-orientation? Just take your items to the men's dressing room. Maybe they might feel uncomfortable with female clothing in the men's dressing room, but I would also feel uncomfortable with a man being in the ladies' dressing room when there are gender-separated dressing rooms. I like the Gap way of doing it, anyway--everyone uses the same. My son doesn't have to be mortified about being dragged into the women's dressing area! I know that is, as a practical matter, not really workable in a department store.

[diggitydot]

For myself, I couldn't give two shits who's in the dressing room next to me. But I can see how it would make someone else uncomfortable.

Rapists and pedos typically shun public places like major department stores, but I suppose some sick fuck might try to use a dressing room full of people as a rape pad. I don't see them pretending to be trans en mass to gain access to prey, though.

[spotty_dog]

I wasn't familiar with the news item, but I looked it up and it sounds like it was a transgendered person, not a cross-dresser. Thus, not a man.

If the only thing stopping you from being raped at Macy's, or your child being exploited by a pedophile, is the gender-segregated dressing room, then I dunno -- I think I'd opt to do my trying on at home and just return what doesn't work, because that sounds like a pretty dangerous environment in which to be vulnerable, eagle-eyed dressing room attendants or no.

Yeah, even my crunchy, liberal power to LGBT self isn't fond of this idea. I don't really think it would end up being a place rapists stalk, etc. b/c it's not as though dressing rooms offer much in the way of privacy, but I don't really think it's a change that needs to be made.

ETA: If Alison's take is correct (transgendered - not a cross dresser) then yes, the person isn't male, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

I don't know, I'm pretty familiar with the LGBT community and transgendered people. I support this. I'm sure it's very scary for M2F transgendered people to walk into a mens restroom in their dress, high heels, etc., knowing that they might get beat up. Keep in mind that some M2F transgendered people don't have penis's anymore if they've had bottom surgery. Likewise, some F2M transgendered people don't have vaginas anymore and their urethra comes through a pseudopenis. If pedophiles want victims, they will find them. Look at how many pedophiles are in churches and football camps (just to cite what's been all over the news lately). Do you not send your kid to church or football camp anymore? Barring transgendered people from restrooms that do not correspond with their chromosomally assigned gender is not going to stop a pedophile. There are easier ways to gain access to victims. Further, you likely wont' even know the transgendered folk are there. Some are very, very convincing. For all you know, you've already been in a bathroom with a transgendered "man"- and so has your daughter. It's just like gays in the military. It's been happening a long time. Making it "legal" doesn't mean there's all of a sudden going to be an onslaught of men dressed as women going into public bathrooms, you know?

ETA: For some reason I read "restrooms" instead of "dressing rooms", but sort of same deal.

[oceanchild]

Why would a man need to use the women's dressing room, regardless of gender-orientation?

I haven't read a lot about this particular case, but just from my time working in a department store, it's a lot easier to keep clothes closer to where they came from, plus different departments (and their fitting rooms) might be a substantial distance apart. Those are small reasons, but they can add up. Not that I think there's about to be an onslaught of cross-dressers in fitting rooms as a result of this.

I guess I'm not crazy about setting a baseline that all men should be suspect as potential pedophiles, and furthermore I agree with hollyday that it seems like the bigger problem with pedophiles is when they're in positions of trust.

This sounds like a pretty small deal to me, at any rate.

For all you know, you've already been in a bathroom with a transgendered "man"- and so has your daughter. It's just like gays in the military. It's been happening a long time. Making it "legal" doesn't mean there's all of a sudden going to be an onslaught of men dressed as women going into public bathrooms, you know?

I actually thought of that. I am curious what brought it to the forefront, because it's not as though a transgendered person would walk in the the clothing of a man (for example) and want to try on women's clothes. The back/forth of dressing IS cross-dressing, and that's the scenario I am uncomfortable with.

[Vanquisher]

Cross-dressing and transgender (whether or not they've had gender reassignment surgery or not) are completely different things. A dude who lives as a man but likes to put on women's clothes occasionally? No, I wouldn't be super comfy with that. A person who is living as the opposite gender? Whatever. It's not like we're going to do genital checks at the door. It's not a hard line; it's fuzzy. I know I've seen plenty of people in my life where I can only guess at their gender. At some point we need to just let it go.

I agree that pervs and pedophiles, rapists and other deviants aren't hanging out in department stores, peeping through slats.

For some reason I read "bathrooms" instead of "dressing rooms". You are absolutely right. If a transgendered man is going to come in and want to try on women's clothing, he's probably going to already be dressed as a man which is different from a man coming in dressed as a man and going into the women's dressing rooms. I can see where that would be a totally different ball of wax.

[Pollyanna]

Doesn't bother me. If some sicko was going to come and peep or worse in a dressing room I doubt the "rules" of the dressing room would stop them. Plus, wait till you have a teen daughter and watch men undress them with their eyes as they walk out in public. Trust me, that is far more disturbing.

[spotty_dog]

If a transgendered man is going to come in and want to try on women's clothing, he's probably going to already be dressed as a man

A trans-gendered cross dresser? A man in a woman's body who presents as a man but who wants to wear women's clothing as a sexual fetish? Now we're really complicating matters.

From the reports I read the woman in question came in, dressed in feminine attire and wearing makeup, with a group of friends. They were all trying on clothes, but one of them came out of the room, the attendant said she couldn't go back in, because she was obviously a man. The friends backed her up, and the employee said that "it would go against her religious beliefs to lie that he was a woman or compromise with homosexuality". Erm, the customer's sexual preference didn't come into play. :\

Haha. I meant, if a transgendered man was going to go in and try on women's clothing he'd already be dressed as a woman. Now I"m all turned around upside down. I confused myself.