Privacy in changing rooms

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liaconn

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I go to a gym in Kimmage/Terenure, mainly to use the pool. The female changing room is a very large communal area and there's usually up to about a dozen people there at any one time, meaning loads of space for people to spread out a bit and give each other some privacy.
However, I am amazed at the number of people who will ignore empty aisles of lockers and come right up beside you when you are trying to change out of your swimming gear, getting in your way, making you feel uncomfortable, crowded etc. On Sunday my mother was with me and some girl, in a virtually empty changing room, sat on the bench right beside her and started texting away for ages on her phone while my mother was getting changed.
I am genuinely curious as to why anyone would do this? To me its rude and a bit thick but maybe I'm missing something. Is there some herd instinct that people have in changing rooms that make them feel safer if everyone's in a huddle in the same corner? :confused:
 
If so, she was possibly displaying benign herding behaviour, apparantly we are prone to it as a species :eek:
 
Some people are creatures of habit and just like going to the same spot everytime - maybe nearer the pool/hairdryers/showers/gym. I know in one gym I was in, the changing room was always very warm so there was a bit of herding around the only cooling vent.
Same thing annoys me in carparks - it's virtually empty but someone parks so close I need a tin-opener to get in the driver's door...
 
I think its possibly the same gym that we used to go to and people regularly don't bother using their locks and have had their stuff stolen. My daughter heard one of the staff confronting a girl who appeared to be going through an open locker and its wasn't hers. This may be another angle to it. When people are getting changed they can be relaxed and leave purse or whatever lying around.
 
Sue Ellen said:
I think its possibly the same gym that we used to go to and people regularly don't bother using their locks and have had their stuff stolen. My daughter heard one of the staff confronting a girl who appeared to be going through an open locker and its wasn't hers. This may be another angle to it. When people are getting changed they can be relaxed and leave purse or whatever lying around.
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Maybe that's it. Still a bit :( though.

Also, it should be up to people to take care of their own valuables. If they choose to leave purses or jewellery in an unlocked locker, that's their problem. They shouldn't use it as an excuse to be inconsiderate towards other people.
 
When I was a member of a gym, I used to see all sorts of behaviours that would baffle an anthropologist. My wife would see similar in the ladies changing rooms.

The norms of society do not apply.
 
Apart from the "herding" instinct, does the gym not have a rule about using mobile phones in the changing room?

The gym I visit has notices all over the place, stating that mobiles are not allowed. I saw a woman using a phone while she sat at the side of the pool watching her friends having a swim, and a staff member told her to put the phone away.
 
Unfortunately no, they don't. I hadn't thought of the camera angle but of course that should be an important factor and mobiles should be banned. Apart from anything else, its annoying to have people just sitting on the bench chatting on the phone and looking around them when people are trying to get dressed.
Sorry, I know I sound grumpy but I just hate communal changing rooms and some people don't make the experience any more pleasant by their behaviour.
 
I think some people have no sense of personal space. Standing in queue while shopping,I often wonder what someone thinks will happen if they allow a tiny space between me and them while standing behind me. Yes,I am grumpy today :eek:.Agree also re people who park right beside you, leaving you no space to get back into car,even though there are tons of spaces free :confused:
 
Dont know if this thread is confined to the female experience but as a male i never had any problem in the changing area which consists of a large open space with two small changing areas with curtains for those who like privacy. The rest of us just get on my the boring business of drying and putting on our clothes which i find the most boring part of the experience.
 
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