Teacher complains Primark changing room signs are demeaning to women
Nicole Morley for Metro.co.uk
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A teacher has called out Primark for demeaning women with a ‘GIRLS’ sign on the female changing rooms.
Claire Griffiths, who teaches geography, says that the sign infantilises women, while males are referred to as men.
The 28-year-old noticed the phrasing while browsing in the Bolton branch of Primark earlier this week and was outraged.
Primark have apologised for any offence caused by the ‘signage error’ and has since rectified it.
Claire from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘I popped into Primark in Bolton and witnessed this random bit of infantilisation of women – not girls.
‘Girl is not the opposite of man, full stop. It’s a bit worrying, who the hell thought that was okay? It’s stupid.
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‘I know it’s only words but it’s semantically incorrect. It surprises me that no one has thought “we need to get rid of that”. Is there nobody there thinking that it isn’t right?’
She pointed out: ‘I think if it was the other way around, women and boys, it would stand out more.
‘We aren’t used to referring to men as boys but we often hear women referred to as girls -such as ‘grid girls’. It’s demeaning and it puts us in a vulnerable position.’
Claire said that although it wasn’t the ‘biggest deal’ she felt compelled to speak out about so-called ‘casual sexism’ and contacted the chain via social media – but claims she is still waiting for a response.
A Primark spokesman said: ‘We were aware of a signage error in the fitting rooms of our Bolton store, which has since been rectified.
‘Primark aims to deliver a positive shopping experience for all our customers and we are sorry for any upset caused by this error.’
