What does a typically feminine space (i.e. a beauty parlor) need to have for you to feel comfortable shopping/being there?

20 comments

1. probably a reason for me to go, and at least a couple men

2. No smells. Stuff like Bath Body Works and Lush and similar girly stores smell like a unicorn just exploded and give me a crazy headache.

3. Well, I don’t really ever feel out of place in those sort of spaces when going out with my gf and her lady friends. More of in online communities that are mostly women, they need to practice what they preach. There are so many women in those communities that don’t seem to think twice about treating guys who hang out in those spaces like so many women have talked about hating experiencing themselves.

   I guess though there are times in public businesses/shops run by women where I will get treated like a threat or talked down to for not knowing something and ask one of the women working there about it.

4. Put a pinball machine in there and offer beer and I’ll last longer in there while the wife shops before I start intentionally annoying her so we can leave lol

5. Products/services I wish to acquire/use

6. Some comfy chairs to wait in, maybe an arcade machine or something. I don’t find those places uncomfortable to be in, just boring. Don’t know if I’d ever shop in one, though; what on Earth would I need to buy there?

7. treat👏men👏like👏they’re👏actual👏people

   in all seriousness, just own the fact that you’re a feminine space. I remember going to a bookstore that was clearly run by and catered toward women and they were clearly racking their brain to figure out what would appeal to a guy like me, and that was way more awkward than if they were just unapologetic about their catalog.

8. Nothing, since there’s nothing for me there. At best, at least have somewhere to seat and an air that doesn’t make me feel like I need a gas mask to avoid the smells fighting.

9. A Bench and usb ports for charging

10. Nothing is worse than when I go to a place that is geared toward women and there are a bunch of men haters there that are disrespectful, ignoring or talk down to you before you open your mouth. Elementary schools, toddler swim classes, etc all assume it’s the mom doing all the work. I put in 99% of the work, scheduling, paying for everything and invite my ex. She shows up and all the women act like I don’t exist. It’s pretty disrespectful.

11. I’ve never felt unwelcome in these kinds of places.

12. A reason for me to be there.

13. Nothing, My masculinity isn’t fragile. “Feminine spaces ” already are comfortable by nature usually, doesnt matter if you’re a guy.

14. I mean… I get a clipper cut now and then when I have a big meeting or something and need it neater than I could do myself.

    The first comfort is having a reason to be there and… Meh?

15. I want to phrase this tactfully, but I may step on some toes, so allow me to apologize in advance.

    There was a post somewhere recently by a man working in a field that predominantly employed women, he was talking about how his coworkers would openly discuss their sex lives, or comment on the men that came into their workplace, or make passes at him that made him uncomfortable.

    The feel I got from the post wasn’t so much that his coworkers *intended* to make him uncomfortable, they just didn’t think about it.

    This may sound absurd, but you need to make men feel like they’re going to be safe in your space the same way you would for women. We need to know we won’t be judged, that we can be ourselves, as we are, without eliciting stares and comments, and without having to hear about the men who warranted stares and comments before us.

    I was about to say that you need to keep the locker room talk *in* the locker room…. but beauty parlors have always sort of been women’s spaces, it’s been a place where they could get away from the men in their lives and shoot the shit, and frankly I think it’s good for people to have places like that. There might be headwinds to what I’m suggesting. If you’re trying to integrate men into traditionally women’s spaces it’s going to disrupt those traditions, that goes without saying but it also bears repeating.

    Oh, you know what! I’ve got a pragmatic suggestion! You could have “Dude Days!” Every other Tuesday is Dude and Guy friendly, and you could give them a 3% discount if their partner is an existing customer! That could work. Nobody talks, play The Offspring’s greatest hits turned up to eleven, rake in the cash.

16. What’s wrong with just having a few spots we can be with just guys and girls can have spaces for just women?

17. Not sure a beauty parlor would ever have anything of use for me. I’ve shopped at Ulta for gifts, and half of Bath and Body Works is the candle store, and men also like candles. Fuck their most popular scent is the one men love, the Mahogany and Teakwood.

18. I’ve never knowingly gone into a place like that. What would they have for me to do or buy? Women need and deserve to have spaces just for themselves.

19. Strippers

20. Include colors other than white, red, and pastels. I mean this from a decorate-the-store sense. Stores considered more “masculine” tend to include greys, dark blues, and wood.

    Actually carry products for men. Lots of these places restrict their selection to a single rack of aerosol colognes.

    Don’t plaster a 30-foot mural of a 20-something’s guy’s abs at the entrance and don’t have Taylor Swift playing 24/7.

    Tone down the smell. Women’s stores smell like someone is aggressively aerosolizing powdered sugar.