I am not a "person who menstruates"

My adult daughter has learning disabilities and really struggles with reading. This would exclude her as she doesn't know she has a cervix. She knows she is a woman and can read that word.

It is so annoying when women with literacy problems are excluded including those whom English is not their first language. Outcomes for adults with learning disabilities are rarely considered.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g you might be reassured to know the NHS provide material in different formats including pictorial for those with learning disabilities or who aren't able to read. They're not being discriminated against by the NHS naming body parts.

Can you share the video op?

You forgot the huge impact of maternity leave or going part time on pension. I took a year with each child I wish I had fully understood the impact on my pension. Ex DH no impact on his pension.

I was volunteering at a new place today I honestly there were 20 people there and practically everyone has a pronoun badge and it made it want to scream - men clearly men wanting to be called her or she. Where is my right to have gender critical views / apparently not - everyone gets to be called whatever they want.

Any poster or leaflet or other messaging about health has to be understood by the entire target group, which will include people who are barely literate and know next to nothing about how their bodies work. Cervix is a technical word. A significant percentage of women won't know they have one. The eyecatching message needs to be really simple. Something like 'The NHS provides free screening to all women aged 25 to 64 every five years to check for early signs of cervical cancer. Ask for details here.'

That's interesting. I always think it sounds so odd but I won't now I understand so thank you.

Agreed. I have a good friend who found out as a teen that she had an intersex condition - her parents knew and hid this from her, it was back in the days that parents were just told to 'choose' if a baby was ambiguous at birth, and they got it very, very wrong, though that only became obvious at puberty. She is (and always has been in her mind) female but unable to carry a child, and finds this sort of thing pretty upsetting. Because her parents registered her as a boy she actually had to get a GRC, which according to many on Mumsnet, means she should use mens facilities.

I just googled 'chest feeding' and the only NHS reference I can find is advice for trans people. Specifically, people who have had their breast tissue removed but may still be able to feed a baby. Which gives advice about what might be possible, or what complications there may be depending on the surgery they had. The advice wouldn't be relevant to women who hadn't had breast tissue removed, so it would be a bit strange to include it all under breastfeeding.
And theres advice about using both terms, so using the term in addition to breastfeeding, not instead of.

I have no idea why that undermines your identity as a woman OP.

It depends on context. I'm post-hysterectomy so I don't menstruate or have a cervix. If the discussion is specific to those things, e.g. talking about smear tests, it's not relevant to me. If it's supposed to be some kind of 'tactful' way of referring to biological women as a whole, without using the word 'women' then it's a huge fail.

Yes I get fed up with being told women menstruate, have a cervix, have a womb because I'm a woman without them, I also dont have ovaries so don't have eggs. I am still a woman.

I don't think it is trans people that say these things.

I must go around with my head in the clouds cos never heard of them.

I don't think you're making sense OP.
If a poster for smear tests said all women should have them, it isn't particularly inclusive of women who have gynae issues, eg those who have had hysterectomies, and the same if it were referring to periods and those who were most menopausal. It isn't implying those people aren't women. If anything, you suggesting the word woman should be used in those contexts implies that some women aren't women if they aren't capable of making babies.
Referring to the person who gave birth makes sense for lesbian couples, as they're both mothers, but the advice would be to one but not both.
The other terms I've honestly never seen or heard outside of Mumsnet. I do wonder where some of you hang out that it's so common.

Its all so a few men who want to wear dresses and pretend to be women don't get offended.

Let's say you live to be 80, which is probably about the average life expectancy for a woman of 18. Now do the maths- of the 62 years, on average at least the last 30 are without menstruation, then add an average of those with gynaecological issues, those not having periods because of their contraceptive choices.

So what of the 51% of the population does that leave?

In my experience, it's pieces written by trans identifying people themselves and in the comments to them.

If you've not seen this, Medium is a good place to start. Thoughtful, long form and self published.

So do you think a trans woman wouldn’t expect you to address them as a woman?

Yeah, once upon a time when a trans identifying male popped up on a zoom call or in a meeting I would genuinely have thought "wow, it's great that people born in the wrong body are starting to feel they can be themselves".

These days I have the same reaction I would to someone turning up wearing a t shirt with a sexist slogan or sexist joke on - it's someone making a public display of their reductive beliefs about women.

I get that lot of the young ones are just not that aware of the basic sexism underpinning the concept of gender identities and are probably lovely if naive people, but as a women it's still depressing and demoralising that my employer considers it acceptable to have such sexist views openly performed in the workplace.

Yes it makes no sense.

Or, the more likely scenario is that they're trying to improve the uptake of it so they're trying different approaches to appeal to as many people as possible.

I also do. A husband in fact. Got back from taking ds swimming and there he was - poaching them so we could have them for our lunch!