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Original poster

‘Woman or person who gave birth’

135 replies

Fooffmalooff · 02/03/2020 14:31

I have recently been given a survey to fill in regarding care during pregnancy and birth. It’s an NHS survey.

One of the questions asks how you are related to the baby, be it birth partner, family member or ‘the woman or person who gave birth.’

I don’t know why but this has really annoyed me. Women give birth. ‘People’ (read- transgender men) do not. Absolutely fine if you identify as a man etc etc but even if you live like a man, look like a man, think like a man... if you are pregnant and having a baby, you are biologically a woman, no matter how you think/feel/look on the outside.

I just feel a bit weird about the inclusion of this on a survey which is intended for women regarding the most fundamentally female thing you can do.

Thoughts?

OP posts:
Thisismytimetoshine · 02/03/2020 15:31

I don’t

Mrskeats · 02/03/2020 15:31

No man has, or will ever, give birth.

SleepDeprivedElf · 02/03/2020 15:28

I like it

MingeofDeath · 02/03/2020 15:17

Elsie there is no such thing as a pregnant man. That's always the thing with transmen isn't it?They always get pregnant and bleat on about how it "triggers" them. Don't go and do one of the most female things that can be done then love

Elsiebear90 · 02/03/2020 15:04

What’s the issue? They are not erasing women here, just noting that some trans men giving birth might have an issue with being referred to as women, which is their right. This is probably the only way they can have biological children so I imagine it’s probably difficult enough being pregnant when you identify as a man, it doesn’t take much to just respect and acknowledge they feel uncomfortable being called women, you’re still being called one, this literally has 0 effect on you at all, so what’s there to be annoyed about?

RollingDownTheRiver · 02/03/2020 14:58

At least they included the word "woman"!

Danceswithwarthogs · 02/03/2020 14:50

I think it’s fair, it doesn’t erase the fact of childbearing In women nor deny the existence of trans people (which GC people are often wrongly accused of).

I can’t imagine it’s very easy being a pregnant trans man in a pregnancy/obstetric setting and small acknowledgements like this must go a long way to make someone feel less alienated.

Thisismytimetoshine · 02/03/2020 14:43

I’d wonder at the mentality of someone happily going through pregnancy and birth who was “triggered” at being referred to as a woman.

WickedlyPetite · 02/03/2020 14:42

I would (and have, on an NHS form) scribble out the words "or person", and return the survey.

Unusualsuspicion · 02/03/2020 14:41

If it had just said 'the person who gave birth' I'd be spitting, but this formulation is inclusive without erasure. I don't have a problem with it.