You need a vagina to benefit from a vaginal microbiome intervention

Good for you OP.
So illuminating that the woke response includes the transpeople without vaginas and ignores the ones which probably still do.

Is the word ‘women’ really necessary though?

Well done you OP
I can only presume that tests of the product were done on biological women, and that stupid young man knew that...

There's research which showed a particular strain (lactobacillus crispatus) in womens' probiotics is key for restoring the microbiome in women with thrush. Other lactobacilli strains are helpful too. Given that this is widely known, I can't see anything commercially sensitive in OP's post.

I agree the scenario could be recognisable; I think she'd have to be unlucky for one of those people in the meeting to read MN and see this post.

As someone who gets thrush absolutely every time I have to take antibiotics, thank you very much for your work.

Others have mentioned there are similar things out there - is there any with decent science behind them? Currently I take yakult and cut out sugar with limited effectiveness and would love to know there was something better!

How about the term 'biological women'? Includes the trans men too.

Hear hear

IDontMindMarmite

Have you read the study in the link?

Thanks OP for both your work and sticking up for sense. What a daft man.

@Cwenthrhyth mothers of young people will have seen this sort of indoctrination in places of education in the last 5+ years. Responses here are reasonable, I am not arguing with that. Merely saying that young people don't have life experience enough yet to see through this stuff. People don't learn by being shouted at. I think OP handled it well. But if you have kids currently in education you can see where it is coming from.

"the need for a better understanding of the impact of vaginal microbiome disruption, and of women's genitourinary health in general."

Keep doing what you're doing, you're amazing.

Thank you.

Ironically, you don't want those 'identifying' as women, but you may need to capture those who identify as trans men.

Thank you for making the very obvious point. Sounds like a great product!

anger towards the young as a first response is not fair. It is what they were taught

I reject you framing women’s responses on this thread as anger - it gives the impression of emotion over reason and discredits our justified rejection of this man’s inane comments.

I can’t see a way to interpret the exchange described that reflects well on the young man to be honest.
He wasn’t actually considering transwomen - this product is not suitable for them even if they have had genital surgery.
He wasn’t considering transmen or non binary identifying females, ignored them.
Best case he was just parroting something he’s been indoctrinated with, which makes him sound unintelligent/lacking in critical thinking skills, and bloody rude mansplaining to a senior female scientist, in front of the entire company no less!

I doubt it. There's loads of vaginal probiotics on the market

I didn’t know that. My experience is orphan biotech. I actually had no idea that they were a thing. Are there many that are getting ready to launch shortly?

I’m trying to be helpful: it seems the OP has given enough info that if you were in her field you’d be able to identify the product and certainly if you were in the meeting you’d be able to identify the OP. But as I say I had no idea they were a thing and perhaps the market is saturated and launches are regular occurrences.

I agree that the man the OP dealt with was a dick. And an uninformed one. But if someone recognised themselves / the company from this post the OPs unlikely to come out of the situation well.

Good work, OP. And thanks for pointing this out, Purple:
Your business (and employees, top down) rely on biological facts and clear information to avoid criminal negligence charges, prison terms, and professional and personal financial ruin.

And it's not women's job to educate grown men who are perfectly capable of reading.

Quite right OP. I should think the very first step in selling any product is understanding what the product is for and for whom.

Your young collegue is possibly under the same mistaken idea as the vast majority of people, that TW or people who identify as women have had the appropriate surgery.

However, I think people who have had the surgery will also benefit from your product. If you read the study in the link a PP posted you'll see that most neo vaginas are a hot mess and badly in need of the correct biome.

At 24 he has been part of the generational cohort educated, probably at school, definitely at university to think this way. I understand the ire expressed here, but the only way to stop it is to properly educate those who have been afflicted in this way. Any parent of teens/young folk will have seen them exposed to this. I think the job of the matriarchs is to put it right. But anger towards the young as a first response is not fair. It is what they were taught.

Excellent clap back there op and I agree with a pp who suggested that you forward on your findings about how different neo-vaginas are and how inappropriate for them this product would be.

He's a cretin and deserved to hear it. Well done Op, sounds like a great product, but the trans women are going be really pissed off about not being included in vagina club.

What Highame said - we’ve all done it, just the ignorance of youth. :-))
It is exciting that there is more research and products are developed in this area - since I discovered the concept of the microbiome and how it governs out health and mental health I’ve been fascinated. I take kefir and apple cider vinegar daily and it has definitely helped - I am a little less grumpy these days.

As far as I have found out though, the male and female microbiome are measurably different in so many ways - OP is that right?

[quote PegasusReturns]@VaginalMicrobiome I’m also concerned that your post is sufficiently commercially sensitive and outing to get you in difficulty if someone who knows you/with the time to do the research reports you.[/quote]
I doubt it. There's loads of vaginal probiotics on the market.

... I wonder what they learned at school in their science lessons.

That people can change sex, presumably.