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Original poster

NHS staff invitation to menopause workshop to people who menstruate!

438 replies

sunshineandhappy · 14/04/2021 14:22

I received a generic email from the well being team at the nhs trust I am employed by inviting me to a managing menopause workshop which was open to 'people who menstruate or people who will go through the menopause'.
This was my reply I was disappointed to see the following phrase ‘those who menstruate or those who will go through the menopause ‘ in the below email. The correct phrase for the target audience should surely include the word women, even if the other phrasing needs to be used as well, as this clumsy phrasing, whilst appearing to be inclusive to a minority, is actually exclusive to the way the vast majority of the target audience for this seminar may feel. I do not want to be reduced to being a person who menstruates or a person who will go through the menopause, I am a woman, an adult human female. I hope my opinion will be considered in the spirit in which it is meant, as all groups matter, and all relevant individuals should be considered when generic emails are being sent to a large number of staff.'
We will wait to see whether I receive any response

OP posts:
DaisiesandButtercups · 14/04/2021 16:43

That would be a way to please both groups Grin

DaisiesandButtercups · 14/04/2021 16:42

They should do two separate workshops, one for women and one for “menstruators or people who will go through the menopause”

transbadger · 14/04/2021 16:42

@sunshineandhappy

This is the reply!

'We know language can be an emotive subject and that gender language in particular has evolved a lot in recent times. We took advice from our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specialists in relation to what terminology to use that reflected who these sessions were aimed at and had a lot of discussions before settling on this wording.

We appreciate it won’t suit everyone in the same way that saying they were for women won’t suit everyone - as indeed comments from staff reflected that when this was used previously.'

I've asked for my complaint to be referred to the equality diversity and inclusion specialists as I don't feel included by this.

Good on you @sunshineandhappy

Interesting that they say they can't please everyone. So basically they are admitting to pleasing the smallest population who shout the loudest and to hell with women.

Keep us updated on further communications.

🦡🌈🤍

Original poster
sunshineandhappy · 14/04/2021 16:36

This is the reply!

'We know language can be an emotive subject and that gender language in particular has evolved a lot in recent times. We took advice from our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specialists in relation to what terminology to use that reflected who these sessions were aimed at and had a lot of discussions before settling on this wording.

We appreciate it won’t suit everyone in the same way that saying they were for women won’t suit everyone - as indeed comments from staff reflected that when this was used previously.'

I've asked for my complaint to be referred to the equality diversity and inclusion specialists as I don't feel included by this.

OP posts:
MeltsAway · 14/04/2021 16:07

I do not want to be reduced to being a person who menstruates or a person who will go through the menopause, I am a woman, an adult human female

Brava!

I think it's really important to stress that menstruation and menopause happen to women, who are fully human and have fully rounded personalities, lives, careers, activities, hobbies, families, friends, hopes & dreams. So menopause and menstruation happen within that fully human context.

We are not just our wombs; and we do more than bleed or flush.

So the term "people who menstruate" is reducing us to our genitals and a single biological function, and de-humanise women. It is an exclusionary and dehumanising term.

AlwaysTawnyOwl · 14/04/2021 15:32

@sunshineandhappy

I received a generic email from the well being team at the nhs trust I am employed by inviting me to a managing menopause workshop which was open to 'people who menstruate or people who will go through the menopause'. This was my reply I was disappointed to see the following phrase ‘those who menstruate or those who will go through the menopause ‘ in the below email. The correct phrase for the target audience should surely include the word women, even if the other phrasing needs to be used as well, as this clumsy phrasing, whilst appearing to be inclusive to a minority, is actually exclusive to the way the vast majority of the target audience for this seminar may feel. I do not want to be reduced to being a person who menstruates or a person who will go through the menopause, I am a woman, an adult human female. I hope my opinion will be considered in the spirit in which it is meant, as all groups matter, and all relevant individuals should be considered when generic emails are being sent to a large number of staff.' We will wait to see whether I receive any response
Will they invite 'people with penises' to a talk on testicular cancer?

This phrasing reduces me to a lump of meat, I find it incredibly offensive.

Original poster
sunshineandhappy · 14/04/2021 14:52

To be fair to the trust the information in the workshop is mainly education about the perimenopause, I don't have an issue with the target audience, as much as how they are described.

OP posts:
HermitsLife · 14/04/2021 14:49

I hope you get a reply. For reasons already stated it A, makes no sense. B, is dehumanising.

Ifyourefeelingsinister · 14/04/2021 14:41

Fgs. I assume medical staff no longer talk about 'the broken leg in bed 4', so why the hell can't they recognise 'people who go through the menopause' for the dehumanising crap it is. Women are more than a collection of bodily functions. Hope you get a reply.

GCAcademic · 14/04/2021 14:33

@NecessaryScene1

So not people who are currently going through the menopause? This is specifically for pre-menopausal women?
Exactly.
EndoplasmicReticulum · 14/04/2021 14:28

That "or" is confusing.

People who menstruate "or" who will go through the menopause.

It's not an either or thing, is it? If you are a menstruator, at some point presumably you will be a menopausist.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 14/04/2021 14:27

This nonsense seems to never end.

NecessaryScene1 · 14/04/2021 14:26

So not people who are currently going through the menopause? This is specifically for pre-menopausal women?