Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Anti trans for asking not to conflate sex with gender?

265 replies

OatALot · 25/11/2021 12:18

On a menopause event at work and in the comments section they are being asked to use inclusive language such as 'people who menstrate'. These are being challenged and those who challenged are being called terf and accusssd of making others feel unsafe.

The people doing the presentation therefore have taken the stance anyone can go through the menopause.

I'd love to feedback that they should not conflate sex and gender. Surely if we just talk in term of sex and a biological function it can't be challenged? It takes the discussion away from a condition impacting females.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Theflamingnerd · 25/11/2021 18:47

@NellWilsonsWhiteHair

'Hormone deficiency syndrome' is a bloody vile way of describing menopause, and completely defeats the point of trying to normalise menopause (which I assume was an objective of the session). A premenopausal woman, a perimenopausal woman, and a postmenopausal woman all have different levels of different hormones to each other, and appropriate to their life stage. None of them are 'deficient' by virtue of this difference.
It's a vile way to describe the menopause. There is nothing "deficient" about any woman approaching, going through or who has already experienced the menopause.

It is a completely natural and normal process, to call it a "deficiency" just others women in yet another way.

"Syndrome" isn't particularly flattering either, again it implies there is something wrong with women's biology.

But of course as we're frequently reminded, there's no harm caused by expanding the meaning of the word women Hmm

NellWilsonsWhiteHair · 25/11/2021 17:31

'Hormone deficiency syndrome' is a bloody vile way of describing menopause, and completely defeats the point of trying to normalise menopause (which I assume was an objective of the session). A premenopausal woman, a perimenopausal woman, and a postmenopausal woman all have different levels of different hormones to each other, and appropriate to their life stage. None of them are 'deficient' by virtue of this difference.

FindTheTruth · 25/11/2021 17:28

I don't want to pay taxes toward the salaries of misogynist bullies in civil servant positions who slur women as te*fs in a meeting about menstruation

FindTheTruth · 25/11/2021 17:24

@Theflamingnerd

I'd also be inclined to raise a concern that these individuals deliberately targeted the event with the sole intention of derailing a conversation about issues that affect women in the work place. These individuals have therefore created a hostile environment based purely on sex, which is a protected characteristic. They have prevented a protected group from discussing issues that affect them, through slurs and harassment based on the protected characteristic.

If anyone has any claim on feeling unsafe in this scenarios it's women.

exactly. It's targeted harassment. Bet it was men on the call doing this
LonginesPrime · 25/11/2021 16:28

@Doona

How is 'a person who menstruates' worse than 'a woman who menstruates' ?
Because sex is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and menstruation isn't.

Unless you list out every single thing that males and females can experience as a result of their biological sex which might require legal protection at some point in their lives (at work, using a service, etc), in the Equality Act, then the erasure of the word "woman" (as defined in the Equality Act) means that "menopausal people", regardless of whether they self-identify as women, non-binary, men or something else, are not protected under the law.

Women - female people (or female-bodied people, if that's more a comfortable term for some, although it's not how the law describes them) - share a set of sex characteristics as a result of their biological sex. It is vital to acknowledge this fact to ensure that (1) no-one is disadvantaged in life as a result of their biological sex, and that (2) there is a mechanism in law to challenge any discrimination or harassment.

Helleofabore · 25/11/2021 16:04

Hormone deficiency syndrome?

I would be very quick to highlight to management that in an event to raise the awareness of menopause and just how women already are feeling othered during this time, that the fact someone is insisting on creating even more hostility around menopause by changing the language and not using additive language (you can quote Stonewall there too). Changing the name of a natural process (whether brought on naturally or not) to Hormone deficiency syndrome is, in my view, othering.

Plus, surely those with Growth hormone deficiency will feel that their medical condition is being encroached on.

The use of language such as terf should also be reported as it is indeed creating a hostile work environment. It should never be used in any work place. And luckily, you can even now quote Maya's case for that too.

Theflamingnerd · 25/11/2021 15:27

So then derailing and refusing the accept that women at work need to be able to discuss this without being harassed and being subjected to hate speech (terf) and Mis gendered (cis)

This is important. They've not only harassed women, they've also misgendered them.

I'm sure HR wouldn't tolerate any of the women deliberately using incorrect pronouns, so they should hold others to the same standard.

Even taking everything about gender out of it, a group of employees calling others terfs via an anonymous platform is bullying. The term was used as a slur and intended to silence and intimidate. HR would not tolerate any other group hurling politically loaded slurs at another group of employees in this manner. I'd report it to HR, no platform is as anonymous as we're lead to believe, they will have the means to identify the offenders.

At the very least it's bullying and should be addressed as such.

ScreamingBeans · 25/11/2021 14:49

@CatsOperatingInGangs

A fellow employee calling other employees terfs surely demands a report of harassment and creating a hostile working environment. What would happen at work if a colleague called a fellow colleague another slur, a racial slur perhaps? Check work policies and complain on those lines. It’s not acceptable especially in a governmental role.
Fucking right.

Time's up on this shit.

Childrenofthestones · 25/11/2021 14:39

OP "On a menopause event at work and in the comments section they are being asked to use inclusive language such as 'people who menstrate'. These are being challenged and those who challenged are being called terf and accusssd of making others feel unsafe."

Well there's your answer. As soon as they say you have to be a person who menstruates tell them that makes you feel unsafe
.
Alinskys Rules for Radicals...Rule No. 4.... Hold your enemies to their own standards😁

ODFOgrinch · 25/11/2021 14:33

All this word policing is exhausting isn't it?

MarshmallowSwede · 25/11/2021 14:10

*sought out to derail something specifically for women.

MarshmallowSwede · 25/11/2021 14:10

@Theflamingnerd

“ I'd also be inclined to raise a concern that these individuals deliberately targeted the event with the sole intention of derailing a conversation about issues that affect women in the work place. These individuals have therefore created a hostile environment based purely on sex, which is a protected characteristic. They have prevented a protected group from discussing issues that affect them, through slurs and harassment based on the protected characteristic.

If anyone has any claim on feeling unsafe in this scenarios it's women.”

This!

Exactly! They deliberately sought out to detail something that affects only women. If you’re employer does not wish to creat w hostile work environment for women then this needs to be addressed.

I would also complain about “terf” being used as its hate speech and file a formal complaint and point out that sex is a protected characteristic and that biological topics need to use appropriate language.

Hormones deficiency syndrome? First off there are many hormone deficiency syndromes. Menopause is not only a hormonal disorder. It is actually a bodily process that includes hormonal changes.

And it affects only women. So then derailing and refusing the accept that women at work need to be able to discuss this without being harassed and being subjected to hate speech (terf) and Mis gendered (cis).

You were misgendered (cis) and you were subjected to hate speech op. Address this with your HR department.

Shedmistress · 25/11/2021 14:07

If women want to be called women then their employer should recognise that and discipline anyone who harasses or bullies them because of it.

DadDadDad · 25/11/2021 13:54

Could you perhaps comment that the CEO of Stonewall said in an interview last week: gender critical beliefs have always been protected under the Equality Act and it’s absolutely possible for people to hold gender critical beliefs without expressing them in a way that’s harmful to trans people

I suppose it depends on whether people are still taking Stonewall seriously. Grin

CatsOperatingInGangs · 25/11/2021 13:47

A fellow employee calling other employees terfs surely demands a report of harassment and creating a hostile working environment.
What would happen at work if a colleague called a fellow colleague another slur, a racial slur perhaps?
Check work policies and complain on those lines. It’s not acceptable especially in a governmental role.

SirVixofVixHall · 25/11/2021 13:34

@OatALot

Well it's finished and I want to feedback. I think I want to complain about the use of terf. Someone also suggested we use hormone deficient syndrome or something along those lines.
Hormone deficient syndrome ??? FFS this gets more like a spoof comedy show every day. So what about pre pubertal girls ? Are they also “hormone deficient syndrome” sufferers ? Please challenge this OP. Then send the details to a journalist.
OhDear2200 · 25/11/2021 13:31

@Doona

How is 'a person who menstruates' worse than 'a woman who menstruates' ?
Do men menstruate?
Riapia · 25/11/2021 13:29

“ If freedom means anything at all, it means being able telling people things that they do not wish to hear.” George Orwell.

DdraigGoch · 25/11/2021 13:26

@Doona

How is 'a person who menstruates' worse than 'a woman who menstruates' ?
What's wrong with "woman"?
Theflamingnerd · 25/11/2021 13:22

I'd also be inclined to raise a concern that these individuals deliberately targeted the event with the sole intention of derailing a conversation about issues that affect women in the work place. These individuals have therefore created a hostile environment based purely on sex, which is a protected characteristic. They have prevented a protected group from discussing issues that affect them, through slurs and harassment based on the protected characteristic.

If anyone has any claim on feeling unsafe in this scenarios it's women.

MilitantFawcett · 25/11/2021 13:18

I’m CS too OP so interested in how this goes for you. I’ve used the sex as protected characteristics to challenge successfully in the past and yy to saying that cis and Terf are unacceptable to you and you find their use offensive. In fact I’d say that continued use of them in the comments could be construed as bullying.

BettyfromBristol · 25/11/2021 13:17

When did being offended become feeling unsafe? Too many people lack resilience nowadays, it's so depressing.

Theflamingnerd · 25/11/2021 13:16

Above everything else you need to point out that people who menstruate is not factually accurate when discussing the menopause. I presume the course covers pre and post menopausal changes, so therefore referring to people who menstruate would not be very inclusive of anyone who has gone through the menopause already. You'd be excluding the very people the course is discussing, as they no longer menstruate.

Female is the factually accurate and inclusive term as this covers everyone who could go through the menopause, regardless of how they identify.

RedCarpetRebellion · 25/11/2021 13:13

@OatALot

Well it's finished and I want to feedback. I think I want to complain about the use of terf. Someone also suggested we use hormone deficient syndrome or something along those lines.
Forstarter high court judgement means believing in sex is a protected characteristic.

Would they be ok with a slur about any other pc? Course not. This should be no different. I’d copy in the above judgement (or article about it).

timeisnotaline · 25/11/2021 13:11

Bloody hell. As someone else points out the whole function of menopause is shutting down the female body’s ability to conceive, one effect being turning people who menstruate into people who no longer menstruate, so having the discussion constructed around people who menstruated is singularly inappropriate.

Swipe left for the next trending thread