Boots magazine - repeating suicide stats and pronouns…

It’s a pity the Mail story doesn’t use the breakdown I linked in my post (or something similar) to explain what was wrong with the data itself; then discuss how utterly & grotesquely irresponsible & manipulative it was to present it as they did. With reference to the Samaritans’ reporting guidelines; & perhaps providing some ways anyone feeling suicidal can seek support (noting that the Boots article didn’t include any, something they’ve apparently not apologised for either ).

(Come on, we know you lurk…)

This “study” is being touted everywhere. Has it been reliably debunked, and if so where?

It is such shit science. Like you could possibly isolate pronoun use from other variables.

Well done Stephanie and Transgender Trend, and all those who may have contacted Boots to highlight the misinformation.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10406497/Boots-sorry-magazine-article-suggesting-misleading-things-transgender-people.html

And anyone boots MAP price hike that they wouldn't change in line with usual shop prices. They maintained doubling price was important-

'“We would not want to be accused of incentivising inappropriate use, and provoking complaints, by significantly reducing the price of this product.”

Access to spaces.
What spaces do you mean in real life? Lgbtq+ groups etc? Or general spaces like classrooms etc?
Hold on just realised you probably mean changing etc in schools?

What do you mean by affirmed?
Accepted / no one has a problem with them because trans is not the same as affirmed.
Affirmed is to do with showing, stating support.
What actions are you thinking of others doing to provide affirmation in these spaces?

Definition affirmed-

state emphatically or publicly.
"he affirmed the country's commitment to peace"
Similar:
declare
state
assert
aver
proclaim
pronounce
attest
swear
avow
vow
guarantee
promise
certify
pledge
give one's word
give an undertaking
asseverate
Opposite:
deny
declare one's support for; uphold; defend.
"the referendum affirmed the republic's right to secede"
Similar:
uphold
support
defend
maintain
confirm
ratify
endorse
approve (of)
agree to
consent to
assent to
sanction
LAW
accept or confirm the validity of (a judgement or agreement); ratify.
"the Court of Appeal affirmed a decision of the High Court"
LAW
make a formal declaration rather than taking an oath.
"he refused to take the oath but chose simply to affirm on being admitted to the Privy Council"
2.
offer (someone) emotional support or encouragement.
"there are five common ways parents fail to affirm their children"
give (life) a heightened sense of value, typically through the experience of something emotionally or spiritually uplifting.
"it is a rich and challenging motion picture that both affirms life and emphasizes its fragility"'

Looks like they have removed the article online

Not working for me either!

The Boots link doesn't work for me - have they taken down the article? Hope so

So nothing from Boots themselves yet?

Responses to the article are now jolting about my Twitter TL, which has led to my discovering an excellent & thorough explanation of how the statistics simply cannot work. Literally LITERALLY cannot work, even.

Boots have now had it explained to them - in terms so simple that very small children & more intelligent pets could grasp the information being communicated - that they’ve published an article containing statistics that don’t just not stand up but can’t even be propped into a sitting position.

Boots (& the author of that piece) now have a responsibility to Do The Right Thing - retractions, corrections, directions to support for individuals feeling suicidal (& resources for people feeling an urge to harm themselves).

The Baroness has been made aware, so hopefully one of her excellent epistles will be on its way to Boots HQ soon

It seems to be a way to completely ignore safeguarding and avoid consideration/ investigation of any possible of abuse (emotional/sexual)

It also completely ignores the need for impartial care. Creating this bubble of staff with involvement in the medical field all with financial gain to be made and all able to refer amongst a circle of affirmative care givers. That doesn't always benefit the patient. It creates an US vs Them situation. Care becomes political. Meanwhile there's a patient in the middle.of all who's needs could well be being neglected.

There's another issue with this. The first child to change pronouns and name at DD's school (primary school) showed signs of sexual abuse (I reported, I don't know if anything happened), neglect (which I actually saw and reported, I don't know if anything happened), has a mother who has all sorts of challenges which manifest in really traumatising ways. Medicated since about 5 yo.

This child has all the typical behaviour (manipulative, violent, sexual) and I don't doubt that without extremely expensive and ongoing care through youth and adulthood, will struggle and have terrible outcomes possibly including the risk of self-harm and/or suicide. The behaviour is also the cause of trauma in other children.

I despair at the thought that Boots' solution is using pronouns. How about we reduce risk by skilled and ongoing support, great services, good paid respite, support for mum, professional and caring eyes on until this poor kid can manage? How about we actually care for children, reduce CSA which actually harms them a great deal, male violence in the home, and all the other things we throw up our hands at?

It's a further conflation of LGB with T.

Ive emailed a complaint to Boots

Your mental health isn’t my responsibility. Why is the onus of the mental health of strangers being put on others?

Me validating you by using certain words does not replace therapy and getting help to not commit suicide.

I don’t like this being held over the heads of society .. say they then or else I might kill myself. Get help! Please because if you’re mental health is they fragile then ppl being “nice” to you isn’t going to improve your mental health.

"LGBTQ youth who had access to spaces that affirmed their sexual orientation and gender identity reported lower rates of attempting suicide."

does that include lesbians that arent subjected to being called transphobes for refusing "girl dick"?

Would boots advocate outsourcing care to everyone else besides the dr/pharmacist ?

My rabbit is sick should I take him to my dentist?

Can my postie fix my car?

How about I get a repeat prescription from the window cleaner ?

Or are people responsible for their own health and well being?

What other " treatment " is reliant on strangers and great aunt maud u see only every Xmas ? Is that a stable basis fir medical.care boots? Relying on others?

which means either they interject and say it doesnt matter I am not bothered by pronouns etc, I am not like that which you have read on twitter.

or they are control freaks loving it and that control and elevated level above others is probably why the numbers of transgenderist has exploded in recent years.

It's the dodgy stats that give it weight, though.

I could say I want a yacht and if I don't get one I'll kill myself. Nobody would take me seriously. Or I want to be five inches taller or I'll kill myself. Or whatever.

Because I'm a woman over 30, hence nobody really gives a monkey's, and because nobody really thinks I'll kill myself.

But with trans people, the dodgy stats have been flying around for so long, I'm sure plenty of people can't be sure the trans people they meet won't kill themselves, so it's a very effective way to get people to comply.

The flip side of it is that those people with a choice of whether or not to interact with a trans person (i.e. generally people outside their immediate family or circle of friends) then completely avoid interacting with these ticking time-bombs which means trans people are both more isolated and more likely to exist in an echo chamber. It doesn't actually help people co-exist peacefully in mutual understanding does it?

Why keep someone as a friend or acquaintance when if you say the wrong thing, you could be responsible for their death? Who needs that kind of pressure when there are millions of other people to have conversations about the weather with? I can't imagine it makes the average person more likely to want to have a relationship with a trans person either. So as a tactic it's very short sighted.