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Original poster

Guardian perimenopause explainer

34 replies

WhereAreWeNow · 16/02/2023 22:32

Is it just me or does this read like the author or an editor is trying really hard to avoid saying "woman"? www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/16/what-is-perimenopause-and-what-are-the-symptoms-and-treatment-nicola-bulley?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

It mentions female one (estrogen is a female hormone) but apart from that it's weirdly gender neutral, as if perimenopause is just a thing that affects some people, of either sex.

I despair of the Guardian these days.

OP posts:
mowly77 · 17/02/2023 00:49

Fuck me. The byline is Ian Sample, the SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT. I feel like I’m through the looking glass, I really do.

aloris · 17/02/2023 00:36

Wow, that was clear as mud.

LulooLemon · 16/02/2023 23:51

What an awful paper

dolorsit · 16/02/2023 23:39

The Guardian seems to have a style guide not to use the word woman when talking about things unique to women. (Quite happy to use men when talking about prostate cancer)

I first noticed it in a article about the removal of abortion in the US. The only use of the word woman was a quote from a republican saying that women's bodies can prevent a pregnancy caused by rape. Envy

It was very jarring and now I can't help but notice their reluctance to use the word woman.

howmanybicycles · 16/02/2023 23:35

I'm left confused as to who experiences this menopause of which they talk. Shall I ask them to clarify? perhaps my husband should watch out for it.

Original poster
WhereAreWeNow · 16/02/2023 23:05

Agree. It does read like the word "woman" was there but has been edited out. This kind of writing pisses me off as a feminist but it also grates as it's so clunky and unclear. It's an affront to the English language as well as an affront to women!

OP posts:
PermanentTemporary · 16/02/2023 22:52

Agreed it's been neutralised.

Tbf it looks like something you'd get the work experience kid to write anyway the one who's related to at least two members of staff so the author might be 21 or so and deeply imbued with the idea that there's no such thing as a female sex class.

Leafytrees · 16/02/2023 22:50

It's hard to read due to the missing word.

We talk about a cashless society and I wonder whether the word women is going the same way. I can imagine 'inclusive' brands promising to phase it out by 2025.

SirVixofVixHall · 16/02/2023 22:38

There are obvious ….. moments were it seems pretty clear that the word “women” was there and has been removed, eg SOME….. , MOST…..
grrrrrr I feel the (menopausal woman) rage now.