Boots menopause advice for "people with a vagina"

Oh that’s interesting, Zelda. Not sure what medical conditions might prevent it, although I suppose early death certainly would. HRT - does that actually prevent menopause or just help with the symptoms, I wonder?

In a GP's surgery today, the menopause slide said "Every woman will go through the menopause", which actually shocked me twice - to see unapologetically woman-focused speech and because I just assumed some woman would not have a menopause due to other medical conditions.

Has anyone had any luck getting a reply on Twitter? I’m going to try now.

I’m a person with a wombs, does it count if the womb in question is actually inside my cat?

@Flyinggeesei234 and on the page I linked a few posts upthread about heavy periods they still call us "people with a womb" and don't use the word "woman" at all.

Fair cop @BIWI - seems I’ve seen the one and only concession to using ‘women’.

Have looked further and can see the issue. FFS. I’m certainly going to address them on Twitter.

They do a podcast called Taboo Talks where they have addressed women’s issues and also this where they use ‘woman’, ‘women’, even ‘ladies’ but it seems they can’t bring themselves to use the right terms for us on the pages for flogging products.

BIWI you are right I had only skimmed. I’m at a loss as to how we can change this rubbish.

Why not try reading the whole thread @Flyinggeesei234 - or at the very least the whole of the OP? Then you'll understand what's going on!

What am I missing? First non bold paragraph.

Sadly I think you are right.

I think basically they are only going to change precisely what people complain about, I guess we'll have to complain about every page that does it.

I don’t get it. Why would Boots throw us a crumb and change ‘people with a vagina’ into ‘women’, only to leave the reference to ‘people with a womb’ on the period page? It is equally insulting and degrading. Unless all these horrible dehumanising phrases are removed, I fear that me and my womb will be shopping elsewhere!

Premature ejaculation, for example, affects men .... not people ... or people with a penis.

Weird hey.

Just had a scan through the men's health pages and it seems the word 'men' is used a lot more than 'women' on the women's health pages. Says a lot I think.

people with a womb

Fuck off, Boots. Fuck right off.

Don't forget the musculo-skeletal problems, the PILES, varicose veins, sometimes diabetes, and let's not forget, occasionally DEATH.

Check out the current page on Menorrhagia (heavy periods) - doesn't mention women or girls once

www.boots.com/inspiration-advice/health/womens-health-advice/heavy-periods

Heavy periods are common & can be quite normal for some people, but sometimes they can get in the way of your daily life. Here we discuss the signs & symptoms of menorrhagia as well as treatment options & when to see your GP

Periods are a fact of life for most people with a womb who haven’t yet gone through the menopause, and for a lot of people, their menstrual cycle doesn’t impact their day to day activities too much.

For some people though, heavy periods, or menorrhagia, can have quite a big effect on their daily life.

Here we discuss what menorrhagia is, what can cause heavy bleeding and when it’s a good idea to see a GP, as well as what treatment options are available.

I've had enough of this BS and have complained. They might have added in women but the rest of the section on menopause is written in a cold detached way; you can tell they're trying to avoid using the word woman/women. Speaks volumes of their attitudes to us. Now to find another supplier of women's products.

That's a good idea.
I'll do it later on.

Fgs. Can you write on their twitter page? I'm tempted to do that. Bloody sick of it

In the face of women's fury and uproar, they have tossed us a bone - one mention of the word 'woman' to substitute for 'people with a vagina'.

The rest of the 'womens' health' pages seem to have developed a severe allergy to the word, though.

They changed it yesterday

It does say women:

WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?
Here at Boots, we are on a mission to normalise the menopause. We want to be there to support you through your journey; from perimenopause to when you are post-menopausal.
The menopause is a natural process which women go through as they get older however, in some cases, is medically induced. As oestrogen levels start to drop, periods become less frequent and eventually stop altogether. For some, their periods stop quickly, but for others, it can take a few months or a few years. Everyone is different.

Have they changed it or is the vagina part further into the page?

Its so daft. I'm a copywriter so it REALLY fucking irritates me to see how brands are getting themselves tied up in knots over something that's actually really simple.

Effective copywriting is about knowing your audience demographics and talking directly to them - this stuff that is being published is just insane. Its biologically incorrect, it's either written by a male writer (who doesn't understand the human body) or its been changed via automation (e.g. a quick find/replace)

I can only speak for myself, but no, that is not how I perceive women. There are certainly men who do have no respect for women though.

a disclaimer line that literally said "typically, this is something that affects women, non-binary and transmen. For ease of messaging, throughout the rest of this article, we'll remain using the word woman

That works. I suspect ad people would shy away from using such clear language though. How the fuck they arrived at 'people with a vagina' is mystifying.