The worst cervical cancer campaign ever...

This is a great idea. Kind of a women helping women, supportive idea. The lovely and diverse women who I've met with a speculum over the years were very reassuring. The disembodied legs not really. Smacks of the headless women advertising films.

And a little bio, "I got into healthcare to support women and prevent needless deaths. I have two kids and a cat. I like fell walking." Really humanise healthcare professionals. And healthcare.

And addressing the concerns. Embarrassment, worry about a male HCP being present, pain, abuse, all the other actual concerns.

Utterly nauseating.

This advert is especially revolting, but as PP said, if they want to improve take up they should offer home vaginal swab HPV tests for women for whom cervical screening at a clinic is unsuitable. Those of us in this situation are not going to respond to this or even a better ad campaign - what we need are the right services.

The NHS London pilot of home testing wrapped up almost 2 years ago but isn’t being rolled out.

Meanwhile those of us who can’t go in for screening are left buying the HPV test privately from Superdrug.

And as I pointed out up thread, when I checked the same organisations campaign about prostate and testicular cancers there was unambiguous language used, always the word men, not people. If campaigns aimed at mens health use clear language you have to wonder what the forces are that are denying the same transparency to campaigns about womens health.

As @Helleofabore said. We already know that when polled half of women or more in the UK did not not know they had a cervix

there is a big issue of women in greater Manchester not getting smear tests. A tasteless advert with drunken people in front of womens legs is not going to change this

women need to be targeted differently for this campaign

Yes, yes yes! This is what I explain to my dd about going for medical appointments, HCPs see a lot of bodies, all types of bodies, every day.

You need to be on the marketing team! This is a million times more likely to be effective than that awful awful awful “campaign”.

I don’t think you understood my point at all
So what was your point then?

Why would someone expressing an opinion different to yours make you feel shamed? The only people attempting to shame on this thread are the ones who start sneering "cool girls" every time someone expresses an opinion counter to their own
Thanks, I agree, I didn't get where the shamed bit came from either as I hadn't meant to do that, just stating my experience.
It doesn't make me a cool girl (whatever the hell that is) if I as a woman share my experience.
We're all different and we all need to feel spoken to in situations like this

Apparently it was written by a woman, or at least the team was headed by a woman. I always want to ask women in these positions what the hell they were thinking.

The 'Mostly' in the 'Mostly affects' sentence is referring to the age group - so it's mostly found in women under 45. But it's so badly written it's not surprising that we are misunderstanding it.

All ad agencies use market research. I have absolutely no idea what questions were asked in the market research for this bollocks.

Just to add, I've never had a speculum used on my legs.

Why would someone expressing an opinion different to yours make you feel shamed? The only people attempting to shame on this thread are the ones who start sneering "cool girls" every time someone expresses an opinion counter to their own. The whole "no debate" thing was a TRA device aimed at shutting women up - its not aspirational.

Really grim and clearly dreamed up by an all-male team who find the idea of encouraging us to open our legs really funny. Also, chaps, for future reference: women’s naked feet don’t tend to look as if they’ve just slipped out of stilettos.

Number of women who will see that advert and decide to get a smear test because of it: zero.

Number of men who’ll see that advert and fantasise about forcing a woman to spread the legs she’s trying to keep crossed: thousands.

Fucking offensive to women and promotes sexual violence.

I don’t think you understood my point at all.

Now as women we are telling other women to open them.

I don’t think you understand what the word “empowering” means. Hint: it is not a synonym for coercive.

Because men love to tell women to close their legs.

Now as women we are telling other women to open them.

I’m sure many men will be offended by it but who cares.
We can open and close them whenever we want.

How about a campaign which featured some of the HCPs who perform the test?
If you featured the people who have taken my smear over the last couple of decades it would be a truly varied group of female nurses of different ages, backgrounds and nationalities
I think seeing women like them would be reassuring to potential patients. As would be hearing their tips for making it easier and hearing their own experiences of being the patient. A combination of humanising the experience, but also reminding us it is routine and mundane for them. They see a lot of bodies. And above all women need to know they can be in control of the experience

yes agree with this, I think that would be a great campaign.
Normalise the experience and show it's just another mundane medical thing to just get over and done with (that's how I see mine when mine's due)

‘Mostly affects women and people with cervixes’…

How would people who don’t have cervixes get cervical cancer? The wording is ludicrous

Trans men have cervixes, hence the wording women and people with cervixes.
Even if they don't see themselves as women, I think it's important that they feel they are seen too as they'll still be in need of a smear.
Why alienate or dismiss someone when women and trans men both need one!
Women and people with cervixes ( trans men) it speaks to both there.

Empowering? Fucking hell.

How is this ‘empowering’?

How does it normalise anything?

How does this upset men?

This feels like the standard logic of ‘sex positive feminism’. As does the implication that objecting to the ‘open your legs’ message is somehow unfeminist.

I agree it definitely muddies the message.

Many of us can work out what they mean, but not every woman has that ability.

Just stick to the point.

Yes. More education.

In the meantime, language such as this “Cervical cancer is a cancer that’s found anywhere in the cervix and mostly affects women and people with cervixes under the age of 45” is rather confusing. So, what other people
have cervixes that are not female? Remember, this is supposed to be plain English so the maximum of women can understand that this is aimed at them.

I suggest you read this press release thinking about the people who don’t understand they have a cervix. Because, this really is a confusing piece of communication. But yes, education is needed.

AND in the meantime, clear communication. So you are quite wrong in that the issue in your positioning this as not a language and communication issue, which I can only assume you are trying to do.

And again, this thread is about that signage.

Yes - this is a great idea!

I don’t see an issue with this.

Anything that promotes and normalises smear tests is good in my eyes.

This is meant to be empowering, as women are told to keep their legs closed.

If this shocks or upsets the poor men, then good it’s obviously doing it’s job.

It's painful not embarrassing. Change the test and watch the numbers soar

The strapline reminds me of something I've heard used frequently to be critical of women who have more than the average amount of children. "She should learn to keep her legs closed"

Since it only tests for HPV in the first instance I don't understand why women aren't offered the option of a self HPV test.
There would then be more time to spend with any women who were asked back for a full smear or any women who weren't comfortable with the DIY option.

After a hideous experience with a gynecologist, I haven't felt able to go for a smear though have paid for a self hpv test which is a simple swab.

There are things that would reassure me. Hearing more detail about the service and what they will do to ensure that the woman having the smear is comfortable would be high on the list.
On a really personal level, seeing a photo of the staff would also help.
Being given options like inserting the speculum myself would also be something that might make me more likely to go. (This is always the bit that's been awful).

The ‘uncross your legs’ is suggesting women are prudish. ‘Can’t you Just keep your legs crossed’ is an insult used against women who have sex.

Uncross your legs is an instruction to be less prudish.

How about a campaign which featured some of the HCPs who perform the test?

If you featured the people who have taken my smear over the last couple of decades it would be a truly varied group of female nurses of different ages, backgrounds and nationalities.

I think seeing women like them would be reassuring to potential patients. As would be hearing their tips for making it easier and hearing their own experiences of being the patient. A combination of humanising the experience, but also reminding us it is routine and mundane for them. They see a lot of bodies. And above all women need to know they can be in control of the experience. Their consent will be continually sought, everything will be explained, the nurse will female and nobody else will walk in.