The worst cervical cancer campaign ever...

I guess that’s up to the individual but it seems to be that as it’s risqué it’s empowering.

The fact that it’s been a derogatory phrase for years and now they’ve turned it around, is what women seem to be praising.
The idea that women are powerful and can open and close their legs when they choose.

My sister said “haha yes!” and acted empowered saying she loves that message and said she’s going to book one.
Whether she goes through with it or not is up to her but if the ad can make women feel that way, then great.

I know when I found out I had HPV I was very embarrassed and started a thread about it.
It was the posters attitude, support and normalising it, which really helped me get past the stigma.

Exactly, it is an awful message. I feel like I'm being fucking trolled.

“It is targeting the women who don’t have them due to stigma or embarrassment.”

How? In what way does telling people with a cervix to open their legs, on a railway concourse where everyone can see it, encourage women who are embarrassed to go for a smear?

Thanks for acknowledging the point. I don’t get them. I have booked then cancelled before. Because of sexual abuse in a medical setting as a teenager.

So what sort of campaign would reach women who have trauma due to sexual abuse?

That’s down to whoever is paid to come up for campaigns

They’d need to ask women for their views

They need to do better

And can you tell us what the statistics are for men being sexually abused and assaulted vs women? And why men checking themselves might not be in anyway comparable to the invasiveness of something penetrating a women’s vagina?

Your comparisons are not really relevant or comparable.

I live in the North West.

Thinking about a fair number of northern towns, that are pretty no nonsense, I remain unconvinced that a 'person' campaign is really going to hit the mark.

Might work in more studenty areas but Burnley, Bolton, St Helens, Wigan, Knowsley etc? Good luck.

Utterly tone deaf and totally lacking in cultural understanding (by that I mean various religious ones AND white northern).

So what sort of campaign would reach women who have trauma due to sexual abuse?

Well, not this one.

Nor will it reach those who believe cervical cancer is the result of or associated with promiscuity.

Wheres the one with the guilt trip about children losing their father?

Oh wait.

Very fair point.

But the campaign is obviously not targeting those women.
It is targeting the women who don’t have them due to stigma or embarrassment.

IMO if this campaign increases the number of women who are getting smears and saving their lives, then it is a good thing.

This issue, which I hadn’t thought of, is like a PP said that it’s going to stop the women who are getting smears from now getting them.

I would be quite shocked if women who regularly get smears, now stop getting them because of this campaign.

So what sort of campaign would reach women who have trauma due to sexual abuse?

Most of the other campaigns obviously aren’t working and there does need to be specific ads for these women.

I’m not in this position but you have my support and express your correct views well

The point of the campaign is that the percentage of women sorry, people who get smear tests in North West England is lower than in other regions.

Its aim is to increase that percentage

We will see whether it goes up after this campaign.

I'll bet it doesn't, and I'm not a betting person.

Why is your opinion more valid than mine or any other woman?

You and the women who agree with you seem to be women who don't have difficulty having smear s, and cannot comprehend the difficulties of women who do.

Your opinion on the efficacy of this programme is automatically less valid than the opinion of the target audience, many of whom are trauma-impacted by sexual violence.

That is a fair point.

Do we focus on increasing the number of women getting smears or focus on keeping the women that do already have them.

Will you now stop getting smears based on this campaign?

Literally no one called you ‘vile names’.

Do you always play the victim when people disagree with you?

Of course there are men on here.

And yes I have been engaging with posters on this thread.
Please don’t lie.

I am not the only poster on this thread who doesn’t have an issue with this campaign.

Why is your opinion more valid than mine or any other woman?

No I have not said any of those things.

You are twisting my words completely and you called me vile names and are now trying to turn it around and act like I was the one calling other women those vile names, when I’ve not actually said one bad word about women at all.

I told one poster to calm down AFTER you called me vile names and that was because they were changing their font to huge letters and putting them in bold aka shouting in text.

This is a discussion you don’t need to call me vile names and the other poster doesn’t need to shout in text.

If you don’t agree with myself or other women’s views, then that’s fine.

I don’t agree with many on here either but I’ve not resorted to insults, name calling or shouting.

I don’t have an issue with the campaign, as many other women don’t.

There have been comments from women working in this area that have said that some would find this empowering and would help to break down the stigma surrounding smear tests - you do not get to say that these women are wrong.

All I care about is women having informed choices and not having to worry about the stigma or feeling embarrassed by something that could literally save their life.

If this campaign increases the amount of women having smear tests, then great.

If you think you have a better campaign idea, then please go ahead and contact them and let them know and I would fully support it.

I'm not sure a campaign that appeals to a tiny minority whilst making the significant majority feel uncomfortable/ traumatized/ whatever they feel that isn't a positive reaction is actually a good one.

Telling men to play [with their] ball(s) is in no way comparable to telling women to open their legs.

The point isn’t that some women will respond well to this and some not, but that it will actively repel or trigger many of the groups of women who ‘most need’ the message. It’s not neutral, it’s sexualising something medical - when that actually happens it’s abusive and traumatic.

"Calm down dear".

Brilliant.

You are not on generic "SM".

You are on mumsnet, talking to women about a campaign about women's healthcare. Well, I say talking to. You have been talking at other posters. I am absolutely certain that you only noticed men's responses to the campaign on other social media. The male users of MN aren't on this thread, which is probably why you won't engage with anything anyone actually types here.

Women still exist though, even if you stick your fingers in your ears when we say we don't like the ad.

No she/he isn’t.

Actually @NeighbourhoodWatchPotholeDivision has summarised what I WAS saying.

you are the one telling women to calm down and stop projecting. That is ‘oh stop being so silly and irrational’.

You are the one insisting that telling women to open their leg is empowering - despite many women (including me) saying it simply is not.

There’s simply no point in engaging further with you.

I find it extremely offensive for reasons I won't share. I think whoever's behind that campaign need to listen to women and find out why so many are not going for smears. That image suggests they haven't even considered traumatised women.

@Night409 I genuinely suggest reading UnremarkableBeasts' 15:10 post again as I think you've misinterpreted - her use of 'you' isn't directed at you Night409. It's paraphrased responses to the 'women who have objections'

Where have I called any woman irrational?

Please don’t lie.

I am listening to women.
I am a woman, I have lots of women friends and family and I’ve seen the comments by women on SM.

Yet for some reason our opinions aren’t as important as yours.

No she/he isn’t.

I’ve not said or implied any women is silly or irrational.

I’ve said several times that this is their own choice and no one should feel forced or attacked by not having a smear test.

All I’ve said is if this campaign can encourage a small number of women to save their life, then that is great.

Using words like irrational, silly, stupid and misinformed just because I have a different opinion is extremely misogynistic.

I’m not sure why I’m getting attacked on here, when all I’ve done is be supportive of women.