Cervical screening campaign

[GrimSisters]

This popped up on FB and everyone seems to be thinking he's oh so wonderful for having dreamed up this ad campaign. AIBU to think it's gross, or am i just a massive prude?

From 'Man Behaving Dadly'
"A little while ago, I was asked to come up with ideas for a social media campaign led by GP practices in Suffolk to try and encourage local women to not ignore their letters inviting them for a smear test.

I pitched the slogan ‘Use Your Head, And Spread,’ which I didn’t think they would go for as it’s about as close to the mark as I have ever gone, but incredibly they went for it as part of their new campaign - Uncomfortable, Awkward, Lifesaving.

I know that it’s going to upset or offend some people, but surely if it gets people booking their smear tests then the job’s a good’un?"

That is so fucking rapey.

So was it his idea of a joke? GPs didn’t really ask for ideas for a SM campaign? What a tool.

No, they actually did run with it (albeit briefly) that's the concerning thing!

I find it gross and a bit rapey to be honest.

Maybe a bloke doesn’t realise that the phrase “Spread your legs” is mostly used abusively about women.

And the imperative voice - the command “Use your head” is just downright insulting to women. The implication is that we’re stupid.

@SheepandCow

I'm more concerned with knowing if and when we get the urine tests. I believe they're already used in some countries? So much better than a smear.

That would be amazing. I am physically unable to have a smear due to past sexual trauma. I have tried, many times. I am well aware of the importance. It's just physically not possible to have the procedure. A urine test would be really useful for me. Off to google.

No. Don't like it. For all of the reasons mentioned. Hate the demand to "spread". How fucking dare he? Also dislike the "use your head" part, for the implication that women are stupid as ItalianHat said.

I don't know why men are being asked to get involved with this kind of campaign when they clearly don't have a clue.

That is so fucking offensive.

Thanks for explaining our own bodily experience to us Yet Another Man, and in such a delightfully rapey manner.

I agree, Italian, apart from the objections already mentioned - which I wholeheartedly agree with - I also find it offensive in the way it manages to imply that women who make an informed choice not to go for screening are stupid. There are cons as well as pros to cervical screening, and women should be informed of them and allowed to make an autonomous choice, not be shamed and called thick if they choose not to.

I also completely agree that instead of spending money on this nonsense, the NHS should be concentrating its efforts on introducing less painful, less traumatic testing options, such as the urine test. It’s quite baffling why they haven’t done this when it will obviously increase uptake and cause less trauma to women.

What a bloody horribly worded campaign.

And pretty damn pointless since you can't get a fucking appointment anyway. I'm still waiting on getting my implant renewed from March.

Ghastly

Oh god that's dreadful and obviously designed by a man. There is a bit of a push to get primary care back to normal at the moment and cervical screening is obviously a key part of that.

However, many of the myriad of reasons why women don't take part in this screening is due to past sexual trauma (I've actually done some work in this area). Others have found that nurses in their GP practice aren't able to take the smear easily - maybe due to the woman's physiology. Other women don't want someone they see at the school gate to do the smear, or may work in the practice themselves.

Other women - and I include myself in this - have deep rooted issues with anyone examing us "down there". I also suffer vaginismus so sex really hurt (my husband has had a prostatectomy and it's so good that sex is now totally off the agenda) and I couldn't bare the idea of a smear. Still can't at 50.

It is an intimate examination for women and it leaves us vulnerable. It is not something that men can understand and there isn't an equivalent screening programme for them.

and there isn't an equivalent screening programme for them.

I suspect that this is because there’s no way large numbers of them would consent to, say, a prostate exam ‘just in case’.

I've never heard a woman talking about spreading her legs, it's only a vulgar phrase I've heard men use - usually in a derogatory and crowing sort of way. "Did she spread her legs for you?"

Absolutely this, it’s sexualised language and that’s the last thing the smear test situation needs.

And as if women need to be told what to do (“It’s for your own good, dear!”) by a man

It's horrible. Thank god its been pulled. I'm so sorry to all the women who have been triggered by this. I seriously wish men would just fuck off and leave us alone.

Hate it - don’t want a medical procedure sexualised

And I get to decide whether I do it or not

Looking at his website, I think it’s a prank.

Boke.

They need to educate young people about Jade Goody. She is the reason I attend my smears. I still can’t believe she actually died.

Terrible advert. It makes me want to cross my legs. Very off-putting not to say patronising.

He is a virtue signaller. Has a lot to say about various topics that are none of his business

Awful. So vulgar. Spread?? So condescending and spread is completely pejorative in this context...
Do they think shocking, patronising, embarrassing and insulting women is the way to get them to attend?

As someone who is currently going through cervical cancer - thankfully a treatable stage Becuase I DIDNT ignore my letter- the fact is this campaign has caught your attention and you’re talking about it.

Therefore I could care if they said Squat and get your WAP out as long as people took notice and booked a smear test.

If I hadn’t I’d be dead in a few years

I’m overdue for a smear test. The thing that is stopping me from going is having to wear a mask (it’s mandatory at my GP surgery). I just can’t have my nose and mouth covered for this.

There is no context in which it can ever be thought of as humorous. In women, it's overtly misogynistic and rapey and in men, it's a similar context - as it's used on TV and in films where bad cops pull over drivers and run nightsticks/truncheons (whatever the fuck they're called in the US) around the genitals of men. So the phrase is totally about power, fear and invasive acts performed upon people with the threat of violence if they don't comply.

In any case, telling people it's going to hurt and embarrass you, but stop being a stupid, silly woman and man up about it, whatever it is, can't achieve anything other than putting more people off than saying nothing at all.

I'm an old hand at assuming the frog's legs position and sighing to relax my body - the most extreme experience I ever had was with a cold metal speculum scissor jack that felt a bit weird when it was opened a bit quicker than I was used to; the last one, I didn't even notice it being done (I've also had them performed by male GPs before now without noticing any particular difference other than they seemed to take a little bit more time to make sure I was happy to have them do it).

But I know without a doubt that if somebody said that to me, I'd clamp shut and never go for one again.

@GrimSisters was it the Suffolk GP federation he claimed this was for? There was the advert promoted on his page plus a link claiming to be the Suffolk GP something but that disappeared when he pulled the advert from his page after women started explaining why he sounded like a rapist.

@Pumpkinsarepurple

Only a man would think that was an acceptable way to encourage a woman to go for a smear test.

Why the fuck did they approach a man to encourage women to go for smear tests?

This.

How insensitive. Minimising peoples anxieties.