Costa using Pride image of girl with breasts removed to support trans?

[Tryingmuchharder]

"Costa Coffee was today accused of glamourising 'complex and dangerous surgery' by covering a van with a cartoon image featuring mastectomy scars.
The UK's largest coffee chain defended its use of the image to promote 'inclusivity and diversity' but was branded 'crass and irresponsible' and 'absolutely bonkers' – and there were calls for a boycott of the company on social media.
The image, depicting an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple, is taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year."

I find the attempt to 'normalise' the removal of perfectly healthy breasts because someone feels more masculine is wrong. AIBU

And what is it with coffee shops and trans advertising?

It wasn't so long ago that Starbucks sold Mermaids cookies, they should all leave the kids alone.

what is it with coffee shops and trans advertising

Lots of young staff and a general wish to appear socially aware, Fairtrade, that kind of thing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Businesses should just remain neutral. In.order to truly inclusive you have to accept as a business that serves the general public that those members of the public will hold an array of views and ideas many of which, if were were discussing would probably disagree with, that thet have a right to hold those opinions and access the services just like everyone else. Provided they are polite to staff and other customers, they do not abuse verbally or physically staff or customers, and provided they pay, dont vandalise the furniture or generally make a massive mess then that's all you can ask for really. What's wrong with businesses staying out of everything and just sticking to selling their products/ services.

I’m laughing at the idea of “misgendering a cartoon”

Don't forget if you do happen to misgender a cartoon, you have to reevaluate how you live your life, as a result.

Is that my entire life? <ponders> or is there a cut-off point, previous to which I'm fine?

I think costa has been at best misguided - I find the adverts offensive and I will not be going there again as this is normalising such surgery for young and not so young but impressionable girls/woment.

In addition, there are many women who sadly have lost their breast(s) through breast cancer who do not want to view see images where this operation shown for a non cancer reason.

The society we live in-
Imagine seeing your kid sitting on the floor at 14 because someone you don't know who put thoughts into your kids head that they were the opposite gender. The floor they are sitting on is a child psychiatric unit because they tried to kill themselves.
You don't know who put those thoughts in their head because it upsets the kid, so you blame everyone and yourself trying to understand, you feel blindsided by what's unfolding and nobody will tell you a thing. That's how I feel everyday, I don't kno who put the thoughts into my kids heads but I associate them like I would child groomers, getting inside kids heads and tampering with it.
This society did that to my child and plenty more like my daughter. They target autistic kids with low self esteem and depression for what I think is some social experiment on our kids

I'm so sorry, Zippee, that sounds unimaginably hard.

Oh @Zippeedidodah the emotion in your post is heartbreaking. I’m so sorry and send love and hope for a positive future for your daughter.

This is why it matters.
This is why it’s not “what harm is it doing?”
This is why the brave women and men on the feminist boards, JKR and all the people who have lost their careers, had death threats, been persecuted through the police over the issue continue to stand up against this ideology.
It’s your daughter, your son, your niece, your nephew his is harming. Not just some men dressing in woman's clothes.

Christ, Zippee, that's a bloody heartfelt post.

As I couldn't agree with you more. These kids are being bloody brainwashed.

And that poster is a cartoon manifestation of it.

Shame on all these people.

Thank you OP for drawing attention to this. It's sickening.

A girl (17) in my circle is getting close to having her breast removed because she has come to believe - and most people around her are pretending to believe - that she's a boy.

Those closest to her tell me it's been a long journey, 2.5 years, as though that is supposed to make me think this is a good decision.

If she had spent 2.5 years declaring she wanted to join a convent, they'd be horrified.

But a generation or two ago, that's exactly the kind of pathway girls like her got obsessed with. They'd get religion very strongly and spend their free time with the nuns. Who, tbf, would encourage watchful waiting not an adolescent rush into the veil.

Starting a journey to nunhood would be a much less permanent decision than this. Much less harmful. Yet my relatives and friends would be totally against it. Even if they followed the set of beliefs behind it, they'd be sceptical of adolescent enthusiasm.

How, how do they not see how wrong this is?

Zippeedidodah

I am so sorry to hear that.

It’s absolutely disgusting. How have we got to a stage whether the mutilation of girls and women is being celebrated?! Utterly disgusting!

It is being 'kind' Blatantlyfemale, and wanting to desperately be on the 'right side of history'.

It’s your daughter, your son, your niece, your nephew his is harming. Not just some men dressing in woman's clothes

Children have been deliberately targeted because no one can look.at a child, hear about their distress and not be moved and want to do anything they can to make them feel better. They are the innocent victims caught in the crossfire as predominantly adult males see to erode all jounderies and safeguarding.

If activists actually cared at all about children they would want them to have the time and space to figure it out. They'd want to listen to, and allow research and investigatiom and want to ensure that whatever is done for these children is the result of thorough investigation and proven to medically be the best and the safest course of action. Activists would not want to separate them.from their support networks , friends and families who love them, show them how and where to get unregulated and untested medication online and encourage them to place themselves in dangerous situations. Children are merely the shield for adult males to not only validate their own identity but to ensure they have the ability to do what they want to do like enter womens spaces.

If you were convinced it was the right thing to do then why try and shut down everything that threatens this. Dont activists and allies want children to get the best healthcare possible? If it is then why attempt to shut down /discredit/bully drs and professionals speaking out? What could they possibly say thats such a worry?

Its very telling that when incidents happen or medical treatment goes horrifically wrong that immediately the victim is the one who needs re education or is just unfortunate or is lying or a transphobe.its never the fault of those who encouraged the whole thing or the drs who cashed in on it.

I’ve complained.

A girl (17) in my circle is getting close to having her breast removed because she has come to believe - and most people around her are pretending to believe - that she's a boy.

This is it, in a nutshell. These girls have been told that they are really boys. That they can be boys. That they will pass as boys.

They aren't, they can't, they won't.

They are told that how they are feeling or thinking isn't the way girls feel or think.

It's fucking sexism on steroids.

Gah.

I missed the beginning of the LBC programme earlier but it was interesting that the callers upset by the advert had good reasons whereas the callers praising it all sounded extremely angry and just wanted to accuse Maya (representing the gender critical side of the debate) of hate, despite the presenter repeatedly saying Maya has no hate but wants to protect young people.

Starbucks also been complicit in this in the past.

That's a really interesting observation, and not one I'd considered before.

Me too. Interesting that the person who said that can magically (and accurately!) identify the gender of a cartoon simply by their scars and blue hair.

But gender is definitely not just a ragged bunch of stereotypes chosen by men doncha know.