Feminism: chat
Breastfeeding - should I say something?
MotherWol · 16/09/2021 13:08
I got an email today from a company that makes breast pumps looking for participants in their product research. I can’t quite articulate why but the attempt to use inclusive language is really jarring. It feels like they can’t face the fact that breastfeeding is predominantly a women-only activity, and are having linguistic contortions in order to be trans-inclusive. Given that the proportion of pregnancies among people who don’t identify as women 
is in single-digits, why can’t breastfeeding mothers be the primary focus of a company that sells breast pumps? Is it worth saying something or should I not bother?
HBGKC · 16/09/2021 13:14
I think I'd email and say 'you've lost me as a potential research participant due to your women-alienating language and bending-over backwards trying to shoehorn trans-identifying males into a clearly female-only category i.e. women with breasts that can produce milk for their offspring.'
But put better 
ditalini · 16/09/2021 13:18
They've got that one completely arse over tit haven't they?
They use women in their introductory sentence. Blasphemer!
They use "identify as women" therefore excluding transmen and non-binary people with lactating breasts (excuse tortuous language)
If they're genuinely wanting to include transwomen who are attempting to lactate (grim), then they're still excluding the groups above.
Wokefail.
Graphista · 16/09/2021 13:22
You've redacted but I'd love to know what company this is to warn people off buying from them!
That's an appallingly worded email, both the trans stuff and the composition in general.
Doesn't come over at all professional or welcoming or even actually inclusive.
It comes over as amateurish, painfully woke, off putting and excluding!
We have WOEFULLY poor levels of breastfeeding in this country for a number of reasons but things like this won't bloody help!
Please email them and tell them to get a bloody grip and serve the MAJORITY of their customers which will be WOMEN in dire need of support, understanding and inclusion.
VaricoseVera · 16/09/2021 13:37
@HBGKC
But put better
No no! Put it exactly like that
I'm getting beyond sick of this now.
JojobaFromOctober · 16/09/2021 13:49
They've tried to go 'inclusive' and failed, since their only universal criteria is to identify as a woman. But the people this sort of language is supposed to 'include' are people who CAN potentially breastfeed but DO NOT identity as women. So not only is this stupid and offensive to many of their potential customers, they've also cocked it up what they were supposed to be achieving.
MotherWol · 16/09/2021 13:57
I think if they’d worded it more along the lines of “we’re looking for women who are/are not currently breastfeeding, and we’d also love to hear from trans/NB parents too” it wouldn’t have been so jarring, but it’s the way they’ve cocked it up that’s wound me up. It’s possible to write inclusively without excluding your core demographic!
JojobaFromOctober · 16/09/2021 14:00
Just goes to show, I think, that a lot of people parrot this kind of language without actually understanding what they are saying or why they are supposed to be saying it. It's just a fear of offending, but they haven't really got a clue. Not that they apparently give a shit about offending women by lumping them in with male people trying to induce lactation with artificial hormones. Though as I say I don't think they've actually thought it through at all.
ditalini · 16/09/2021 14:10
@NatriumChloride
Is this a thing?
Yes. Because (although men have breasts) apparently it's "triggering" to mention breastfeeding
(Feeding from the breasts. That you have on your chest. That is a non-gendered/sexed organ despite the differences in appearance between the sexes, although women with small breasts are still women, and men with gynecomastasia are still men.)
JojobaFromOctober · 16/09/2021 14:12
Exactly, according to their criteria, they'd want to include a 50 year old male person who (obviously) has never breastfed and never will but not a 28 year old female person who is currently breastfeeding a child but who identifies as non-binary.
It was written by an idiot who is not even fluent in modern gender ideology but thinks they have to make some reference to it because they know enough to know that ignoring it is blasphemous.
ditalini · 16/09/2021 17:31
No, chest cancer is already a thing. utswmed.org/conditions-treatments/chest-cancer/
LobsterNapkin · 16/09/2021 20:29
This is so confused.
I think what they want is to talk both to women who have and have not breastfed. But the way they have worded it, they will potentially get males, who aren't really part of the breast pump market, and not some people they want.
That's assuming they understand what is being asked at all.
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