Menstruators and people who have periods

[HuckfromScandal]

Well, this has enraged me, and I am wondering if I am being unreasonable?

Audible has a sale on, and I was looking to see if there was anything worth buying, and the book “period power” was listed.
The blurb has left me enraged, and I wouldn’t now buy it even if I really was interested. (Aware I am cutting off my nose). Is it just me???

@SapphosRock
I don't understand all the rage. Women have periods. Trans men have periods. They are all people
Same, I mean, all I can think is "meh", can't get too worked up - it's obvious only biological women can have periods, but if the wording is inclusive to trans men as well I don't have a problem with that.

it's to stop women of all generations from being able to talk knowingly, honestly and medically about their own bodies

How does it manage to stop women talking about their bodies? You can still do that

this language “menstruators” (et al) is gross and demeaning.

The weird liberal-left bubble can use it all they want and self-ID as “menstruators” along with “c*s” (also gross imo) if they want.

They’re not welcome to label the rest of us though. We will go on being girls and women and reject any attempt otherwise.

It's a stupid prevention. However you word it, you are working around the same basic facts, certain people with a set of the same physical characteristics menstruate.

You can't avoid designating a biological category.

That should say, stupid pretension

I think it is a stupid, and elitist, pretension. But if others want to indulge personally, I have no objection.

I’m only bothered when they try to foist it women and girls in general. Not gonna happen.

Here's a quick tip: if blood is coming out from your vagina, you are female.

How does it manage to stop women talking about their bodies? You can still do that

You missed out the words “knowingly, honestly and medically” when you quoted from that post.

It's a strange hill to choose to die on when there are plenty of outrageous things happening to women in the world.

Just comes across as being outraged for the sake of it. It will stop people taking notice of the problems that are genuinely affecting women and girls.

I don't think anyone is dying on this hill, and that comes over as whataboutery.

But, if you want to go there... some of the outrageous things which happen to women around the world, are exactly down to menstruation being mystified and stigmatised, of women being shunned and excluded when they're menstruating. In a world where this didn't happen, maybe categorising women by this particular bodily function wouldn't be quite so bad (though referring to people by a function always tends to be dehumanising) but we're not there yet.

The people who wrote this blurb are not being remotely kind and inclusive to women from cultures in which these attitudes exist. They also seem to be misrepresenting the tenor of the book itself to the point where the OP might be dissuaded from buying it - and otoh others might be uncomfortable with its actual content if they were expecting the word woman to have been eschewed.

Naming women as women. Yes I will die on that hill.

See also: not lying.

How does it manage to stop women talking about their bodies? You can still do that confuse

Are you really so unimaginative that you can't conceive of a situation where a group of girls are together discussing their periods or their bodies, but are preventing from using the words 'women' or 'girls' because a trans boy is present?

The definition of colonisation:

noun
noun: colonisation
1.the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people

2. the action of appropriating a place or domain for one's own use

To all the females' also works for a talk about periods Frogs, so no need for the all the pretend outrage

Who does it work for? I can assure you it is not pretend......

To me, to call someone a menstruator is dehumanizing. Why do you feel that reducing a women to a biological process is ok in any way shape or form?

If we are talking about a male reproductive process shall we call them ejaculators as opposed to ‘men’ .

This language is alienating to many who do not have any illusions about sex..... or is that the plan?

Basically nothing to do with males at all. So absolutely no misogyny

Misogyny is contempt. It is pretty contemptuous towards women to forbid them from using natural and universally accepted words for their own state or being.

their sex that should be.

It will stop people taking notice of the problems that are genuinely affecting women and girls.

Like periods, and all the issues that can go with them? About how we don't talk about them enough, so women and girls don't know what's normal? About how issues are dismissed by doctors for years as 'just stuff women and girls have to deal with? Those sorts of real issues?

I don't feel so alone in my anger about this now.

It's not a "hill to die on" but I feel that women's rights are being walked back in a slow and methodical - death by 1000 cuts type of way!
If we cannot talk about our bodies and use the terms that we want to to describe them, what is next?

I have decided not to bother getting the book, given some of the comments by other mumsnetters, I also recently returned "The bad feminist" as it's referencing to me as "CIS" was a step too far for me.

I do recommend listening to the audible sample on the amazon page though, just for the explanation of the cause of women's rage. It's quite on point to this discussion, in a way. (Clue - she doesn't attribute it to hormones).

Going back to the OP, using the term 'all women' would not be correct or relevant to the book blurb as not all women menstruate. Some have been through menopause, others are on medication, there are many reasons why a woman may not menstruate.

I have no issue with a book written specifically about menstruation, for people who menstruate referring to 'menstruators'.

It's not like there's a suggestion of referring to women as menstruators in every day life.

It will stop people taking notice of the problems that are genuinely affecting women and girls

So some women being vocal about their anger at being called menstruaters means that people won’t take any notice of FGM or sexism or anything...

I honestly don’t think it works like that

Some have been through menopause, others are on medication, there are many reasons why a woman may not menstruate.

From the brief part I heard, the book may be relevant to some of those women - making the term 'menstruators' all the more inappropriate.

Not so sure Rufus have you ever read the boy who cried wolf?

Crying outrage about things that really don't matter could cause many to switch off from the other important concerns feminists have.

Im absolutely positive

Woman have been told for decades that whatever they are concentrating on at that time isn’t important in the big scheme of things and that it will damage womens causes

Women should be allowed to complain about whatever they want to...people will listen, or they won’t

Its fuck all to do with what you complain about

And its the drip drip drip that cause massive issues

And yeah ive read aesops fables