Edinburgh Science Festival - Humans with Uteruses

[AuntieRae]

Browsing through the events at the Edinburgh Science Festival, always a wide-range of things for non-science people like me. I noticed there's an event called "Period Power" for "humans with uteruses".

www.sciencefestival.co.uk/event-details/period-power

Not sure if the language is the Science Festival's or the presenters so I have asked them to clarify. Is it just me or does "humans with uteruses" sound like something from a dystopian novel? Why can't they just say "female"?

That's totally dehumanising. Well done for asking for clarification.

Makes it sounds like an bloody optional accessory

Shame because she seems to talk a lot about actual biology but hey she's a 'wombwhisperer'...
twitter.com/MaisieHill_/status/1136584850264248320

This has the makings of a Peter Gabriel song:

Humans Without Uteruses
Birth without Foetuses

@EwwSprouts yeah, not sure where the blurb on the event posting came from - from Science Fest or from the publisher. I've emailed Science Festival and asked them why that language was used. If they wanted to be inclusive they could have said women & transmen.....

"not all who menstruate are women" is referenced in that tweet.

But she also self described as “Women's health expert and practitioner”

So knows exactly what a woman is but she’s a coward/#bekind/scared of the woke???

There's a load of nonsense on her Twitter feed.

@MaisieHill_

Are you charting your cycle? Do you know what your personal superpowers are in each phase of your cycle? When we know ourselves in relation to the menstrual cycle, it changes everything for the better which is why I…

@MaisieHill_

Top tip: When it's day 25 of your cycle and instead of going to your book launch party, you'd rather stay at home and potter, get an amazing woman to do your hair and… ^instagram.com/p/BxcXn5aCc5U/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1dhw9oyxuvmtd^

Rightho
So people who menstruate can't be called women
But the person who does your hair is a woman, obvs

Because woman = hairdresser,
not woman = female of the human species

Cos THAT would be offensive

It was a pretty safe bet that someone who describes herself as a ‘womb whisperer’ was going to be TWAW

I wonder how many transwomen wombs she whisper to?

I don't know about anyone else but I've never had the resources to summon an 'amazing woman' to do my hair if I didn't feel like leaving the house. I somehow doubt she's thinking of the kind of mobile hairdresser I booked when my children were small because it was easier for all of us to get a quick trim in the kitchen than go to the salon. As for the suggestion we have superpowers related to the menstrual cycle, words fail me.

This link brings up events that are related to sex or gender.

www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on?type=event&display=view_as_grid&searchTheme%5B%5D=16&searchTerm=&searchSort=eventOccurance.dateStart+asc&displayPerPage=9&searchAge%5B%5D=&searchVenue%5B%5D=&searchAccessibility%5B%5D=&page=1

Two or three are part of the queer brigade.

And good on you for flagging up the people with uteruses shite.

As for the suggestion we have superpowers related to the menstrual cycle, words fail me

That is every bit as sexist, stupid and damaging as not talking about periods or confining women to menstrual huts.

All women will have periods during their lifetime. All women need open , readily available access to products to cope with the bleeding. No one product will suit all women. For some women a period is no big deal- for others they can be crippling and they need help but whatever their periods are like no woman should ever be made to feel embarrassed about having a period.

That really is all that needs to be said.

It really shouldn’t call itself a science festival if it doesn’t understand basic biology. The only “people” with uteruses are women. You can’t identify your way out of that reality - as the millions of FGM and rape victims can testify.

Unless you have one in a jar of course.

Yes lord I was considering asking if my male vet friend can come so long as he brings his preserved cat uterus with him

What a load of woke bollocks. WOMEN menstruate. At a science event of all places. 🤦🏾‍♀️🤬😳

Would a knitted one do? Worn as a hat or a cross-body bag? A knitted uterus makes a great hat with fallopian tube 'ears' and ovary 'earrings' attached.

They're less useful in bag mode as, though puchy and capacious, things can fall out of the cervix at the bottom unless you use them upside down.

When will this lunacy stop?
What happened to uteri as a plural?

The superpowers bit reminds me of the autism movement and their ‘autism is my superpower’. It has now spread to things like ‘dyslexia is my superpower’, ‘adhd is my superpower’.

And now it seems ‘day 25 of the menstrual cycle of humans with wombs is my superpower’

Maybe the "super powers" are the ability to curdle milk or prevent jam from setting.

Both of these abilities have been attributed to menstruating women.

Just noticed that the event's printed by Bloomsbury Publishing - JKR's publishers. I hope she has Very Strong Words with them about this.

Sorry 'printed' not printed

Flipping heck! PROMOTED

This from her instagram link on Twitter:

maisiehillll*_
( . ) ( . ) If you've got boobs or a chest, then listen up!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🔍 Getting to know what your breasts/chest looks and feels like is crucial when it comes to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
👩🏾‍⚕️Knowing your body means that you can assess if anything has changed and then make an appt to see your GP if you notice anything different.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❗️It doesn't matter what gender you are or what age you are, we all need to be checking.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❣️ If you're someone who has a menstrual cycle, then how your breasts/chest looks and feels may well change across each cycle, which is why it's a good idea to get to know what's normal for you as you move through a menstrual cycle.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
👌 For guidance on how to check your boobs/pecs, head to @coppafeelpeople and make sure you sign up for their FREE monthly text service to get reminders that grab your attention and make you smile 😁

If you've got boobs or a chest....

As far as I know "pecs" are muscles, and not likely to be the site of breast cancer (unless there has been local invasion).
And she talks about "breast cancer" in the same sentence as referring to checking your chest.

Not using the correct language is just plain dangerous and spreading misinformation. It's ridiculous.

I have recently seen suggestions of criminalising holocaust denial (John Humphries) and discussion of anti vaccine "propaganda" (Law Commissioner Penney Lewis - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/01/posting-anti-vaccine-propaganda-social-media-could-become-criminal/)

If we are going to criminalise spreading misinformation then I vote for referring to checking your chest/pecs for breast cancer, not to mention chest feeding.