Reply from the Body Shop re JKR... just so dreadful...

[onlywomennotmen]

Apparently men menstruate too...

^Hello, and thank you for getting in touch with us about our recent tweet to JK Rowling. We wanted to respond to everyone who has reached out to us to clarify our position on this issue.

We are longstanding supporters of the rights of women and girls on issues which affect them and believe it is important to keep having conversations around difficult topics such as this. Every person has the right to live their life free from the fear of violence, especially gender-based violence. The Body Shop has been an active campaigner on this issue since 1994.

The Body Shop’s position on menstruation in relation to trans and non-binary people is that we stand with ALL menstruators. People have periods – women, men and non-binary people. And plenty of women don’t. We value learning from everyone’s experience and we believe the conversation needs to go forwards, not backwards.

We disagree with JK Rowling’s view and wanted to demonstrate our support for trans and non-binary people. We understand why addressing the tweet to JK Rowling’s personal account has been interpreted as an attack on her as an individual, and as a domestic abuse survivor. That was absolutely not our intention. We didn’t get the tone right on this one and we do want to engage respectfully and constructively on these important issues.

We believe it is important to keep having conversations around difficult topics such as this, and doing so constructively. We recognise that our engagement with JK Rowling on this occasion wasn’t as constructive as we would like to be. We all need to educate ourselves, be inclusive and stand together so that we can end the shame and stigma around periods for all menstruators and stand up for what is right in our society.

We stand by our position on the rights of trans and non-binary people, and we will learn from this execution to ensure our communication is stronger and more constructive in the future.

We hope this helps you understand our position. We appreciated hearing yours.^

We stand by our position on the rights of trans and non-binary people, and we will learn from this execution to ensure our communication is stronger and more constructive in the future ah! So next time they'll be even more snarky, smug and shitty?

Idiots. No more business from me.

Anita Roddick would be appalled.

Men menstruate...what utter bollocks!

It's all a bit like they're saying "OMG, did you hear that some women can have medical problems that affect their menstrual cycle and therefore not all women menstruate" and everyone else going, yeah we knew that years ago, what's your fucking point?

I have just asked my husband when he is having his period... you can imagine his reply.

How are they defining man if they think men have periods? Does 'man' now include 'woman' too... this is insane.

... and of course they are making the same totally redundant point that plenty of women don't have periods.

I am actually fearful for our future... more and more I feel that the grown ups aren't in charge.

I work in academia and after a week of reading a bunch of muddled, confused, wordy but empty essays on queer theory, feminism, gender identity etc. etc. that were all without exception without merit I am going to have to work out how I can raise my head above the parapet (and face the end of my income). Otherwise it feels like collusion...

This makes me very sad as there are so few women in my field that this will mean there will be one less role model who can actually share their lived experience and the unique challenges I have faced, and one less person interested enough in all of this to offer an alternative view.

I'd best get my husband to ring the doctor tomorrow as he has never had a period. I can't believe his mother didn't notice this before, what sort of woman, sorry, menstruator, is she?

That’s awful. Can I ask where you sent your letter to, was it a physical letter or an email? If so, can I ask what the email address was? Usually I don’t get too involved with issues like this, but this has incensed me. What they don’t understand is supporting women is not not supporting trans, if that makes sense. Ie. You can support both women and trans people.

Dick - that made me smile.

Must try the tampon machine in the men’s loos next time the one in the women’s is empty.

Imagine how tiny male tampons must be. I imagine that’s why I have never seen DH’s in the medicine cabinet. It must be terrible for their self-esteem.

We all need to educate ourselves, be inclusive and stand together so that we can end the shame and stigma around periods for all menstruators and stand up for what is right in our society.
So what I've taken from that comment is that they think that those who complain need educating, whereas they are totally in the right.

If male bodied people really did have periods the world would be very different.

Translated: well we might have been a bit more tactful, but yeah, it's still fuck you to women.

Just stunned by those who have no idea how to support everyone instead of picking a political side and throwing the other to the wolves. And seem to believe this will have no effect on their customers or income.

At the rate this is going, I'm going to have to start making my own soap.

I'd really like to see them have to add an asterisk with "* only the cunty ones" whenever this kind of rubbish is published.

And did they really, explicitly, exclude the rights of women when discussing menstruation?

No word on why they think only men need shaving kits, I suppose?

I’ve received exactly the same response to my email!

This is dreadful.

They don't give a shit about women and girls.

I hope all those men who buy their Always san pro spend well in the Body Shop also because they are going to need to make up for all us lost menstruators.

They refer to women as "menstruators" even in what is supposed to be an apology to a woman offended by their treatment of JK Rowling. Who was attacked by them and others for - you guessed it! - criticizing the word "menstruators" as dehumanizing to women and girls! How tone deaf can you get?

And of course they refer to "gender-based violence", perpetuating the insulting idea that our oppression is something women opt into and could just identify out of if we chose.

And this little gem: "We stand by our position on the rights of trans and non-binary people" with crickets on the rights of women. Just in case their misogyny wasn't beaming out loud and clear already

I don't get it. Surely they are saying that (trans) men menstruate, and non binary (women) menstruate.

I'm sure they're not saying that actual men menstruate. Just that people who menstruate who don't identify as women have their support.

I honestly now think this 'debate' is completely over.

There will be a time when many young trans people have changed their mind and start to speak out but sadly I feel we'll all be in our box until that point.

It's horrifying but unless you are JK Rowling or similarly financially independent, speaking out is becoming harder and harder.

They are morons

StAndrewsschool, I sent my email to the CEO using this email address:

[email protected]

Be prepared for a mass-produced bog-off email though.

I've just emailed him again. I might have been a bit brusque this time.

They're not saying men menstruate.

I must have missed this biology lesson at school!
For God's sake. The worlds going/ gone mad.
We're all going to hell in a handcart.

I shall never darken the Body Shop's door again

Quite frankly I can get a kg of coconut oil from the supermarket for £2.50 and that takes care of all my beauty needs. I don't need their fucking shit!