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.^

Hang on, so men menstruate? How do biology teachers cope with having to explain the FEMALE reproductive system in lessons without being accused of transphobia? Or that some women have penises too?

AIBU to think you should write to the Body Shop's CEO about their transphobia? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3938995-AIBU-to-think-you-should-write-to-the-Body-Shops-CEO-about-their-transphobia

I've emailed David with my views!

Well the Body Shop can fuck right off.

I’ve just told DH that according to The Body Shop men can menstruate and he’s a bit worried now because he hasn’t had his period, do they sell pregnancy tests for prostate havers? He doesn’t want one in a pink box though, grey and orange packaging please so he won’t be triggered.

Yep David is getting an email from me tonight also....

@SunshineCake You're not missing anything, it just all seems so bonkers that you can't actually believe what you're reading

AIBU to think you should write to the Body Shop's CEO about their transphobia? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3938995-AIBU-to-think-you-should-write-to-the-Body-Shops-CEO-about-their-transphobia

So who are the Body Shop referring to then when they have products for men?

It looks like an own goal from here.

@DickKerrLadies

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?

This.

Any man who starts bleeding from his genitalia needs to get himself to A&E ASAP!!

I emailed:

[email protected]

... but guessing we will all get the same reply.

I really feel we have lost the battle and lost a generation or two to this crap.

My hope is that the they get called out by their younger sisters.

My five year old daughter asked me two days ago if boys could do everything that girls do and girls could do everything that boys do.

I answered 'almost' and she laughed and replied 'girls can do everything... but they can't just grow a willy!'

If a 5 year old can get it (and we have never talked about trans issues with or in front of her) why can't everyone else?

I emailed the CEO when the tweet came out. Thanks for the advance notice of the shit canned reply I will be getting, so that I can draft my next email.
Menstruators, FFS. Men menstruate! How many impossible things will we be asked to believe before breakfast tomorrow? But what can you expect when the UN tweets in support of “People Who Menstruate”. (That was today. From their UN_Women account. Tweet seems to have disappeared now though.)

I find it amusing that TBS think that "people" menstruate but only men shave. Perhaps they need to warn Gillette that their (absurdly gendered) line of women's razors has no customer base.

If we started referring to men and trans women as people with penises, is that acceptable?

So the next time men piss us off can we ask snarkily if they have pMT AGAIN

People have periods – women, men and non-binary people. And plenty of women don’t. We value learning from everyone’s experience

Hang on - why have they only said that plenty of women don't have periods?

By saying men, women and non-binary people have periods and then singling out women as a class which includes plenty of people who don't have periods, they seem to be saying that all men and non-binary people have periods.

Unless there is something specific about women that would prompt them to clarify this in respect of women only? Perhaps there's some biological factor or something? But there can't be, because "people have periods" - it's absolutely not specific to women, and they've made that very clear.

So it must mean that all men and non-binary people actually do have periods. There's no other logical explanation, based on what they've said.

And if this was an oversight and they merely forgot to include a sentence stating that plenty of men and non-binary people don't have periods either, it seems they've been rather trans-exclusionary, doesn't it?

I received the same reply. Not acknowledgement of their abusive reply to jkr either. And how dare they refer to me as a menstrator. Fuckers.

I would email them back and say you're baffled as to how men are able to menstruate. Can they send you a link to peer reviewed research to show how is possible? Does the blood flow out through the penis?! Is the lining of the womb stored in the testes? Just be as faux naive as you can - as though you know nothing about genderism.

@DeRigueurMortis

AIBU to think you should write to the Body Shop's CEO about their transphobia? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3938995-AIBU-to-think-you-should-write-to-the-Body-Shops-CEO-about-their-transphobia

That's who I sent my email to.

Still got the same shit pro-forma response.

But I think we can assume from it that not only are their social media department raving misogynists who think it's funny to troll a survivor of domestic violence, the rot goes all the way up to the top, and their CEO, David Boynton, is a raving misogynist who thinks it's funny to troll a survivor of domestic violence.

Truly, the spirit of Gerald Ratner lives on.

You'd think at the start of the worst recession/depression in a century, they might actually not want to alienate the whole of their core customer base. But apparently not.

As the old adage has it, there's no arguing with stupid.

Well they can fuck right off and peddle their wares elsewhere. I used to love Bodyshop and Anita Roddick. I won’t be buying from them again.
Also, I missed the memo about men menstruating. When dies this happen? Seriously I cannot understand this.

And can you request that if they insist on calling women menstruators, they change 'men' to ejaculators immediately.

If men menstruate, what do they menstruate? Do they also ovulate? In what way are these male ova distinguishable from boring old female ones?

See also ladysperm.

Mockers, O Level Biology Grade B.

Don't worry @onlywomennotmen, M&S and John Lewis both had their worst christmas in ages when they started this crap. If they'd rather fold than face reality, then see ya! they need us waaaay more than we need them.

I’m a bit confused about the problem here.... are commentators joking about their husbands having periods being “funny” or do they genuinely believe that’s what the reply meant?

I’ve read a few statements from companies about the “people menstruate” statement and the focus of what they’ve been saying has been that trans-men menstruate.

I could understand if the issue was that if trans-men = men then by default trans-women = women. And that’s the part that people take exception to?

I don’t want to get ripped apart, I’m genuinely trying to understand. Help me out here.

I think my understanding was the same as CloudyVanilla’s but I don’t particularly understand the responses to her.