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.^

The reply I got was similar but also had this on the end 'The past few months have taught us all that we must listen and learn from all experiences. Here’s how to get started and be an ally to all menstruators:
1 Have inclusive and intersectional conversations about periods.
2 Read around other people’s experiences: Nannocare - Non-binary representation in Period Conversations: https://nannocare.com/blogs/news/the-importance-of-non-binary-representation-in-our-period-talkk_
3 Donate to charities
We hope this helps you appreciate a different point of view. We appreciated learning about yours.'

So glad the body shop is telling me how to be an ally to menstruators because as a women I have no idea what having a period would be like.

It's just marketing. Nasty marketing, but marketing nonetheless.

They think it's in the interests of their bottom line to attract a younger demographic, and, tbh, it's a long time since this Gen Xer bought from them.

Business only acts in the interest of itself and its shareholders. The hypocrisy is in marketing their reoriented market as a moral choice. It always comes down to the dollar.

I notice the reference to men having periods, "menstruators" etc is never said out loud on a TV advert, or radio. Only in print. Is that because it sounds as crazy as it is, and the general public will be turned off by any company with the gall to treat them like idiots? There must be market research done on this somewhere.

@StandUpStraight - Have a look at the Libra website (Australian), it is all about sanitary products designed for women and girls by women. Libra and Libra-girl are definitely for women!

How is it possible I live in a world where the word woman is being eradicated!? I teach my children as boys and gurus they can wear any colour and play with any toy. But I refuse to teach them that men & women don't exist.

I recently joined Twitter but due to my employer I'm scared to retweet or support JkR, it wouldn't make a difference as only have a few followers but I hate that I can't be authentic.

There’s been a new appreciation in the last few years with regard to how some labels and language can be dehumanising. There’s a shift away from saying that someone IS a particular disorder/disability/medical condition to saying they HAVE it, or are living with it. It’s much less common to hear things like “Michael is Down Syndrome” or “Renee is severe cerebral palsy”. Now - and rightly so - the person is centred and their diagnosis doesn’t define them.

Except for women it seems, where the language others used to describe us is now reducing us to our bodily functions. And we’re somehow considered bigoted or TERFS if we complain.

@NameXForThis thanks for the tip! As I was writing my post I was actually wondering what companies in my home country were doing on this topic, since last time I was there I bought some period pants that were definitely “for women”. I will stock up on Libra, if I’m ever allowed back without a 14 day enforced quarantine!

and now ASDA too...

Have inclusive and intersectional conversations about periods.
Sweet suffering Jesus

Judging by their website Body Shop are pretty sure it is men who shave.... so just women who have to be de-coupled from their own definition to allow for Trans Identity?

My email last night has not received a reply as yet!

I received a reply to my email which was entitled “targeted harassment of JK Rowling”, though feeling cheated that I didn’t get the full monty.
“ Hello, and thank you for getting in touch with us. We welcome hearing different points of view and your comments have been heard and noted by us.
From all of us at The Body Shop”
I’m glad they welcome my point of view, but as a business rather than a charity, perhaps they should be thinking more about my money...

I had the same reply StandUp. Hopefully they rethought the dreadful response calling us menstruators.

I saw this as I was browsing instagram the other day

Designed for and tested by women.
Music to my ears

Hello, and thank you for getting in touch with us. We welcome hearing different points of view and your comments have been heard and noted by us. From all of us at The Body Shop”

Same here. Not quite an apology is it.

"Your view has been noted menstruator but I'd quite like it if I can keep your custom as it turns out teenagers can't afford our products"

ive emailed them, signed it with my name and in brackets "adult human female"

ive said im sorry for the reps most affected by all this i pointed out that trans men are not there primary demographic they also dont sell period products and they should have kept calm and sold body butter

i may have been slightly sarcastic

They can fuck AAAAALL the way off with this non apology.

I am slightly baffled at the period industry that has sprung up in recent years. I had a look at the one that is headed up bt the woman having a go at JKR and terfs, Bloody Good Period and it's fascinating. The job of this apparantly fantastic company is collect donations and hand them out, with a large staff spending a chunk of the donations and public money on themselves. They have a bloke in charge of education in schools on periods. There's loads of these parasite period organisations suckling off the charity tit....

I suppose gender studies grads have to go somewhere but this is just the same old capitalism with a charitable face.

As if emailing me the same email I contacted them to complain about wasn't bad enough! Now they send us all this shit

Didn’t someone come on here last year and had been at some strategy meeting where they said something along the lines of ‘going woke anyway, so just slip on a few ‘period matters’ type messages to throw those pesky women off the scent - then go for the jugular’ (cue photo of our ‘lil with message sharpied onto their hand).

I know this is off subject but I don't get that Daye advert. What are the basketball about?!

@HermioneWeasley

They can fuck AAAAALL the way off with this non apology.

I just keep hearing Magdalen Burns in my head going "Fuck off you wanker(s)".

The apology window had closed. Ta-ta.

Didn’t someone come on here last year and had been at some strategy meeting where they said something along the lines of ‘going woke anyway, so just slip on a few ‘period matters’ type messages to throw those pesky women off the scent - then go for the jugular’ (cue photo of our ‘lil with message sharpied onto their hand).

"JM’s (James Morton of Scottish Trans Alliance) campaigning tips were to gain trust in the local community- and to approach moderate feminists, “correct misconceptions and forgive any ignorance they may have displayed”. They want to gain trust and make themselves likeable.

Apparently small acts like helping to campaign about period poverty or retweeting the local branch of Women’s Aid will make a difference and result in some reciprocation. They want to make it look like they care about Women's issues so they don’t appear threatening"

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3398737-We-re-Still-Here-Conference-8th-September-A-report-from-the-inside