“Assigned at birth” - help me with the counter argument!

[CaveMum]

I’ve got into a discussion with a former colleague who is working on a “diversity and inclusion” policy for our industry as part of a “diversity steering group” set up by the industry governing body.

They’ve put together a learning pack (which I cannot access as I do not work in the appropriate area) but on Twitter I discovered that the very first question in the “Learning Pack” is “Sex is assigned at birth?” with a True/False option. Needless to say if you click on “False” you are told you are wrong.

I’ve raised the point that sex is observed and recorded at birth, not “assigned” and the rebuttal has come that it is a Government designated definition of sex. I was provided with a screenshot which I’ve since dug out as coming from the ONS.

My issue is that I’m having problems articulating why the phrase is problematic. No doubt it is another piece of Stonewall institutional capture and I’m pretty sure that the phrase is meaningless in terms of a legal definition of sex, but I need a coherent argument and evidence to back up why the phrase should not be used.

So far the topic of transgender has not come up, but I’m sure it will at some stage.

Brilliant MrsBodger I will read that with interest.

Kit19 exactly! It’s so mentally draining that we have to do this and yet the other side just get to throw around words and expect everyone to accept it.

I’ve now found a way to access the “LGBT+ Learning Pack”, part of me thinks I should go through it and pick out any further issues (as ex-colleague has said he “welcomes my comments”) but part of me thinks I just can’t be arsed, I have better things to do with my time!!!

As a midwife of 20 years I’ve never assigned a baby’s sex! Am I doing something wrong? Are all these people wandering around unsure of what sex they are because I didn’t assign one?? I’ve also never delivered a baby with ambiguous/ intersex genitalia. It is incredibly rare and I’m tired of it being used as a reason to change our language around sex.
Sex is determined at conception- we all know this from science lessons FFS.

My scans and blood tests well before birth identified the sex of my babies.

Middleagedmidwife. I haven't practiced for quite a while though I still work in the NHS in a different capacity. But I echo your thoughts, I just hope you aren't one of a dwindling band and are able to hold firm against the spread of this nonsense.
Newly qualified midwives seem to have difficulty understanding that only women give birth....
Nothing like a rotten labour to confirm that not only do you "identify" as a woman....you actually are one.

Sheila Kitzinger used to come to my training hospital regularly to give lectures - I wonder what she'd make of all this. I wish she was still around.

I will never refer to ‘ labouring person’. Women give birth. Sex is biological fact. If this nonsense comes to my birth centre I will have to leave. I fear even speaking my mind would get me into trouble in the current climate.

Oh I see you're looking for something more nuanced than "Yeah but that's just ridiculous isn't it." Which is generally my response when I hear this.

It's language co-opted from the experience of intersex people. In their case their external genitalia may have looked male when in fact they were female (for example). They were assigned a sex based on an observation that turned out later to be incorrect.
The fact judging sex on genitals is not 100% does not mean it's a rubbish system all together and all non-intersex people were in fact 'assigned' a sex.
If I thought a car was red and in fact it was blue I would not change my whole language to say 'I assign this dog the colour brown', 'I assigned this apple the colour green'. I would also not use this phrase because other people (with colour blindness for example) do not see the same colour I do. It's just not how human brains/language can possibly work.
Technically we assign everything based on observation or other senses. Sometime we get it wrong. To use 'sex assigned at birth' makes as much sense as 'I assigned this small person that came out of this woman as a baby because on my knowledge and experience of the world it shares enough characteristics with what I know to be considered a baby that it meets the criteria for being assumed to be a baby'.
Ever thought it was one person walking into a room because it sounded like them or you assumed it was them but in fact it wasn't? You assigned the noises to one person and it turned out not to be them. When we describe people do we therefore say 'I assign him to be Mr X'. We don't throw out the input of our senses after any other incorrect assumption and I do not see (outside of intersex people who have a unique experience) why we should change the whole language around sex and genitals because it only works 99% of the time.

Hold on 'labouring person' could refer to someone digging the road or building a wall or stacking tins in a supermarket.

So you need context to understand what is meant.

That is the opposite of precise language.

A woman in labour needs no clarification.

They are in labour. The in provides the difference.

I have always not liked labouring person for reasons other than the obvious and just realised why!

Carrying that idea of "labouring person" a little further--I know a couple who were planning to invite friends to see the birth of their baby. (The social event was cancelled when complications appeared. Happily, both mother and baby got through OK.) But if this had gone ahead as planned, would it have been a "Labour Party"? Better than the one we've got, maybe.

‘Labouring person’ - I would have almost enjoyed someone calling me that when I was in labour. It’s one of those few times in life when you can really let rip and say exactly what to think (there are very few free passes in this life but giving birth is definitely one).

Sex is determined at conception, not assigned, and sex is observed at birth, not assigned.

I assumed they tossed a coin?

To add to the great responses, I would add to ask if someone is 'assigned' high cholesterol or low blood sugar?

I think I was assigned bad eyesight. It’s just not fair.

Hmmm

It would bring a while new meaning to countries that have a public holiday for 'labor day'!!!

I'm glad I'm not the only midwife who has never taken part in "assigning" a baby's sex at birth. I thought I must have been doing it wrong all these years!

@FannyCann - I had a rather heartening experience during a group supervision session late last year in which the topic of discussion moved towards trans issues (think it started with Caitlin Jenner being on I'm a Celeb) and the language around birth. There was a unanimous consensus that only women give birth, and that the language we use around labour and birth is really important for empowering women and describing specifically this entirely female experience. This was a room of 25-30 midwives, many newly qualified within the last few years or so, and several with many years experience. Have faith that not all newly qualified midwives have swallowed the coolaid. After all, pregnancy, labour and birth (and the sometimes resultant birth related injuries, trauma and occasional lifelong damage from this experience) is something that only females experience as a direct consequence of our female sex.

Thing with all this is

If you say on an individual basis, a person who identifies as male, non binary etc and is pregnant should be treated with respect and pronouns used etc then I'd imagine lots of people are ok with that

Why is that not good enough?

Why does the language have to be changed across the board completely?

Like with menstrual stuff, smear tests.

Women, trans men and non binary people is fine

Why does it need to be changed to menstruators? Cervix havers ? Which is utterly confusing and dehumanising and actually with menstruators totally ignorant of female biology?

Especially while men are not being called ejaculators, people with testicles, by the same orgs?

@TheBeastReleased and @Middleagedmidwife

So glad to hear sanity rules in the maternity departments! Thanks for your posts. Pregnancy and birth are unique female experiences that change you forever, emotionally and physically. Language is important and we must protect it, or how else can we protect the rights of the women going through this experience?