New Statesman article - justifying "individuals with a cervix" message

[GreenUp]

Not sure if it's been posted but did anyone see this New Statesman article trying to justify using "individuals with a cervix" healthcare messaging by claiming it's more inclusive to trans men?

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/08/why-should-cnn-tweet-about-individuals-cervix

The twitter thread on this is full of woke young women saying that we need to centre trans people (so screw all the learning disabled, English as second language and health illiterate females out there) as they are the most oppressed.

twitter.com/PronouncedAlva/status/1290248040222093318?s=20

Given that people who transition have spent some considerable time being only too aware of what sex they are, it would likely be more helpful to have information given specifically about the links between health risks/conditions and biological sex.

Lots of trans people don't change the 'gender markers' on their medical records because the know that the sex they are affects their health and potential treatment if unwell.

Reality denial really doesn't have any place in public health care.

Portnlemon the singling out of non binary people is another front on which to undermine the category of 'women'.

Non binary is a gender category, not a sex category.

The more reach that gender ideologist have over language, the more power they hold.

@Portnlemon

Why on earth are non binary people relevant to any of this? It's completely irrelevant. We don't bother saying women, dames, ladies, queens, baronesses, etc so why do we have to single out non binary as a special category of people. Unless that's the answer, they would like to be a special category of people?

Bingo.

As I said last time this tweet was discussed, this has nothing to do with worrying about transmen's health and everything to do with avoiding the use of the word women when talking about the cunty kind.

Men want to make the word women men 'anyone who identifies as a woman' so that we can just omit that bit when using the word women.

It's much more sinister than this naive woman makes out.

They should say ‘women and transmen’.
But they won’t do that because that is not what this is about.
It’s about avoiding the use of the word ‘woman’ because it excludes transwomen.

I really doubt that trans men want to be addressed by the organs that cause them dysphoria. This has never made sense to me.

@Mumoblue

I really doubt that trans men want to be addressed by the organs that cause them dysphoria. This has never made sense to me.

I thought the majority of trans people these days didn’t have dysphoria?

Good point @Mumoblue. In fact, does anyone want to be addressed with an organ as their main feature? Of course not. Doctors are taught not to refer to patients as 'the broken leg in bed 5' for example, because it's utterly dehumanising. And so is this person with a cervix nonsense.

Quoted from that article

in the last year as cis (not trans) women and are believed to be at increased risk for cervical cancer due to underutilisation of cancer screening and delayed follow-up care. so she even illustrates the ludicrousness of the fucking language whilst supporting it.

Women and transmen... just type that instead, ffs!

Good point @Mumoblue. In fact, does anyone want to be addressed with an organ as their main feature? Of course not. Doctors are taught not to refer to patients as 'the broken leg in bed 5' for example, because it's utterly dehumanising. And so is this person with a cervix nonsense.

Yes, exactly.

She is an example of an Individual with Half a Wit. Wits are a spectrum.

Well, I just checked the NHS website and they say "all women and people with a cervix". I would say they have got it right but I'm sure someone is bound to object.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/when-youll-be-invited/

That's great. The only way I would maybe improve it is hyperlink "people with a cervix" to a page especially aimed at FTM trans people and non binary female people. And then you can speak about it freely in terms of "women" in the main article. Which they mostly have done anyway.

[quote SheWhoMustNotBeHeard]Well, I just checked the NHS website and they say "all women and people with a cervix". I would say they have got it right but I'm sure someone is bound to object.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/when-youll-be-invited/[/quote]
I think that is right and fair. If you have had a hysterectomy you still need to go for a smear even if you don’t have a cervix. That is clear and everyone knows it applies to them.

I think that many people know they need to have a smear and are anxious about it. Jess Taylor posted a lot about how women who were sexually abused as a child are more likely to have cervical cancer (she was diagnosed at her first smear aged 25).

This is possibly the case for transmen because they have dysphoria and so many of them are autistic.

@Ereshkigalangcleg

That's great. The only way I would maybe improve it is hyperlink "people with a cervix" to a page especially aimed at FTM trans people and non binary female people. And then you can speak about it freely in terms of "women" in the main article. Which they mostly have done anyway.

Yes, absolutely agree. I had been mulling it over and I thought they need a hyperlink on that phrase!

"If you have had a hysterectomy you still need to go for a smear even if you don’t have a cervix."

Lower down on the page it says you don't have to go for a smear if you have had a total hysterectomy:

If you have had a total hysterectomy
You will not need to go for cervical screening if you have had a total hysterectomy to remove all of your womb and cervix.
You should not receive any more screening invitation letters.

I was relieved that my letter reminding me to go for a test mentioned that it was a routine recommended for women.

And as I have said before. In this era where tailored communication is not expensive, I can imagine it is very easy for a transman to receive a similar letter with wording that works for them. So, let’s stop the dehumanising and focus on using either females or even better, women and transmen (and if needed, people with cervixes for anyone else who needs it).

You will not need to go for cervical screening if you have had a total hysterectomy to remove all of your womb and cervix.

That is not universally true. If you had a total hysterectomy due to cervical abnormalities you do still need them. If you missed your smear before your total hysterectomy, you need a vault smear. It’s not as simple as no cervix = no smear

You will not need to go for cervical screening if you have had a total hysterectomy to remove all of your womb and cervix

Erm yes, often you do.