50:50 Parliament Campaign to Encourage Women in Politics now have TWO Transwomen on the Panel

[gardenbird48]

I saw 50:50 women tweet to Sue Pascoe Chair of the Conservative Women’s Organisation some time ago on their #askhertostand, but then I couldn’t find the tweet and thought maybe they’d realised their mistake (can you guess?) and deleted it.

However, how wrong I was! There are now two people that have extremely limited ‘lived experience’ as a female (Sue was a married father and successful businessman and Master to Foxhounds until a few years ago). The other person has said hi on here recently.

I don’t mean to be rude but surely the whole point of encouraging women to stand for Parliament is to help overcome the barriers women face in entering politics. Any barriers that trans people face are rather different. It is also interesting that on a panel of three for their ‘Encouraging LGBT+ Women to Stand’ campaign, there us only one person with actual lived experience of being a woman (I am hoping that Mandu Reid of the WEP was born female at least...??)

@BaronessWrongCrowd

Tell me about it, Garden. Nearly 30 years of it and this month has been a hum dinger because I'm feeling light headed and sinusy to boot.

Once, I had a menstrual migraine so bad that one side of my face went numb and they thought I'd had a stroke.

Funnily enough people don't identify with the shitty side of being a woman.

I had the stroke thing too. All gone now. Women's health is so ignored.

I strongly recommend the Mirena coil. They don't suit everyone but they've completely got rid of my debilitating periods.

Obviously not a solution if you're TTC though.

So many of my friends went loopy on hormonal contraception though. It's such a rock and a hard place.

Mumfun that list

Happy to talk about my experience of my husband's vasectomy if anyone needs male contraception advice btw

Jaz, welcome to mumsnet. Reports of our ferocity are greatly exaggerated

I’d like to ask you, what is the engagement that you would like to have here?

What is it that you feel your presence here will accomplish? Are you here to listen, scold, educate, gain insight? Because what I got from your first post was a lecture that took in pretty much none of the discussion upthread, I’m afraid.

If we are all just women together, then yours is just one more woman’s voice, isn’t it, and it’s one that is in a very small minority. Why should your one voice prevail over the many dozens? Because it seems to me that from your opening post, your intention is that you have a distinctive experience to bring to bear here that we need to hear for our education and betterment.

So which is it- are we all women together, or do you bring a particular, special insight?

Because you can’t have that one both ways. And that’s the crux of what we’re discussing here.

I no longer have periods but seem to spend most of my time in a daze (poxy brain fog) with occasional dashes to the toilet due to the very minimal time between needing a wee and pissing myself. I'm knackered all day until I go to bed then I'm wide awake. Then there's the stomach issues. No hot flushes yet thought so there is that. Glamorous ain't it!

@TinselAngel

I find the level of grandiosity varies between different types of women.

Indeed

Folic acid chat is very interesting- magnesium makes a huge difference to my cyclic hormone migraines; it seems to reduce the aura/vertigo/stroke like symptoms & leave me with just the fatigue & blinding headache 👍

yikes Baroness that sounds scary!!

I'm pleased to observe that we have been on the main trending list for the last few ours with this thread.

Some tip top posts and also thank you to Robin, it is good to try and see things from another's perspective.

Although it strikes me that the fact that I feel the need to thank Robin for coming here and speaking to us respectfully (if not quite getting what we mean all the time) is interesting. Can I get therapy for female socialisation??

Folic acid chat is very interesting

At the risk of Yaniv style TMI, it used to give me the runs.

Does anyone know if there was any further research done on Viagra as a cure for endemetriosis symptoms. I know that all the emphasis switched to male erectile distinction when they discovered it helped men get erections but was it's original purpose ever pursued ?

Disfunction not distinction😂

No doubt there will be some here who wish to reply to this by using the term 'transwoman' in an attempt to try and other myself and other women who are trans. Sure, if you wish. But if you do so then I will rightfully assume that the same courtesy applies back. That I can use the same tortured use of English to start referring to people as, 'lawyerwoman', 'shortwoman', 'marriedwoman', 'gaywoman', etc. I wonder how long it would take before you'd start to feel (justifiably) aggrieved at being treated that way?

Please feel free to do this. Do it on as many threads as you can. Do it all over mumsnet.

Get women thinking seriously about the difference between adjective + noun (brown horse) and compound noun (seahorse).

It will be an education and a public service.

It probably won't go down the way you hope it will, but please, please, do it.

Well done Barracker - and RobinMoiraWhite if you agree, we can have sensible discussion.

I remember reading the criticism of hormonal contraception in The Female Eunuch. Saying it causes depression. A more recent study said the mini pill was particularly bad. This is often given to breastfeeding women at the 6 week check and I'm pretty sure there's a peak of PND around that time. But we always say it's the (often traumatised, exhausted) mother just not coping well enough.

@Gt345

I remember reading the criticism of hormonal contraception in The Female Eunuch. Saying it causes depression. A more recent study said the mini pill was particularly bad. This is often given to breastfeeding women at the 6 week check and I'm pretty sure there's a peak of PND around that time. But we always say it's the (often traumatised, exhausted) mother just not coping well enough.

Hormonal contraception made me profoundly depressed and destroyed my libido. Depression notwithstanding, I retained enough of a sense of black humour about the situation to be able to think "no wonder these things are 99% effective - you don't fucking want to fuck once you're taking them."

(I also have a feeling that much PND is in fact a rational reaction to intolerable circumstances. There's a reason that sleep deprivation is viewed as a form of torture.)

Noted Tinsel - although tbf the migraines also have that effect

Barracker

Your work here is second to none, I am always in awe .

@Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons

Noted Tinsel - although tbf the migraines also have that effect

That must be miserable.

@SophocIestheFox

I remain unenlightened, unconvinced, unimpressed and unrepresented.

Perfect!

Please feel free to do this. Do it on as many threads as you can. Do it all over mumsnet.

Second this!

@terryleather

Barracker

Your work here is second to none, I am always in awe .

Hear hear