That's just basic science. (Vagina needs oxygen and light which it doesn't get with closed legs.)

[EmbarrassingAdmissions]

There are lots of conversations here about people's level of health literacy and what they understand by particular terms.

The tweeter's handle is redacted.*

I am always surprised by people's level of knowledge of their bodies and what it means for contemporary discussions and hot topics. The fact that this man felt confident enough to mansplain what is otherwise a beginner's understanding of photosynthesis as a scientific gotcha in a discussion of rape is remarkable.

No, women cannot get pregnant with legs closed. If your legs are closed then your vagina isn't gonna get enough oxygen to optimally function. Besides, you also need light, which you aren't gonna get with your legs closed.

That's just basic science.

I frequently mention that the best available estimate of average adult literacy in the UK is that of a 12 yr-old, and the numeracy is that of a 9 year-old. Health literacy is taken to be somewhere between the two but in context depends on the level of numeracy involved (e.g., medicine dosages).

This is an extreme example but I think about this in the context of the need for clear language and very basic principles in health communication.

*NB: The tweeter's handle is found easily but that's not my main point although this was a conversation about rape. He intruded into the conversation and there is Twitter coverage from people indicating that he has a profile similar to that of incels. He has negligible followers and he doesn't need the oxygen (no pun intended).

This would explain those people who do yoga poses that expose the perianum to the sun. There I was just thinking they were a bit daft, but no - they're proper scientists.
Is this right up there with vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunlight....?

I hesitate to ask but has he mentioned how he ventilates and light exposes his dick? Because obviously the same must apply
I really don't want to know.

Regarding: the Texas abortion law. I didn't know I was 11 weeks gone until the first scan. I was having periods...apparently this isn't unusual? I was going by my last missed period...

Course they need exposure to air to get oxygen. Cos, like, the blood falls out so clearly doesn’t work in the normal way!!

There was a tweet a few weeks ago by a man asking how the baby can breathe if a pregnant woman goes swimming. Because the vagina is under water. So doesn’t it cut off the baby’s oxygen supply?

Phew, glad I'm ok then. Because I open my legs every day to, you know, walk and stuff. I thought it was just for movement, but turns out it has the added benefit of oxygenating my vagina. Thanks, Mother Nature!

@YouMeandtheSpew

There was a tweet a few weeks ago by a man asking how the baby can breathe if a pregnant woman goes swimming. Because the vagina is under water. So doesn’t it cut off the baby’s oxygen supply?

I guess she could stick a snorkel up her chuff

Bull*. No one believes that.

I still see comments on AIBU threads about the perennial dilemma of whether you should wear knickers to bed, to the effect that you need to "let your bits breathe". This doesn't seem a million miles away from that!

Is the author of the tweet a member of the US Republican party and/or a member of the religious right as well as showing incel tendencies.

Has not read Ladybird book of human body - as he would have a greater understanding.

Surely the big manly man with his amazing manly penis would be blocking the vagina’s access to oxygen and light anyway 🤔

Astonishing how many babies are conceived at night, under the bedcovers with the lights off.

At my age, it's more likely to expel air than take it in!

Got a bit worried there I had missed the memo and we were now supposed to be sunning our vag.

Not even sure I've understood this. Obviously you can't get pregnant if your legs are closed, for fairly obvious reasons. So I assume he means that, once you've had sex, if you keep your legs closed, then the fertilised egg won't survive. Is that it? How long does he think you need to keep your legs closed for? Has he ever wondered why in the history of humanity this failsafe contraceptive plan has never occurred to anyone else?

Erm. Wow.

I bet he also thinks that women can control their period and should just hold it and go to the loo like with a wee.

Ooh! And his Twitter feed!!!!!

@RoyalCorgi

Not even sure I've understood this. Obviously you can't get pregnant if your legs are closed, for fairly obvious reasons. So I assume he means that, once you've had sex, if you keep your legs closed, then the fertilised egg won't survive. Is that it? How long does he think you need to keep your legs closed for? Has he ever wondered why in the history of humanity this failsafe contraceptive plan has never occurred to anyone else?

You can get pregnant if your legs are closed. Ejaculate can inseminate a women if it is left close enough to the vagina without actual penetration.

Quick, get onto the conception board and tell everyone the trick is sex during the day then a bit of sunbathing with your legs up and open in the garden.

This is bonkers.

I mean yes we all need a bit of airflow down there to stop thrush and other fungal infections but just wearing cotton pants is enough, there's no requirement for a John Wayne walk and sunning our lady gardens to support development of healthy flowers 😂

.... A v v clever pal of mine, with teenaged children, was adament that you could not get pregnant if you had sex whilst on your period. I thought she was joking at first....

That would be an incredibly rare occurrence. Not a failsafe method of contraception, granted, but falling pregnant whilst on one's period is generally very unlikely.

That man's brain hasn't been getting enough oxygen to function optimally, more like.

I once dated a man who told me his ex wife could not have kids because she only had one ovary i just assumed he mean reduced chance of getting pregnant or other issues he hadn't mentioned.

Then he said even if she got pregnant, the child wouldn't survive birth and if it did, it would 'be very disabled because to make a baby you need sperm, one egg from the left ovary and one from right. so if you only have one ovary your child will be missing a third of its body.'

Then it transpired that's how his wife explained to him. I know his sister who confirmed his wife did keep telling people that. And didn't listen when people told her that's not how it worked.

I don't know if she was lying or also believed it or what. But I didn't see him again.....he sister supported my decision

I'm genuinely confused about how he thinks sunlight and air reaches said regions when a man is also in the same region...surely the two aren't compatible - which raises even more questions about how he thinks humans procreates.

How is it possible to reach adulthood with this level of confident ignorance?

It's a good thing there's a heatwave coming this week, the women of Britain are clearly in need of topping up the sunlight and oxygen on (in?) their fanjos .

@IveGotASongThatllGetOnYNerves

I bet he also thinks that women can control their period and should just hold it and go to the loo like with a wee.

I can do that! But I know I’m a freak.