Self identity as pregnant.

[FOJN]

Has this been a thing for a while and I missed it? What does it even mean?

twitter.com/BCGovNews/status/1482144197155057664?s=20

It just means to ring and tell them you’re pregnant. Another way of saying self-refer.

Do you really need to ask? It couldn't be more obvious.

It just means to ring and tell them you’re pregnant.

Does it? Then why don't they say that?

Can't they speak normal English, rather than weird jargon?

It makes it sound like they're not really bothered about whether you ARE pregnant or not, but I suspect the intent is that you are supposed to be.

(Similarly for stuff I've seen from Canada about posts for people who "self-identify" as "indigenous". It makes it sound as if it wouldn't matter if you really weren't, but I suspect it would. In which case what are they trying to obfuscate? Why can't they use the basic verb "is/are/to be" that everyone understands?)

@NecessaryScene

It just means to ring and tell them you’re pregnant.

Does it? Then why don't they say that?

Can't they speak normal English, rather than weird jargon?

It makes it sound like they're not really bothered about whether you ARE pregnant or not, but I suspect the intent is that you are supposed to be.

(Similarly for stuff I've seen from Canada about posts for people who "self-identify" as "indigenous". It makes it sound as if it wouldn't matter if you really weren't, but I suspect it would. In which case what are they trying to obfuscate? Why can't they use the basic verb "is/are/to be" that everyone understands?)

This.

Could it? The confusion arises due to the recent insistence that what you "self identify" as doesn't have to have any relation to your physical body. So you can surely see why this could easily be interpreted as anyone who has a strong feeling that they are pregnant can "self identify" as pregnant. Whether or not they have any evidence of that whatsoever.

"Self-report as pregnant", or even just "inform them you are pregnant" is significantly more understandable and simple. There's no need to mangle language in this odd way.

I would have said it was just a strangely worded way of saying 'self refer' if it weren't for the ridiculous use of 'pregnant people'. In that context, it's ideological nonsense.

Surely you are either pregnant or you're not. They've already covered all conceivable gender identities with "pregnant people" so I don't think self identify means self refer, they could have written "pregnant people call to book an appointment".

It's a slightly daft way of saying what they mean, given that 'self-identify' now often means 'claim to be something you objectively are not'. It would be interesting to know what nuance (or lack thereof) there is in the other languages below.

Is woman not allowed to say in the English language anymore?

They've used pregnant people and self identify

I think its clear what BC think overall on this topic!

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

They've used pregnant people and self identify

I think its clear what BC think overall on this topic!

It's Canada, they are about as ridiculous and woke as our lot up here in the Scottish Parliament are...

It's a slightly daft way of saying what they mean, given that 'self-identify' now often means 'claim to be something you objectively are not'.

Well, to be fair, we tend to think of it like that, but more formally it's "claim to be something you may or may not be".

Except that sometimes they don't really mean that, they do actually want you to be as well as claim to be. (But why they want to exclude people who are but claim not to be? )

It's the same as obfuscating and saying something is for "people assigned female at birth", when no, that's almost always not the relevant factor, it's whether you ARE female. If you were wrongly "assigned female", but turned out to be male, then it wouldn't apply to you. And if you weren't assigned anything at birth but are female nonetheless, it still applies to you. The ancient paperwork is not what matters, it's your actual sex.

I think its clear what BC think overall on this topic!

Yes, that's clearly it. It's "in-group" jargon being used to signal that they're part of the bourgeoisie, regardless of impact on the people they're allegedly trying to communicate to.

They're saying the words without even fully thinking about why they're saying them, but they know that those are the Words That You Say.

It means you phone up and tell them you are pregnant

What’s the issue

@Chloemol

It means you phone up and tell them you are pregnant

What’s the issue

I mean, did you read the thread??

It's unnecessarily confusing wording (which has issues for those who are less literate and/or don't have English as a first language) for something that should be very very simple. "If you are pregnant, ring this number and..."

It means anyone can phone or visit and identify as pregnant. Whether they are male or female. Whether they are biologically capable of being pregnant or not.

It's about the feelz

I think it just means your don’t have to provide proof you are pregnant. Which is good as some women won’t have this until further into their pregnancy.

Yes I agree the wording is confusing Well not the wording but how the term self-identify has evolved to me identify as something that doesn't necessarily apply to you.

This bothered me too. You're either pregnant or you're not. You can't ''self identify'' as pregnant - if you are, you are.

Maybe it means you don’t need midwife or gp confirmation. You tell them, they accept it to be fact.

You don't have to be a woman to self-identify as a woman, so it stands to reason that you don't have to be pregnant to self-identify as pregnant, therefore resources may be wasted on people who self-identify as pregnant, but are not pregnant.

Words matter.

@ErrolTheDragon
The French I would translate as “identify yourself as pregnant”, which makes an awful lot more sense, really. Because otherwise you’ve got an entire campaign aimed at people experiencing phantom pregnancy; people faking pregnancy; & [?]people who reference their “food babies”* does seem rather niche. And I would have thought that perhaps they might want to run one for, say, women (& other AFAB people) who ARE pregnant. BC is Anglophone though, so it’s not as if it’s one of sorts of these situations. Should say, though, I’m also not absolutely sure if Language Evolves means it DOES - or could - mean self-ID now [in Canada] 🤦🏻‍♀️

*the advert doesn’t specify what one must ID as being pregnant with

I think it means 'identify yourself to the staff that you are pregnant' not, 'you can identify as pregnant to get special treatment'? It's saying you don't need proof/ confirmation if you are early on in the pregnancy.

@NecessaryScene

It just means to ring and tell them you’re pregnant.

Does it? Then why don't they say that?

Can't they speak normal English, rather than weird jargon?

It makes it sound like they're not really bothered about whether you ARE pregnant or not, but I suspect the intent is that you are supposed to be.

(Similarly for stuff I've seen from Canada about posts for people who "self-identify" as "indigenous". It makes it sound as if it wouldn't matter if you really weren't, but I suspect it would. In which case what are they trying to obfuscate? Why can't they use the basic verb "is/are/to be" that everyone understands?)

The reason for this is that not all native people in Canada have official status. Which you need to have for certain things, often related to taxation.

If you don't, you may still have native heritage which may be relevant for certain situations.

That being said, it has opened up certain areas to people whose claims are questionable or who probably aren't really the intended beneficiaries of certain programs. I knew an academic for example who had some native ancestry, but he didn't have any real relationship with the culture of that part of his family, but was hired for a post where they were giving preference to people with that background as part of a diversity initiative. He was quite open about the fact that he was using it mainly to give him another advantage in the application (maybe not to the people doing the hiring, though.)

But I agree that when we are so used to self-identification being used in cases where it's counter-factual it seems to weird to hear it in these other instances.

In terms of the use about being pregnant, it almost just sounds like jargon - they've replaces a simple phrase with one that sounds trendy.

So, just this once, they use the term "self refer" in the old, sensible, understandable manner. But becuase it's in amingst all teh pregnant people shite it just sounds as ludicrous as the rest of the gender ideology bollocks we have to wade through.

Hoist by their own petard!

But still it is women who lose out on sensibly worded medical advice!

They haven't used self refer.

They used self identify.

They mean different things.