Cervical screening health promotion using Transgender model - counterproductive?

[LucieLemon]

My local healthcare trust is using a transgender model as part of their campaign to promote the cervical screening programme.

The campaign doesn't seem to be looking to target transgender men specifically but more as part of the general, wider health promotion.

I am for inclusion but not at the expense of the valuable message needing to be conveyed. I initially scrolled past this post as on face value I didn't pick up it's relevance to me as a woman. Surely this defeats the whole purpose of promoting the cervical screening programme? If using a transgender model perhaps it would be better to include that model alongside other women so it's more obvious what the actual subject matter is and who is being targeted?

if its in with a mix of other people I think its a good thing, but only if their is a matching campaign for prostate exams with a TW.

I have heard that there are TW who waste and resources demanding smear tests and all sorts, they need to understand they can not escape nature.

however if this is the only advert and it is in total isolation and there are no other women used and no male version then it is bollocks

Surely the objective of these campaigns is to reach as many of your target audience as possible. If they were advertising a product aimed at women this advert would never be used.

Adverts about women’s health issues should feature women not someone who looks like a man. If should feature women from all ethnicities so that it reaches those women. The people who create these adverts are falling over themselves to be ‘inclusive’, the reality in fact is that they are ‘excluding’ the very people that need the message. And it’s all paid for by us!

Language and imagery is used for communication. This adverts communicates to me that men should go for a smear test.

Trying to appeal to woke sensibilities but using the word "woman" for someone identifying as a man is an utterly bizarre decision. Way to alienate many people.

for that target audience, having someone well known and words relating to cervical cancer unmissable beside them would work much better than this.

Yes. A known NB might be useful. I doubt anyone could afford Demi Lovato or UK equivalent but they would a choice in the correct age demographic of those who qualify for screening.

@FemaleAndLearning

Language and imagery is used for communication. This adverts communicates to me that men should go for a smear test.

Yep.

Mixed messages. Some women would be completely confused by that ad.

Why do people think it's a good thing "if it's in a mix of other women"? The number of women who are actually male presenting is vanishingly small in comparison to the overall female population. It's also vanishingly small in comparison to any group of women. There are more blind and partially sighted women, women using wheelchairs, Polish-speaking women, Romanian-speaking women, Urdu speaking-women, more traveller women and Romani women - and honestly the list goes ON - than women who think they're men. So unless ALL the other categories of women are also targeted, why is it good that this very, very, very tiny group are? And arguably, no matter how you sub-divide women, this handful of women are likely to know more about the reproductive system that they apparently hate so much they want to be men (even when they give birth..) than any other group, purely because they'll have been to the dr apparently to get hormones or surgery etc.

So again, why is it valuable to feature such a minuscule group?

Btw - I'm not saying they don't matter. I'm saying when there's a lack of resources, why is this group featured in campaigns when the reach of that part of the campaign is so tiny, while other groups of women are left out?

Without reading the words I would assume it’s an ad for mental health awareness for young men.

Maybe stick a picture of a middle aged, menopausal woman on there and I would notice it.

So again, why is it valuable to feature such a minuscule group?

Because they do need to have the information.

However, the budget needed to get to them via social media only may not be out of reach because they are small and if you can target them it will not be a huge cost. If someone on the marketing team is savvy with photoshop etc.

Of course, the majority of the budget needs to be allocated to getting the message out to those most in need.

But a very small tweak of an image and text and some targeting to particular followers of a particular charity in a certain region or something very targeted and it can be done with a small budget.

As to the image, if a well known person in the target audience donated their image for use it would be even better.

Although, as someone else pointed out, it could also be cost effective to call them up specifically. Not as many ‘signaling’ points though.

why is it valuable to feature such a minuscule group?

Because it's a hot topic in health care research that TM and NB are not presenting for screening. (I'm setting aside the issue of the risk-benefit of screening right here but there's a discussion on another thread.) Now some of the research indicates that this is more around dysphoria than lack of awareness of eligibility, IYSWIM, but some weren't aware of the impact of a M marker.

Of 134 participants, 82 (61%) were aware that TMNB registered with their GP as male are not routinely called for cervical screening appointments. This did not differ significantly between those above and below the age for screening eligibility (P = 0.86) (data not shown).

Attitudes of transgender men and non-binary people to cervical screening: a cross-sectional mixed-methods study in the UK

Alison M Berner, et al
British Journal of General Practice 2021; 71 (709): e614-e625. DOI: doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2020.0905

bjgp.org/content/71/709/e614

Do we need the word ‘woman’ in healthcare? Sara Dahlen

A deeper concern is whether gender inclusive linguistic changes could have the unintended consequence of making biological sex conceptually less visible and much more difficult to clearly explain in healthcare and medical education.

pmj.bmj.com/content/postgradmedj/97/1150/483.full.pdf

So, overall, and to demonstrate inclusivity, this probably drove the thinking about a small group of people. I would be interested to see the piloting of the general impact if there are no other materials available (as per Dahlen article).

Because they do need to have the information.

Of course they do but if that is the case why did they not choose an older menopausal transwoman as well as pictures of menopausal women.

why did they not choose an older menopausal transwoman as well as pictures of menopausal women.

Transman—which is why I suggested Sam Hall as being in around the correct age demographic. Sam Hall writes in a number of outlets and was an author of the Brighton and Hove report on pre-natal rather than maternity services.

Sorry my mistake. , I meant transman.

I’d be happier if there was no beard if I’m honest - there must be some iconic, cool and interesting photos of gender non conforming women with short hair/blue hair/no hair/ face tattoos/ playing football/ scholing beers etc.

@Helleofabore

So again, why is it valuable to feature such a minuscule group?

Because they do need to have the information.

However, the budget needed to get to them via social media only may not be out of reach because they are small and if you can target them it will not be a huge cost. If someone on the marketing team is savvy with photoshop etc.

Of course, the majority of the budget needs to be allocated to getting the message out to those most in need.

But a very small tweak of an image and text and some targeting to particular followers of a particular charity in a certain region or something very targeted and it can be done with a small budget.

As to the image, if a well known person in the target audience donated their image for use it would be even better.

Although, as someone else pointed out, it could also be cost effective to call them up specifically. Not as many ‘signaling’ points though.

As i say, it would be quicker to do a targeted hand delivered letter or personalised call, for the numbers affected in the target age group.

Instead theyve blown how much on this, and alienated / confused the message with how many other - arguably higher risk women who would like to make an informed decision on this.

Its a very good example of throwing women under the bus to show off your inclusive credentials. Rather that thinking about womens health and the best way to communicate a message.

Now im not a fan of the cervical screening programme to begin with. I have a massive issue with how its promoted in a sexist way and how women's concerns are minimised / belittled etc at the best of times. This is yet another example of a campaign which isn't really putting limited resources to best use and isn't centring women properly.

They are an afterthought to political ideas rather than consideration given to how you best convey a health message and the risks of fucking it up badly.

As i say, it would be quicker to do a targeted hand delivered letter or personalised call, for the numbers affected in the target age group.

And I agree. If they are accessible that way. Are they even registered for cervical screening, though?

Do these young people need an awareness campaign to build awareness in the first place?

As I said, it is not an onerous task time or budget to do a small very targeted campaign on social media if you have someone with the skills and you don’t have to outsource.

I also was very clear on the first page in saying this particular ad was a failure.

@EmbarrassingHadrosaurus

why did they not choose an older menopausal transwoman as well as pictures of menopausal women.

Transman—which is why I suggested Sam Hall as being in around the correct age demographic. Sam Hall writes in a number of outlets and was an author of the Brighton and Hove report on pre-natal rather than maternity services.

Cos the person doing the poster will get the image from a stock photo company that the advertising agency has a subscription for. There won't be an image of someone in the target group. And the advertising agency and the nhs won't want to commission one and pay the relevant fees. I guess by the time youve hired the photographer and the model (assuming they take a low rate) it wouldnt surprise me if that wouldn't come in with not much change out of a grand. Hence, lets just choose a pic of someone much younger, cos 'Hey it doesn't matter that much. The target audience aren't that important. '

(ive pretty much done this exact job in the past).

Schrodinger's middle aged woman .... both completely invisible; and yet part of an army of dinosaurs defending Terf Island.

@HelloKeith

Schrodinger's middle aged woman .... both completely invisible; and yet part of an army of dinosaurs defending Terf Island.

[merail] I want this on an illustrated map, please. None of this hic sunt dracones stuff, we want it updated to dinosaurs plus beacons of fire across Terf Island. [/merail]

How completely random. Given the context (i.e. no mention of transgenderism), the average person is going to look at that, see a man, and be completely baffled.

I'm baffled for a different reason - that they've used good old-fashioned "woman" in the text despite the photo. I mean, I'm glad they did. But they're not going to please the genderists. Perhaps they're about to find that out.

I honestly wonder whether people will interpret the model as a boyfriend figure (yes, the hair is a bit OTT, but they have stubble), and take "I'm doing it for me" to be a rebuke to him, like "Take that, Daddy-O, I'm going to my smear test no matter what you say, because I'm worth it!".

No let’s not use a transman who is ‘known’. Most people don’t know any Transmen. Let’s keep it as simple as possible, that’s what these campaigns should be. Reach your target audience in the most efficient, simplest way that us understood by everyone. If we’re going to use 1 person then use a woman who looks late 40s/50s. Ok you could use someone well known like Davina or Trish Goddard.

This would be fine if it was an advert for transmen. With text appropriate to that group.

Not as an advert for menopausal/ peri menopausal women. The text and photographs need to match. This advert does not work for any group.

@HelloCrocus

How completely random. Given the context (i.e. no mention of transgenderism), the average person is going to look at that, see a man, and be completely baffled.

I'm baffled for a different reason - that they've used good old-fashioned "woman" in the text despite the photo. I mean, I'm glad they did. But they're not going to please the genderists. Perhaps they're about to find that out.

Well yes there's definitely an element of managing to confuse older target audience women AND also managing to piss off activists and the supposed minority target for this particular campaign.

Unless of course, many transmen actually accept they are still women and aren't as militant as many campaigner would have us believe...

And if the value of the health of these women was taken seriously they'd stump up the cash for an appropriate photo.

Its also worth considering why a stock photo company wont have an image of a transman of the right age to begin with. We know the demographics on transitioning... And how mysteriously its not middle age women unlike for males.

Schrodingers middle age woman does spring to mind here to me in a different way. Important enough and numerous enough to target in a dedicated campaign, but not enough of them to have the right photo which will best capture their attention and help them identify with the campaign properly to do the whole 'person like me' thing. Valued and yet not valued enough.

Its massively superficial.

Maybe stick a picture of a middle aged, menopausal woman on there and I would notice it.
But middle aged menopausal women are invisible so nobody would notice it.