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?

It looks as though the advert has been pulled? I had a look on their Facebook page and no sign.

Mangyinseam

I was attempting to clarify that Transman should absolutely attend for cervical screening and that any treatment that has caused premature menopause is not relevant. If they were born with a cervix and have had sex they should be screened.

However. The thousands of women who have not attended for screening are not going to suddenly come forward because of this poster.

A terrible combination of the urge to be on message for trans inclusivity and the urge to hide women away once they’re over a certain age.

It's like they really wanted to use a middle aged transwoman until someone pointed out the obvious.

So they'll be using a trans woman for prostate cancer campaigns, right?

Yeah, doesn't sound likely, does it? I wonder why...

@Fairislefandango

So they'll be using a trans woman for prostate cancer campaigns, right?

Yeah, doesn't sound likely, does it? I wonder why...

Doesn't a recent thread about cervical screening week have a video that features an interview with Dr Zoe Williams and Drag Queen Victoria Scone etc.?

Perhaps an innovation to encourage visits to GPs for prostate exams might interview a Drag Queen if they're promoting an inclusive message?

@HelloKeith

A terrible combination of the urge to be on message for trans inclusivity and the urge to hide women away once they’re over a certain age.

It's like they really wanted to use a middle aged transwoman until someone pointed out the obvious.

I suspect that the ‘can we use anything but a middle aged woman’ question was unseated but a key driver.

Menopausal and post menopausal women are so often rendered invisible.

Funny, in any other context, the people designing an ad would presumably think 'Right... what's our target audience? Who are the group of people we really want to take notice?'

So this lot said... "Targeting middle-aged women? Right... what kind of person should we put in the picture then? Ummm.... not sure... elderly man? Small child? Ooh I know...'

Any health campaign's effectiveness depends on clear communication. If this was part of a wider campaign and this particular image within that campaign is aimed at trans men AND it had wording to the effect of trans men need to go for smears too, then it would work. But as a stand alone image and without that wording, to the average observer it looks like a male is fronting a smear test awareness programme. So not clear in its communication to its target audience at all.