I'm done with the Zoe COVID study

[SchoolNightWine]

I've been part of the Zoe COVID study since it started - felt like I was 'doing my bit'
Today I got this email about a menopause study...
I am disheartened, angry and furious that I've wasted time on them (while going through so many menopausal symptoms) when according to them anyone who identifies as female could take part in the menopause survey.
I've emailed to let them know my disgust and deleted the app, but wanted their views to be known wider so hope it's ok to share it here.

Well… I was kicked out and was never even thanked or informed.

Agree. How can their studies be given any credit when they're not even marking out biological males and females. It's a hard no from me!

I once told it my PMT symptoms and it asked me to take a covid test. There should have been a 'this is normal for me' or 'I know the reason for this' option in the answers.

See also hangovers, DOMS etc.

So they are fine with including male-bodied people who identify as women in their menopause study? Would they experience a menopause? I doubt that very much.

Given that this is medical research, the drift in the meaning of words is truly troubling.

Me too for exactly the same reason OP.

"50% of us will go through menopause"
Agh

Yep I've been feeling the same lately, and thinking of emailing them as well. I used to do the daily reports, for me AND the kids, pretty religiously (how much of this due to my female socialisation telling me I should "do the right thing for everyone"? - DH was always much more lax about his!), but after being asked for my "gender" for the health studies and then this, I now think - why bother if they clearly aren't fussed about scientific facts?

Out of interest, which email address did you use to write to them - was it the [email protected] ? I also noticed it was quite hard to find out how to contact them - although I get lots of emails from them, they don't contain any contact info for suggestions, complaints or whatever!

(I also agree they should have a "normal for me" option - I get fairly regular headaches, of a particular type so I know those are "my normal", but still got told to go for a Covid test every time I reported one, so had to choose between reporting accurately and raising unnecessary "possible Covid" flags, or deliberately missing them out of my reporting, which didn't seem right!).

Firstly charge your phone!!!

Secondly, I think they are just listing the criteria by which you are automatically emailed for the survey. One of them being that you have identified as female in the app (ie that you ticked the female box). I expect that they would deal with any male-bodied respondents appropriately

I'm tired so hear me out, but when I read "50% of us..." Knowing it was about menopause for a split tired second I though "what only 50% of women go through menopause, surely not?!" And then I realised my error 😳

But genuinely it can be confusing when people start to write things like this for what is very clearly a women's health issue. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I didnt get through sign up. When it comes to infectious diseases and long term effects, sex matters.

I told them i wouldn't participate in a study with such poor baseline data.

Nope, that's how I read it at first too, and for a moment wondered why only half of women go through menopause.

This totally makes their study meaningless if they're going to warp menopause data by including "male experience" in it

I emailed to [email protected].

On charge now, thank you
And you're less cynical than me I think!

@ClemFandangoCanYouHearMe That's my thought - it just feels meaningless now:-(

I raised my eyebrows at the anyone who identifies as female can take part bit. It has put me off taking part . How can a biological male go through menopause.

and Im pissed off that it is now oh so hard for organisations to say the word “woman” . So probably done with it.

i am absolutely concerned about the issues around identifying as female but like @BasementIdeas i also read it as poorly worded (ie to let you know you’ve received the invitation cause you ticked the female box). I also think 50% of us could have been better worded too!

l do not normally feel strongly about this but in this case I do have a concern about how it impacts on their research.
I have just completed the survey but, after I answered “I do not have periods” (because I have the mirena coil) it then did not ask me any questions at all about my menopause, HRT etc. I cannot get back into my original answers to modify it.
I assume the question was to eliminate people who identify as women but it feels like, in an effort to be politically correct, it has now eliminated data from all women who are using a mirena coil from their data which will be a considerable number and will make it a very flawed study.
I have emailed them with my concerns.

It was such a wasted opportunity from the off when they caved and changed from sex to gender. All that lovely data gathered and now meaningless.

There are transwomen who will confidently say they go through menopause, so not sure how you can be so confident that researchers on the end of an app will know which reports come from biological women and which from people on hormone treatment.

The wording is sloppy and misogynistic and could cause confusion.

Imagine a high school teacher saying 50% of teenagers voice breaks during puberty. Or 50% of teenagers get larger testicles during puberty.

We need clear language to understand and explain our bodies.

Lol. As someone who is very menopausal I realise I won’t be identified as when they asked for more information recently They had changed their wording from sex to gender and the usual assigned at birth nonsense, so since my gender wasn’t assigned at birth I had to switch from female to ‘prefer not to say’. So they have lost my data. I did write to them to complain but haven’t had a reply…

Yes it is nonsense. Which 50%
Out of me and my dh which one will it be? Hopefully him 😏

So they have lost my data.

Such is the way when one is Woke. There is no limit to the number of people you are prepared to exclude in order to be "inclusive". Nor do you care how many you exclude.

I’ve just sent them an email detailing how they’ve managed to join in with the misogyny of centuries of male dominated medical research. I signed off with
“My name: A 56 year old menopausal women who cannot “identity” out of my biology, or the many awful symptoms of the menopause.”

i expect they’ll ignore it but it’s made me feel better.

Yes, but they are missing any male identified trans who are female and menopausal.