Dundee man leads fight against period poverty

[PrimAndProperPearlClutcher]

“It’s about making people aware of the availability of period products for anyone of any gender, whenever they need it.

... '“I was chosen as the best person for the job and for me, it’s irrespective of gender.

“Having a guy can’t be a bad thing – it grabs the headlines, but that’s not the reason I was put into post!” Jason continues.

“For me it’s about driving the discussion from a young age so boys and girls are included and there’s no hiding it away because that keeps it as a taboo topic.

“I want to be seen as a positive male role model.”'

www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/3593497/dundee-man-leading-period-poverty-fight-how-to-get-free-products/

Well you must live in an affluent area. That's a great job round here.

Where would you find anyone with a "phenomenal" CV for £33k pa?

this new role is a natural progression for me as I previously worked as a personal trainer

The man's an idiot.

If you have ten midwives, and one is a bloke, that's one thing.

There is ONE job here, and it's gone to a bloke. That's a different thing.

@PowerPack , with a cv like his? Many.

For a high profile job in marketing? Even in Scotland, the average fulltime salary is £31k

There are four women working on the team with him, presumably furnishing him with the knowledge that he doesn't have. None of them could have done the job? And the fact it's not some amazing position underlines my previous point that I really do doubt that he was the sole candidate capable of this.

I think there would be people queuing up for the job because it's the first of its kind and carries a real kudos. The salary is comparable to NHS/nursing pay and there are many women with history in nursing/healthcare who would have exactly the knowledge and skills to deliver this. The other examples I gave of YOS workers would typically be on £25-30k so this would be the next logical career step up.

I am not going to tie myself up in knots trying to explain why this decision is a good one. I went looking for information before I jumped to any conclusions and everything absolutely stinks.

Honestly am really surprised that any woman, especially on a feminism board, thinks this is OK.

The reason the majority of things in society don't suit/work for women is because they are designed by men with men in mind. A few examples - uniforms (police, army etc), road layouts and street lighting, medical products (dosage often based on men), car seat positions etc etc

There is a reason why it is important to have a woman in roles like this. I am not saying that someone always has to have experienced something to be best placed to give advice on it however when it comes to women and girls menstruation and menopause imo this is imperative.

I think we should also stop for a moment and think why a man would want to apply for this job?

No PP was objecting to the fact that his CV isn't phenomenal. Yes, his CV may be worth about that, but you're not going to get something outstanding at that salary.

I just wonder if there were actually many applicants and if any women applied. A short term contract is always difficult to fill anyway and if it doesn't have a good salary alongside, who's going to apply?

Yes, I agree. That was sort of my point in saying I'm not convinced he was more qualified for the job than anyone else.

One of the comments I made elsewhere was about last year when I had to go to the breast care unit about a scary lump.

The entire clinic were women. Consultants, nurses, cleaners, reception staff, radiographers.

I wasn't expecting that but it was bloody wonderful. I felt so heard. Of course a male doctor could have carried out the technical processes, and imparted the information. But I was very, very anxious and scared and there were wonderful nurses who shared their own experiences of mammograms and breast lumps and oh my goodness, it was so comforting.

A male teacher delivering a PHSE lesson is not the same as a bloke who's been appointed as the menstruation guru. How the hell can he understand the nuances that come with having periods, or the worries that young girls have? How is he a relatable figure? How will girls ask him the excruciating questions they might have? And how will women going through the menopause feel that he's able and qualified to understand their issues when he has absolutely ZERO medical training or knowledge about anything, let alone any speciality in menstruation.

This isn't just about chucking a few tampons around and showing a diagram. It's breaking down taboos and actively engaging a female community, including those who traditionally may not have found information accessible such as minority groups. But balls to them, eh? As long as Jason is a "positive male role model", it's all good. Bah!!

A woman talking about periods would make more sense though.
It's women who hid talking about periods and they've been stopped from talking about them now.

Having a man talk about periods really isn't going to help young teenage females talk about periods.

Maybe no women applied for the job?

There are four women working on the team with him. If his experience in project management was so amazing, why couldn't he have been a consultant advisor and the women been the figurehead delivering the actual information?

My comment about his CV not being phenomenal was that this would have been the only way his appointment was vaguely acceptable. I don't believe that such a high profile appointment for a position that's received lots of publicity wouldn't have attracted a lot of applicants. Female applicants.

Basically, women have obviously been struggling for quite a long time to fight period shame. Now we've got a man in charge, things will change. Clearly Jason is well up for explaining to us all how we ought to feel about periods, menopause, etc.

I for one welcome our new period educators.

@PrimAndProperPearlClutcher

Have you looked at the #AskJustJason hashtag on Twitter? It's a brilliant hashtag full of very pissed off women asking Jason questions about periods that he clearly won't know the answer to. It illustrates the ridiculousness of this appointment perfectly.

Honestly am really surprised that any woman, especially on a feminism board, thinks this is OK.

I am too. It's like appointing a white person to advise Black people on racism, or a heterosexual to advise on gay sexual health. It's utterly insulting.

I wonder how much Jason understands about PMT and perimenopausal rage?

I live in Dundee. Because of all the hooha about this guy getting the job, I now know all the places within a ten minute walk of my house to get period products.

The free sanitary products absolutely is something to celebrate.

But it should be a celebration that centres women and girls.

Instead we have a man talking over and for women and girls. Telling us it's not just a women's issue and the words women and girls are not mentioned once.

It's a total kick in the teeth and emblematic of the bigger problem of female rights being overriden in favour of males and the destruction of sex based distinctions.

I suspect he's rapidly learning about perimenopausal rage 😂

Thank you. Just had a look.

'1 in 4 girls/women can't afford sanpro in Scotland' - on his bio. I find this quite a startling statistic. Wonder where that came from?

This pretty much sums up how I feel. We're being trolled.

So no male doctors, nurses, or biology teachers then? They all will probably have to talk to young girls about periods in some form at one point or another.

Turning back to the topic at hand - I don't think he's the best person for the job, no. But I don't think he's the wrong person for the job because he's a man.

Appointing a man to educate boys/young men about periods, to discourage shaming girls/women about menstruation, to encourage empathy and consideration, maybe. But this appointment is ridiculous. He has neither the life experiences nor the medical qualifications nor any relevant experience for this job. It's a political appointment made to continue with the attempt to divorce the "female" from female biological functions.

My 7 year old read out an essay on how everyone should be as kind as a unicorn.
Means nothing except that they enjoy writing essays.