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/

I'm really not @DarkDayforMN .

As I said on the last thread.

"Providing support to the project team" doesn't mean he'll be the person running focus groups, interviews, public engagement events, or designing questionnaires. You recruit people with relevant expertise in the area - often with research skills.

Yes he might actually be at the event, but the doesn't mean he's the one leading it.

I worked in a similar role as a graduate, with similar issues that could crop up (white woman on an FGM research project).

Yes he might actually be at the event, but the doesn't mean he's the one leading it.

No one said he’d be the one leading events, what is this goalpost shifting? No one said he’d be performing any of the tasks you listed. The job description lists his tasks quite clearly.

This, 100%.

Sorry then what's the issue? I thought you were arguing that he shouldn't be the one interviewing girls/women, running events or leading the project, which I agree with.

I'm not goalpost shifting I'm just confused.

So you think no men should be present at the event at all? Genuinely confused after our engage.

Period Dignity Officer is the job title.

Not back room coordinator boy.

FFS. This has really pissed me off. I could accept a male period dignity officer whose sole role was to speak to young boys and men on how to support girls and women, but nothing more.

This rings of, "I'm the patriarchy. I'm here to help."

Remember when midwives were shut out of childbirth because male doctors wanted to control women? This is exactly the same shit. History will not be kind to Mr. Dundee Knows Better Than Women.

Sure, but the job description clearly outlines what he'll be doing, and somehow I think no one is going to be keen to take the job title of "back room coordinator boy".

He's the PM, it is what it is. A something officer is how entry level jobs are denoted in public sector.

I am confident I want nothing to do with whatever's inside Euan's head.

Agh. But where are the women being shut out?

The working group is made of all women. They now have a male PM doing the grunt work. They have detailed how they're going to engage with stakeholders and girls/women with lived experience.

I ragey about lots of things in life but can't for this.

'How was that post only advertised for 10 days,inc two weekends,so 6 working days, and the man who got it already worked at that university? pic.twitter.com/92SPtEo2TJ
I'm delighted to report that someone on twitter is doing an FOI about the candidates....

I think accusing any man who tries to get involved with something like this of having a sexual fetish is just going to set us back by decades.

Men are, for all sorts of non-nefarious reasons, genuinely passionate about issues that affect women. I can think of many male collegues I respect who work in areas primarily affecting girls/women.

Met a fantastic bloke at a conference who specialises in improving treatment outcomes of vulval cancer. Is he a deviant?

A woman who was qualified for the role of Period Dignity Officer was just shut out.

Women were still employed by male doctors who took over childbirth...but in less dignified roles than doctors: as cleaners, nurses, support staff...the midwives were no longer considered experts or leaders of childbirth. In some instances, they were called witches.

It's the same shit, different time.

Also want no girls to experience the utter shame I had when a male teacher was obviously mortified about having to tell me I had started my period.

Accusing any men who speak about periods of having a sexual fetish is hardly going to normalise things & reduce embarassment @JanieAllen

A woman who was qualified for the role of Period Dignity Officer was just shut out.

Who? @Delphinium20

Women don't make men have sexual fetishes, so how is women talking about men's sexual fetishes holding women back?

I have no idea if that colleague you met isn't a deviant, and neither do you. But, if I were to make an educated guess if a man or a woman is a sexual deviant, my odds are increased dramatically if I choose 'male'.

The point is, it's suspicious for many reasons that a man would take a role like this. He may have a fetish, or he may just be arrogant, or he may have a buddy in the hiring process who got him this job as a form of nepotism. There is zero evidence he got this job because he's the best person for it, in fact, all the evidence is pointing to him being a very poor candidate for this role.

When the FOI for the other candidates comes out, we'll know for sure her identity.

Until that time, we KNOW that any woman who might have wanted this job was shut out because it should be given to any woman over a man.

Would a role entitled Period Dignity Officer been something that could legitimately have used sex exemptions? Yes.

Would this have been a great opportunity for an inexperienced women? Yes

Will girls and women be less likely to engage with a service given the high profile attention given to a man fronting it? Yes

This was a role crying out for a woman. Even better for a woman from a relevant ethnic minority background who could have made a valuable contribution to helping develop initiatives to engage women from those communities. But they chose to hire a white bloke. They didn't even bother giving women a chance to apply for the position.

The funders are telling women exactly what they think of us.

If I still bled, I'd go to their meetings and bleed on their furniture. I hope women do.

Yes he might actually be at the event, but the doesn't mean he's the one leading it.

He looked like he was the one leading the discussion with euan, and the mother and daughter in the photo.

Will girls and women be less likely to engage with a service given the high profile attention given to a man fronting it? Yes

This is the crucial part, for me. How many young girls are going to feel comfortable about an event headed by a youngish male?

Girls especially need older women for these type of roles.

As for peri-menopausal women. Well. How do I feel about going to listen to a lad who used to work for Big Tobacco tell me about period poverty?

I feel fucking raging, as per.

There is nothing in the job spec about him heading or leading events.

The whole point of this programme is to help women and girls. It's not to help men get over their embarrassment, its not to make periods 'cool for guys', it's not to make everything 'gender equal' and ensure nobody ever uses tricky words like 'menstrual blood' or 'clotting' or 'women' or 'girls'.

It's about reaching girls and women, overcoming barriers, supporting them to access period products. That's all. Having males front a project like this is patronising, tone deaf, and just won't bloody work. Centre the women. Centre the girls. It's okay to have things just for women. Sometimes its actually crucial.

I am amazed that people think there would be no women better qualified to do that job. People from the voluntary sector, from healthcare, from schools. But ALL the women who applied were deemed inferior to baccy-guy. How the hell does a man whose previous job was selling cigarettes trump every single woman who applied? Oh yes, jobs for the lads.

“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.”'

From my OP, from the first article.

Jason is setting himself up as a role model, he says so very clearly.