Is this what you think is "transphobic", Dadjoke? And women are adult human females, it's just reality, it isn't a "schtick".
A quote below from Elaine Miller's article, here provided with distaste by a man who has no idea about the female experience, like so many of the men who want to put us in our place:
If you don’t recognise yourself as a “cervix haver” you are unlikely to attend your smear test. Cervix is an uncommon word describing a hidden body part so unless “woman” is used to invite women to screening those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, English as a second language or lower education attainment are excluded. Some of them might then die of cervical cancer. I don’t think that is ok.
A recent international paper examined cases where gendered language caused harm or confusion, and it makes for grim reading. It is hard to understand why adding barriers to healthcare for those already marginalised is championed as inclusion.
I was so cross about all this that my birth injury became my muse. My episiotomy scar is a zig zag shape and I read somewhere that lightning bolt scars can be powerful…so, if need be, I will gather crowd of women, march to Holyrood and whip out our scarred pudendas and bellies, prolapses and piles, mastitis infested breasts and our fierce capacity to love and demonstrate that we earned the word “mother” and we won’t give it up without debate.
“Witch” is a word which once had so much power it made 4000 women disappear. Conversely, the least powerful word at any time, in any language, is a woman’s “no”.
If women’s consistent, insistent and persistent “no” upsets you, I gently suggest that you focus your efforts on improving the behaviour of males so that women require fewer protections rather than bullying women and calling it activism.
Wise words, Elaine. Thank you.