Boots menopause advice for "people with a vagina"

[Givemepickles]

On their menopause support page, where apparently they want to normalise the menopause...

https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy/womenshealth/menopause-support

"The menopause is a natural process which people with a vagina go through as they get older however, in some cases, is medically induced. As oestrogen levels start to drop, periods become less frequent and eventually stop altogether. For some, their periods stop quickly, but for others, it can take a few months or a few years. Everyone is different.

Menopause signs and symptoms are different for everyone and usually begin between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age for people in the UK being 51. Whilst some choose to seek treatment plans from their GP, others will look for other solutions to help manage signs & symptoms."

I'm so sick of this. I'm not defined by having a vagina! I am a woman. Piss off Boots.

In the face of women's fury and uproar, they have tossed us a bone - one mention of the word 'woman' to substitute for 'people with a vagina'.

The rest of the 'womens' health' pages seem to have developed a severe allergy to the word, though.

Fgs. Can you write on their twitter page? I'm tempted to do that. Bloody sick of it

That's a good idea.
I'll do it later on.

I've had enough of this BS and have complained. They might have added in women but the rest of the section on menopause is written in a cold detached way; you can tell they're trying to avoid using the word woman/women. Speaks volumes of their attitudes to us. Now to find another supplier of women's products.

Check out the current page on Menorrhagia (heavy periods) - doesn't mention women or girls once

www.boots.com/inspiration-advice/health/womens-health-advice/heavy-periods

Heavy periods are common & can be quite normal for some people, but sometimes they can get in the way of your daily life. Here we discuss the signs & symptoms of menorrhagia as well as treatment options & when to see your GP

Periods are a fact of life for most people with a womb who haven’t yet gone through the menopause, and for a lot of people, their menstrual cycle doesn’t impact their day to day activities too much.

For some people though, heavy periods, or menorrhagia, can have quite a big effect on their daily life.

Here we discuss what menorrhagia is, what can cause heavy bleeding and when it’s a good idea to see a GP, as well as what treatment options are available.

Don't forget the musculo-skeletal problems, the PILES, varicose veins, sometimes diabetes, and let's not forget, occasionally DEATH.

people with a womb

Fuck off, Boots. Fuck right off.

Just had a scan through the men's health pages and it seems the word 'men' is used a lot more than 'women' on the women's health pages. Says a lot I think.

Premature ejaculation, for example, affects men .... not people ... or people with a penis.

Weird hey.

I don’t get it. Why would Boots throw us a crumb and change ‘people with a vagina’ into ‘women’, only to leave the reference to ‘people with a womb’ on the period page? It is equally insulting and degrading. Unless all these horrible dehumanising phrases are removed, I fear that me and my womb will be shopping elsewhere!

I think basically they are only going to change precisely what people complain about, I guess we'll have to complain about every page that does it.

Sadly I think you are right.

What am I missing? First non bold paragraph.

Why not try reading the whole thread @Flyinggeesei234 - or at the very least the whole of the OP? Then you'll understand what's going on!

Fair cop @BIWI - seems I’ve seen the one and only concession to using ‘women’.

Have looked further and can see the issue. FFS. I’m certainly going to address them on Twitter.

They do a podcast called Taboo Talks where they have addressed women’s issues and also this where they use ‘woman’, ‘women’, even ‘ladies’ but it seems they can’t bring themselves to use the right terms for us on the pages for flogging products.

BIWI you are right I had only skimmed. I’m at a loss as to how we can change this rubbish.

@Flyinggeesei234 and on the page I linked a few posts upthread about heavy periods they still call us "people with a womb" and don't use the word "woman" at all.

I’m a person with a wombs, does it count if the womb in question is actually inside my cat?

Has anyone had any luck getting a reply on Twitter? I’m going to try now.

In a GP's surgery today, the menopause slide said "Every woman will go through the menopause", which actually shocked me twice - to see unapologetically woman-focused speech and because I just assumed some woman would not have a menopause due to other medical conditions.

Oh that’s interesting, Zelda. Not sure what medical conditions might prevent it, although I suppose early death certainly would. HRT - does that actually prevent menopause or just help with the symptoms, I wonder?

And this is why clear sex based language is important. You can then debate how HRT works , good question, does it stop menopause or cure the symptoms. Impossible to discuss with the usual word salad

I wouldn't be surprised( it's got a younger vibe than Boots. What sort of bollocks has Superdrug been getting up to?

Also, love to know if anyone gets any replies from Boots. Do keep updated women of fwr.

Urgh

note I fully support lesbian and gay and disabled people and women and children having rights to access society in an equal footing, not sure Stonewall diversity is all that inclusive.

This from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/06/england-and-wales-census-counts-trans-and-non-binary-people-for-first-time

apparently, I f I’ve read it right, ‘There were 48,000 trans men and a similar number of trans women. Thirty thousand people identified as non-binary and 18,000 gave a different gender identity, while 117,775 said their gender identity was different to the sex registered at birth but gave no specific identity.’

and this from gov website -‘according to the 2021 Census, women and girls made up 30.4 million (51.0%)’ https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/male-and-female-populations/latest

so, umm, that’s 30.4 million women and girls..shove over ladies, because 48,000 blokes in dresses are more important.
nice one boots!