Poster at the GP surgery

[FondOfOwls]

I recently went to register at a new GP surgery, due to moving house.
Then, upon leaving I noticed a huge, hand made poster stating 'Woman? Transman? Non binary?? Get your cervix checked'.
In general I don't mind this phrase when called for a smear, but it made me feel very uncomfortable-I have a DD6 who would no doubt question it if she noticed it.
I think I'd just tell her it's still women and rather tell her what cervix is, but AIBU to feel it is not appropriate? I'd also worry someone could challenge me if they heard me saying that to my DD.
Receptionist sporting a rainbow lanyard of course.
Feeling a bit disheartened as I spent HOURS filling in the paperwork for them, and the next nearest surgery is not very good and not very close.

They are making it very clear that anyone with a cervix needs cervical screening. They haven't avoided the word Woman so I think it's all good.

My 6 year old is a very fluent reader too, hes doing chapter books, so no doubt others can read the poster.

If we are genuinely all about women's rights & think third spaces are the answer, I can't see the issue.

My kid read an advert for durex extra sensitive condoms on a bus. Do we ban contraception ads because it starts a conversation? I'd rather get the fundamentals done early I think!

All transmen and most (?) non-binary people are female and I (like it or not) include all females in my feminism.
I'm glad they're included for their own health, even if I personally think it's a mental health issue to pretend to be the opposite sex.

It's not okay, it's nonsensical virtue signalling. Why not just say "Have your cervix checked"? My doctor's surgery isn't perfect, but I'm grateful that the posters there are for wellness walks and luncheon clubs!

I always choose to interpret the wearing of rainbow lanyards in a healthcare setting as being supportive of the NHS.

None of this would bother me.

I would explain this, if asked, to a 6 year old as follows:

Females have a body part called a cervix and it needs to be regularly be checked for disease. Some females don't like to think about themselves as being female and the words 'non binary' and 'trans men' are words that they prefer to be called rather than 'woman'. The poster uses all the words to make sure it is really clear that no matter how they think about themselves, women should get their cervix checked.

Both my children, when 6, would have been able to read nearly all words in the poster and would have asked me to read any words they couldn't. They would have also asked me to explain. That explanation might have provided enough, or there might have been a 'why' follow up. I would have responded to a 'why' with - there are different reasons but they mostly link to people having fixed ideas about how men and women should look and behave and their ideas about themselves don't match with this, they think their is something wrong with them. I don't think this way, but they do.

I had many interesting conversations about posters in doctors waiting room with my kids. I think it was rare that we discussed posters in other settings. This was usually after having exhausted the games I took, the magazines available and sometimes as an interlude to 'I spy'.

That's a great solution to this madness. Let's just never teach kids to read and they cannot be indoctrinated using text.

Genius.

I am a genius and that's exactly what I was suggesting - worldwide illiteracy. 😊

You have to have the conversation some time.

The most important thing about health messaging is that it is understood by the target audience. This I think is good. No terminology that isn't likely to be recognised by the target audience (e.g cervix haver, identifies as ..) and includes all the women even those without the womanly feelz.

That made me grin!

Rainbow lanyards signal a belief. Sunflower lanyards signal a disability. The two are not comparable and it's dishonest to pretend that they are.

It's important that health messaging includes the entire demographic it's aimed at, including those who speak little English. This poster does that. Failing to state who has a cervix risks women erroneously believing that they don't have a cervix and don't need the check.

Lots of my colleagues wear rainbow lanyards. They do this as they think it's an opportunity to signal to all minority groups that they treat all people with dignity and respect. Some of them are GC.

They think it's a shame that people think that someone wearing a rainbow lanyard is someone they don't feel can be trusted. I don't wear a rainbow lanyard but would hate to think that someone thinks this means I can't be trusted.

My view is that everyone needs to avoid jumping to conclusions about others due to the type of lanyard they wear!

So you're concerned about publicly explaining to a 6 year old what transman and non-binary mean, but have no qualms about publicly explaining a cervix?

I think this sort of sign posting will become essential if schools and NHS continue to engage in gender ideology as fact.
Consider the children going through schools in I.e. Brighton, being told that girls might really be boys just by thinking it, a girl does identify as a boy, then their NHS confirms that TMAM so they are treated as Mr XXX from that point on, at what point do we expect that young person to understand that their health risk and biological body is that of a woman?
All along I've always assumed the trans person knows what they're actual sex is and the impact that continues to have, but that assumption is based on my own education that clarified the sex differences.
The more embedded this ideology becomes the less sure I am that our future adults will have this clarity of understanding, we're still in 'the before'.
In 'the after' if the ultimate aim, being to remove 'trans' as an identifier is achieved, that same person may well believe that they are a man and then even this very carefully worded poster would seem irrelevant to them.

You can’t hide stuff you don’t like from your kids. My mum was mortified when I asked her loudly what a “les-bi-an” was, reading the front of a magazine in a supermarket when I was 6. Kids get exposed to all sorts, you just have to learn how to explain things in an age appropriate way.

Im very GC but wouldn’t have an issue with the poster. It uses the word women, it also addresses people who don’t consider themselves to be women but who have a cervix (unless they’re male and non binary, that could confuse the receptionist!). The fact that I consider them to be women isn’t something I’m worried about in this particular scenario.

Absolutely. Cervix is a body part, transmen and nonbinary are made up beliefs.

I don't believe in god and think religion is a made up belief but would explain to a child if they asked. Unfortunately she'll come across this type of language as she grows, I don't see it going away anytime soon, so there's no harm in explaining what the poster means. You don't have to say you agree with it.

Yes this is the comparison I was going to make. I’m atheist and have sent my kids to a CofE school, so we are pretty well versed in discussing things which have been presented to them as fact, but are in reality beliefs/viewpoints, and how we can be polite, respectful and disagree all at once.

So the real issue is you don't like the words transman and non binary. I hope your daughter grows up with more tolerance than you. I think the poster is great. Doesn't avoid the word women and is inclusive so that everyone who has a cervix knows they need to be checked.

There’s not even a need for a poster like this.
I mean, everyone with a cervix KNOWS they’ve got one, so this is just a pander-poster.
It could have simply said ‘Book your smear test now, appointments available on Mon pm and Weds am’ or something.

I agree that it's absolutely fine. Doesn't pretend some women don't have cervixes, includes the type of men that do. If people want to identify as non binary they're also entitled to a smear if they are female and have a cervix.

Thanks, I am making sure she will be aware of gender ideology and dangerous AGPs as soon as needed. Shame we live in such times. Isn't it time you go back on reddit now?