NHS England staff have safe spaces for aromantic and BI+ colleagues to talk about feelings - is there one for biological women?

[IwantToRetire]

The NHS is allowing five subgroups of people with various gender and sexual orientations to meet and discuss personal issues in “safe spaces” during the working day.

The five groups involved in the scheme include asexual and aromantic, bi+, non-binary, rainbow family, and <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/WtT2D/www.telegraph.co.uk/transgender/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">trans.

Aromantic is described as an “umbrella term to encompass aromantic, grey-romantic, and demiromantic”.

Bi+ describes people with “a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards more than one gender including, but not limited to, bisexual, pan, queer, and some other non-monosexual and non-monoromatic identities”.

Meanwhile demisexual describes people who say they need to experience a close emotional bond with someone before they can become sexually attracted to them.

Describing the meetings as safe spaces is understood to have irked some NHS staff who are battling for women to have the right to single-sex spaces including toilets, showers, and hospital wards.

One source told the Telegraph: “Safe spaces are really important but not if you are a woman who wants to use toilets or changing rooms without men who identify as female there with you.”

They had raised concerns with human resources about the behaviour of their colleague, who was not undergoing medical treatment to transition, but were told that they needed to be “re-educated”.

NB this is NOT the whole Telegraph, just selected paragraphs!
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/07/nhs-england-safe-spaces-aromantic-bi-colleagues-feelings/

Can be read in full here https://archive.is/WtT2D

Has Wes got anything to say on this?

Whatever happened to just going to work and doing the job you are paid for?

I read that as aromatic. Wondered why the nicely scented needed somewhere to go.

It is late.

I read that as aromatic

So did I!

And wondered if this was a whole new identity group that only responded to people who smelt right.

Or that you insisted that you smealt like roses even though you and everybody else knew you smelt like you hadn't brushed your teeth this morning.

Meanwhile demisexual describes people who say they need to experience a close emotional bond with someone before they can become sexually attracted to them.

I cant say I have ever wondered what this word meant, but if this is the true definition, isn't that in fact (or assumed to be the fact) of the majority.

and indeed said to be more true of women, rather than men who detatch physical from emotional.

So the potential seems to be that most of the NHS staff could be in this sub group.

Or is the implication that framed within the LGBTQI+ community, emontional bonds are a rarity and not thought to be normal?

I could go as from that description I’m Demi-sexual!

Is this really what Nye Bevan had in mind?

Perhaps NHS staff could instead focus on, oh I don't know, treating patients instead of sitting round in spaces, talking about their hemidemisemi sexual feelings (in rooms with hexual ceilings?).

Why does your employer need to know anything about your sexual orientation, or your personal feelings about it, let alone provide a room in which to discuss it, during working hours, paid for by the taxpayer. That's your private life surely, can't understand why anyone would want to discuss that with colleagues. Some employers seem to be taking it upon themselves to act in a very weird personal counselling role. Very odd lack of boundaries.

This ^ is such a great idea! And it will definitely increase productivity so win-win for all.

Isn't that now an alien concept?

In fact you should be careful saying that out loud in a workplace as you may find you too are contributing to people not feeing "safe" at work.

What a waste of nhs time and money.

That's your private life surely, can't understand why anyone would want to discuss that with colleagues.

Or if you did want to, you formed a social group of whatever and met up once a week after work. In fact the last thing you would want is for it to be at the permission on your employer.

I suppose it is all part of the process of making your employer your support worker. That is now their role. To prioitise your identity over over any obligation they have to you for their salary.

(Unless you are biological women of course.)

Fuck.

I guess if you want to create a reason not to hire people because they will be doing this shit instead of working, it makes sense?

People can maybe just not discuss their sexuality on work time at all, they won't then required a safe space to do it in.

Go to work, do your job. Keep your private life private.
Go home, talk about whatever you want.
This is what we did in the olden days.

What utter shite.
These are the options shagging wise:
Shag the opposite sex
Shag the same sex
Shag everybody
Shag nobody
And as for needing an emotional connection before shagging anybody well that is generally just maturity

Having recently spent a good few weeks around my local hospital whilst my dying stepfather was in there, I can reassure you that staff didn’t even have time to go for a wee or have lunch off the wards, let alone find a ‘safe space’ to discuss their lack of sex drive or where males claiming to be female share ideas of how to disguise a 5 o’clock shadow so they aren’t ‘triggered’ by their own reflection!
Get a bloody life!

During working hours in the NHS????

Given that workplaces should ideally be reasonable and humane places to work, but this is ridiculous in a major public service.

And the double standards are just glaring. No single sex spaces for worn because of course, we are expected to support everyone else. We have no needs.

During working hours? What if everybody wants to go?

Me too. 😳

I am in a relatively new job. They are only just setting up staff networks. Having seen the inevitable bullshit they cause I tried to warn the bosses to set down much clearer guidelines for how they should work.

Now we have the lgbtqiabdidi insisting on pronouns in email signature, and the faith network making big statements on Palestine and not welcoming Jewish colleagues. It is a shit show.

I think they should get on with their fucking work.

I thought there was a staffing crisis in the NHS?

I thought doctors and nurses were experiencing health problems because they don't have time to eat or go to the loo all day?

And as for needing an emotional connection before shagging anybody well that is generally just maturity
I heard A. N. Expert on the radio the other day explaining demisexuality and like you, Mittens67, I thought ermmm.... yeah I know about people shagging people without an emotional connection, but it already has a few names and none of them are 'demisexuality'.

One suggested addition to your list, Mittens - shag yourself? Definite and deep emotional connection there already

They probably don't have any time to eat or go to the loo because half the staff is pissing about in a meeting room discussing who they like having sex with and the parameters that must be met before they can have that sex.

The five groups involved in the NHS LGBTQIA+ network safe space scheme include asexual and aromantic, bi+, non-binary, rainbow family, and trans.
Rainbow family meetings are for parents, guardians and family members or friends of people who are part of the community.

The meetings also come with a host of warnings and instructions on how to behave and communicate.

oh dear lord 🤣

There is a “zero-tolerance policy to sexual harassment” which includes unwanting touching, and telling people to seek consent first.

What!! Why are they touching each other?!

The guidance also tells people to give verbal trigger warnings if they are about to say something others might find upsetting.

What? Like can I touch you? 😆