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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

From Midwife to Lead Perinatal Practitioner: A Utopian Vision

42 replies

theilltemperedqueenofspacetime · 16/03/2025 09:48

Is this paper scheduled for publication at the beginning of next month? Or are they serious?

https://pure.northampton.ac.uk/en/publications/from-midwife-to-lead-perinatal-practitioner-a-utopian-vision

OP posts:
RobinHeartella · 16/03/2025 14:37

Any midwife, who focuses on anything other than the welfare of mother and baby, is in the wrong job, imo.

Midwifery has both the opportunity and duty to uphold reproductive justice.

Idk wtf this means but it sounds a bit rapey.

FlowchartRequired · 16/03/2025 14:37

Plus he is a tutor, so will be busy spreading the ideology to student midwives. Sigh.

withthegreatestrespect · 16/03/2025 14:39

maltravers · 16/03/2025 14:30

God, imagine having this TRA turn up as your midwife and starting to lecture you on your heteronormative and bio-essentialist language while you’re trying to give birth.

That'll be nothing compared to the lecture you'll get when you ask 'Is it a boy or a girl?'

borntobequiet · 16/03/2025 14:49

which conflates midwifery with essentialist thinking

Am I right is understanding that essentialist thinking means ‘understanding that sex is biological and immutable’, so, believing in reality?

maltravers · 16/03/2025 14:54

A job that not only gives him control over women’s bodies but how they are allowed to refer to the experience of giving birth to their children. Not creepy at all, no sirree.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 16/03/2025 15:22

maltravers · 16/03/2025 14:54

A job that not only gives him control over women’s bodies but how they are allowed to refer to the experience of giving birth to their children. Not creepy at all, no sirree.

It's the male dominance and control that leaps out of that world salad. Using women's experiences to impose your own twisted version of what pregnancy, birth and even being a woman is. Coercive control on steroids.

withthegreatestrespect · 16/03/2025 15:51

I think that essentialists believe that sex is binary and that men and women have pre-ordained roles in society due to their biological differences. Used as a bit of a slur in these debates to imply the person is conservative/right-wing in thinking and therefore not worthy of respect.
Sorry, meant to quote borntobequiet

borntobequiet · 16/03/2025 15:55

Thanks, my understanding was too simplistic.

Hairyesterdaygonetoday · 16/03/2025 21:19

“A Utopian vision”? A vision of hell, more like. This is the pinnacle of their fantasies, a world in which men have unrestricted access to women, with the extra thrill of knowing most women do not consent to this.

withthegreatestrespect · 16/03/2025 21:47

FlowchartRequired · 16/03/2025 10:12

I briefly looked at his other papers too.

pure.northampton.ac.uk/en/publications/gender-inclusive-language-in-midwifery-and-perinatal-services-a-g

This delightful abstract says "Effective communication in relation to pregnancy and birth is crucial to quality care. A recent focus in reproductive healthcare on “sexed language” reflects an ideology of unchangeable sex-binary and fear of erasure, from both cisgender women and the profession of midwifery.

In this paper, we highlight how privileging sexed language causes harm to all who birth—including pregnant trans, gender diverse, and non-binary people—and is therefore unethical and incompatible with the principles of midwifery. We show how this argument, which conflates midwifery with essentialist thinking, is unstable, and perpetuates and misappropriates midwifery’s marginalized status.

We also explore how sex and gender essentialism can be understood as colonialist, heteropatriarchal, and universalist, and therefore reinforcing of these harmful principles. Midwifery has both the opportunity and duty to uphold reproductive justice. Midwifery can be a leader in the decolonization of childbirth and in defending the rights of all childbearing people, the majority of whom are cisgender women.

As the systemwide use of inclusive language is central to this commitment, we offer guidance in relation to how inclusive language in perinatal and midwifery services may be realised."

I just noticed that he used the word 'midwifery' seven times in this abstract. Seems like it is quite a handy word after all😂

drspouse · 17/03/2025 10:50

withthegreatestrespect · 16/03/2025 15:51

I think that essentialists believe that sex is binary and that men and women have pre-ordained roles in society due to their biological differences. Used as a bit of a slur in these debates to imply the person is conservative/right-wing in thinking and therefore not worthy of respect.
Sorry, meant to quote borntobequiet

Edited

The first one is a sex essentialist, and the second is a gender essentialist.

Now, gender ideology promoters say that the first is also "gender essentialist" but as it has nothing to do with gender, I don't see how that follows.

ErrolTheDragon · 17/03/2025 11:21

Maybe he could start ‘decolonizing childbirth’ by FOTTFSOF? Women don’t need men like that colonising this fundamentally sexed domain.

Didactylos · 17/03/2025 12:40

The sort of person espousing and embracing on this crap tends to be alienated from the realities of life and instead of using energy on immediate, real world things becomes more and more disconnected. Instead of actually concentrating on the important tasks in hand (as a midwife - woman centered care, training, safety, research that benefits mothers, newborns and families) they focus on remote epistemological minutiae that they approach from a position of activism, and evangelise their world view unchecked.

Its the same problem here (midwifery school, lecture position, academia) as you see in political parties, unions and professional associations, businesses, staff networks ,schools and clubs everywhere at the moment - a few motivated activists can derail or take over, and suddenly there is major mission creep with money and time that could have been spent on research with clear benefit to improve services, midwifery teaching and care for pregnant and birthing women is being spent on some daft hobbyhorse like this, that serves only to promote an ambitious individual with their own agenda.

The trouble is that the self promoters navel gazing/angels dancing on the head of a pin types tend not to be filling their time with anything else useful and so have the time and energy to go to meetings, committees, self promote, take on volunteer positions or extra roles that many people might not have the time and ability to, due to their focus on real life activities like coalface work, caring, social and family. So the queer cuckoos embed themselves into whatever little nest of power they can find and then start changing the focus to their own personal agenda. Witness all the odd, socially alienated queer trans SJW activist types that have colonized political parties just like Militant did with Labour in the 80s.

Ive come to the view trans ideology/queer theory colonizes, corrupts and distorts everything it comes in touch with, and needs counteracted by people becoming more politically involved, step into roles that prevent there being a vacuum where queer theorists can establish themselves and willing to challenge the people espousing the doctrine.

(Edited for the inevitable spelling mistakes)

WarrenTwofficer · 17/03/2025 12:54

Contrast his waffle with the women centred words from the Association of Radical Midwives - https://www.midwifery.org.uk/
Women looking after women.

During my last pregnancy, my ARM member independent midwife predicted the sex of the baby before my 22 week scan, based solely on the sound of the heart beat.

association of radical midwives

Association of Radical Midwives | Because Midwifery Matters

ARM is committed to improving maternity services in the UK and internationally. We provide support, information & assistance. Because Midwifery Matters!

https://www.midwifery.org.uk

HaveYouActuallyDoneAnyWashingThisWeekMum · 17/03/2025 12:56

maltravers · 16/03/2025 14:30

God, imagine having this TRA turn up as your midwife and starting to lecture you on your heteronormative and bio-essentialist language while you’re trying to give birth.

🤣

AnSolas · 17/03/2025 14:21

He was a midwife for 5 years and moved over to teaching and targeting policy.

Moving from film making to management to going back to education to frontline hands on midwifing to EU level management?

Thats someone with an objective

The use of non-medical term Dr in the medical world is interesting.
I checked other CVs most opted to use their first name, I am assuming most would have doctorates too.
https://pure.northampton.ac.uk/en/persons/?showAdvanced=false&andConceptIds=f797d711-ba2d-4a12-8557-fc434cfbbe54&allConcepts=true&inferConcepts=true

The CV link expands on the 9 years glosses over the 5 years midwifing
So how long was he in the consultant led unit midwife and how long as a community midwife.

And a male midwife turning up or proposing to turnup for a home birth?
I can see why that may not have been popular.

And his focus in research floating the idea to pushing women who are giving birth from the center of child birth to uplift a medical hierarchy

Missymoo100 · 17/03/2025 20:48

Lead perinatal practitioner is confusing in any case.. because many women have consultant lead care 🤷‍♀️

but I think the whole trans thing is actually a Trojan horse, a battering ram against the language that differentiates the sexes, and it’s been going on a long time.

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