LGBT month - This is a weird event to have during work time...

[LGBTmonth]

Our work LGBT Network has invited us all to a talk during most people's working time (2-3pm on a Monday) that involves "A reflection on transgender and intersex inclusive anatomy education initiatives... including an EDI Biomedical Sciences project using 3D printing and wax modelling to represent transgender, intersex and cisgender perineal anatomy."

This is an event for a general audience. Most people where I work, do not work in anatomy or even in medicine, although a small minority of people do.

In fact, in the teams group where I saw it advertised, no one would be working in the medical field at all.

A web page with a list of events, this one included, has been linked to by our director in a regular email he sends to our department along with a recommendation to attend some of the events.

I know it's optional to attend but it just feels very odd to have this suggested as something I should be spending my working time on when it's completely unrelated to my work.

superficial perineal pouch structures commonly seen post-vaginoplasty

That seems rather transphobic . I thought even gynecologists couldn't tell the difference...

I'd actually be open and interested in the event simply to learn more about human beings and human bodies.

It wouldn't however negate the reality that female people exist in ways that are separate from and nothing to do with whatever it is that trans women experience as "womanhood".

I'm not sure. I think if I were studying or researching this, or if it was a topic of interest to me outside of work then yes maybe.

However, I'm not sure I want to learn about perineal anatomy at work with colleagues when our work is completely unrelated to it. I feel like it crosses some kind of boundary, but I don't quite know what I think or if I should say anything.

Equally if I were trans, I'm not sure that this is an event I would be comfortable having at work, especially with a general rather than a specialist audience.

The final collection included four cisgender, two transgender, and three intersex models, each depicting variations in anatomical structures such as the clitoris, labia, and superficial perineal pouch structures commonly seen post-vaginoplasty or in intersex presentations.
But I thought that 96% of Trans haven't had surgery. So to imply that 2 typical transgender are both post-operative is misleading.

This.

And also, I'd bet my mortgage that they are using it as an opportunity to claim that you can't tell the difference between a post-op transwoman, and a woman.

I didn't see any post op trans men being mentioned (although I did skim, so I may have missed it).

Academic or not, this seems like something only someone obsessed with genitalia would do.

Tell me OP, is the person organizing/running it “trans”? If so, I’d like to bet one of the models will be of his own bits.

Totally. With a side order of, 'see, just like a cis woman's'.

Bizarre. I also work for a large and very captured organisation and last year the entire company was invited to a talk about one individual's experience with being asexual. I could not (still can't) get my head around what could possibly be interesting in listening to a colleague talk about not being interested in shagging*, nor how that person felt comfortable divulging their sex life (or lack thereof) to their colleagues. Honestly, wtf.

*Appreciate this is probably a bit reductive to those who are asexual but hopefully you get my point

I'll take a guess. Either Sussex or Edinburgh.

I might regret asking this, but what are "superficial perineal pouch structures"?

I’d be concerned if you worked for the Home Office, or Deloitte, or Network Rail, and the employee LGBT network was putting this stuff on specifically for staff. I’d be even more concerned if there was an insinuation from HR that staff were expected to attend it or that it was being promoted as part of staff EDI training.

I don’t get the impression that’s what this webinar is aimed at though. It’s a webinar delivered by a former research fellow of the university and part of the university’s wider open access programme of events, webinars and film screenings, available to students, staff, alumni, researchers, and the general public. It would be up to university staff to decide whether their work commitments enabled them to attend the event if it interested them - the same as with any of the other things on the programme.

I agree, I think the subject matter is crud, it derives from a very niche project, and it’s probably entirely irrelevant to and will be of no interest to at least 95% of those with an affiliation to the university. But based on what it is, does your engagement with it need to go beyond the fact that you aren’t interested in the subject, you don’t think it’s relevant to your area of work, and you’re working at the time it’s being held, so won’t be taking up the opportunity?

Even if this is a genuine academic study [and I have my doubts] it is a very niche subject of relevance to a small specialised group of people. Completely inappropriate to broadcast it to a much wider audience in work time.

It's just a part of the perineum - everyone has one. The below Wiki article has medical diagrams but no photos:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficial_perineal_pouch

God, how tedious.

And as usual the female anatomical diagrams are not included/don't exist.

Sounds like a pervert's dream! But for normal people - bleugh! What a bloody weird suggestion for a work event 😱

"A reflection on transgender and intersex inclusive anatomy education initiatives... including an EDI Biomedical Sciences project using 3D printing and wax modelling to represent transgender, intersex and cisgender perineal anatomy."

There is something so schoolboyish nudge, nudge, wink, wink dressed up as serious adult need to know knowledge that makes everything so cringe.

I dont care it is online, but fancy telling your employees they should even acknowledge that something like this is happening.

Pride, that used to be Gay Liberation ahs been turned into a sleazy exhibitionist queer celebration.

Queer in the sense of challenging the "norm", which all to often in the Rainbow Coalition means pushing the boundary of getting rational adults to join in the school boy smut.

Education? Not.

WTAF!! What country are you in?? If the Uk please share this with Tanya at the following.

She is more than happy to call out the absurdity of these events!!

https://x.com/isntworkingpod?s=21&t=D40fJoAc3zORU7eLdDrDNQ

This. I suppose some people think it fair that 50% of the population get a whole day to celebrate being women. Although in my borough they only ran evening events so it wasn’t even a whole day. 🙁

The university of Birmingham?

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/events/teaching-bodies-not-assumptions-advancing-transgender-and-intersex-inclusive-anatomy-education

would be lovely to attend to ask what third gamete / sex they have found for mammals.

Its very very basic.

You will be up before HR if you try to start a chat about clitoris, labia, or perineal pouch at the watercooler.

A male could end up in HR after medical leave if he brought up the subject with a lone woman ........ how [(edit) big bad word choice] heavy are your office staplers?

Take one for the team. Sign up & record/ take notes of every damn thing you can, including any promotion of the event in Teams, etc.
Always be archiving.

Edited to fix typo

3D printing? They could have saved a fortune by nipping to Tesco’s and buying a banana, a couple of satsumas and a ham sandwich.

I’d find another job. The culture sounds awful.