Bleeders

The Guardian has a letter plus answer thing under the headings In it together Women.

Headline: When I went home with period pains I told my boss I had a cold. Should I have told the truth?

Letter:

Last month I had to leave work in the middle of the day. I was in a great deal of pain from my period, a problem I have had for several years. Sometimes I can manage it with painkillers, but not always. Even when I can cope with the pain, my periods affect my sleep, and make me slower and less productive. When my (female) boss saw how unwell I was, she kindly suggested I go home. I told her the next day I must be coming down with a cold. I’ve been thinking, why didn’t I just say “I have bad period pains”? I know it’s because I don’t want to be seen as weak and I don’t want to play into stereotypes that women can’t work or have important jobs because of their periods. That said, I worry about using a sick day or two every month. What are my rights in this area regarding sick leave? Should I speak up next time? Am I letting the side down by not coming out and being honest about my period?

Reply by Poppy Noor:

Something happens to you once a month that is painful and out of your control. You are not alone. Last year, YouGov asked 538 menstruators about their experiences of period pain in the workplace; 57% said it had affected their work.

screeeeeeeeeeech Wait, what?

Menstruators?

What happened to “women”?

It says “women” at the top of the page, before the headline. The writer mentions that her boss is female, and then cites “stereotypes that women can’t work or have important jobs because of their periods.” The piece is about a thing that women have to deal with that can hinder them at work and school and life in general. It’s about an issue that affects women, it’s from a woman, it’s about a physical process inseparable from the female reproductive system. Why was the hideous contemptuous reductive word “menstruators” used instead of “women”?

Poppy Noor herself promptly uses the dreaded word:

Last year, YouGov asked 538 menstruators about their experiences of period pain in the workplace; 57% said it had affected their work. And yet, you feel you will be seen as weak or unreliable if you tell someone about it. Your fears aren’t unfounded: a number of studies show that women’s pain is routinely dismissed by health professionals, especially when it comes to gynaecological issues. And other women seem to share your fear. YouGov found that only 27% of women affected by period pains told their boss and many of them (33%) pretended, as you did, that it was something else affecting their work.

“Women” three times and “gynaecological” once. So why use “menstruators” at all?

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