Period Dignity Officer post scrapped!

The sisterhood has more to worry about than this, IMO.

It’s not a bad idea to have a period dignity officer, but if women’s issues were taken more seriously there might have been more attention paid to getting someone competent in the role.

If the comment about ‘women who complain about transactivists’ is a cheap but predictable dig at posters on here, it is tiresome and does not bear scrutiny.

Not wanting women to be attacked by men in balaclavas does not equate to any position on public health appointments. Many feminists might think that a role like that is more suited to a woman, but what that has to do with transactivism is beyond me - perhaps you could explain?

On line abuse does seem, unfortunately, to be part of public life. Diane Abbott has been subjected to this for years, and has continued to work.

I think a lot of young women use washable products. They are a really useful idea.

Ilovecheese

You make a good point Glorianny but if that was why this man was appointed, the panel that appointed him should have robustly defended his appointment, given their reasons and been wholly open about how the decision to appoint this particular man was reached.

I agree Ilovecheese and what I find most awful about this whole episode is that women, who have complained vigorously about on-line abuse and the threats of transactivists seem to have taken on the same role, and used the media to totally destroy something which could have been so helpful to young women. I can't decide who failed them more, the women who attacked or the women who capitulated.
One thing is certain it is a sad day for sisterhood.

Caleo

I'd support a parallel campaign for washable reusable period protection.

I second, to rinse out and then put in with the knicker wash, it was how our mothers had to cope with.
I happily used tampons (mother didn’t discuss them in our ‘talk’, copied a friend) under the same idea what about reusable cups.
These ideas should be discussed in the class in the science lesson.

You make a good point Glorianny but if that was why this man was appointed, the panel that appointed him should have robustly defended his appointment, given their reasons and been wholly open about how the decision to appoint this particular man was reached.

I was thinking about how just now the menopause is being given much publicity and everyone regardless of sex is being asked to make adjustments in the workplace. It seems to me that if we can do the for the end of periods how much more should we be doing for the beginning of them and one of the big steps that would enable that is that we should stop regarding this as just a women's issue and be more open about it. And yes there will always be a place for women to discuss their personal issues with another woman, but as far as publicity and supplies goes having a man might be a positive step. It might stop boys from growing up thinking periods are a dark secret and only concern women. Because if a few women going through the menopause are important to accommodate in the workplace all the women who are menstruating deserve consideration as well.

It sounds as though the "period dignity working group", which I believe is made up of 4 women, has been quite incompetent.
Despite my thinking Jason Grant was not the right choice for this post, I think he has been very badly treated and is right to take legal action about the way this has been handled.

So all in all it doesn’t sound as if the post was that important.
Obviously all us women who bleed know it is but as they’ve abandoned the post because one candidates appointment has gone tits they’ve thrown the towel in.

Doodledog
boorish lovely word ?

Callistemon21

^The man who got the job and didn't know it was no more until it was publicly announced?^
Is that was happened? That is not right at all, in fact quite unforgivable.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the selection process, he should have been the first to know that the job he had been offered was no more.

That's what his legal representative says Callistemon21
He wasn't notified in writing until after the announcement.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-62826983

I think that's what happened from the information I have seen, which if true will mean he has a case against them.

The man who got the job and didn't know it was no more until it was publicly announced?
Is that was happened? That is not right at all, in fact quite unforgivable.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the selection process, he should have been the first to know that the job he had been offered was no more.

I'm criticising whoever decided to do away with the post Glorianny.

Glorianny

The role is not seen as one that is concerned with the person having personal discussions with women and girls. It's much more a publicity. awareness raising/ spreading information position.

Essential

•Experience of devising and delivering marketing and promotional campaigns to reach various audiences
•Experience of successful working with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver project outcomes and enhanced opportunities that achieve the desired impact
•Successful track record of engaging and working with people from a diverse range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, in particular young people.
•Experience of developing and facilitating creative and engaging community- based activities
More about it here www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/education/dundee-and-angus-college/jobs/period-dignity-regional-lead-officer-280621

Which ties in with what I said upthread, and which was ignored.

'Successful working', 'engaging', 'working with', and 'facilitating' the desired impact requires an range of skills including the ones I mentioned (reputation management, audience segmentation, crisis strategising, two-way communication etc), as well as the experience and understanding to make them all measurable, and there is no evidence that I can see (with the naked eye) that this chap had those skills.

I am in no way accusing anyone of anything, and if a man genuinely seemed to be so much better than female applicants with lived experience of period indignity then fair enough, but I wonder how widely the vacancy was advertised if nobody of either sex with those skills or abilities was interviewed.

FarNorth

The people involved should have had the courage of their convictions then, and got on with the job.

Many people have had to combat prejudice and harrassment in order to make their way in the world.

Who are you criticising here? The women who appointed him but who have since abolished the job? The man who got the job and didn't know it was no more until it was publicly announced?
It can't be the man because he would have gone ahead and done the task, so it must be the women.

Those criteria do suggest engaging with community & young people.
Stakeholders could also be women and girls.

The people involved should have had the courage of their convictions then, and got on with the job.

Many people have had to combat prejudice and harrassment in order to make their way in the world.

The role is not seen as one that is concerned with the person having personal discussions with women and girls. It's much more a publicity. awareness raising/ spreading information position.

Essential

•Experience of devising and delivering marketing and promotional campaigns to reach various audiences
•Experience of successful working with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver project outcomes and enhanced opportunities that achieve the desired impact
•Successful track record of engaging and working with people from a diverse range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, in particular young people.
•Experience of developing and facilitating creative and engaging community- based activities
More about it here www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/education/dundee-and-angus-college/jobs/period-dignity-regional-lead-officer-280621

Stormystar

If we evolve our ways of thinking and being in the world to such a degree that biological sex has no meaning then none of these issues would matter a jot. If we transcend beyond biological sex in our emotions our feelings our psyche, then how would our lives be, just visualise, imagine, I think we are being primed to accept loosing our humanity to what constitutes humanness itself, to be so dulled in our senses we become robotic. Thank goodness for passion and powerful emotions debate and disagreements, thank goodness we all think and act differently we’re alive not machines. I Love that I bleed that I’m a woman.

Now this is a really interesting post.
To me, this would fit with us being turned into tidy little economic units instead of messy, emotional human beings.

The way that university degrees are now supposed to only be undertaken if they lead to a well paid job, for instance. The arts are such a big part of what makes us human, even if they don't lead to high earnings. Should theology still be studied at higher level, just because not everybody can be an Archbishop?

Even the fact that our most innovative television channel, Channel 4 should be sold off to become more like Netflix.

Sorry if this is a bit jumbled, I just thought this was such an original and interesting post.

Sorry to drag the thread back a few pages but I have only just logged on.

"Oh, should have mentioned...the appointment panel was all female. Shocker, innit."

I am not sure the relevance of the sex of the panel. perhaps I did not explain myself clearly but I do think public appointments should be very open about how anyone is chosen for a position. if this does not happen, then suspicions of cronyism will arise and should be able to be robustly rebutted by a clear explanation of how the decision was reached.
For instance; For how long and where the job was advertised, how many applications were received, how many people were interviewed and the reasoning behind the eventual choice.
It must have been obvious in a new role such as this one, that these sort of questions would be asked, and it should have been easy to answer them.
I have no strong feelings about the sex of the person taking the position, in fact I think it would be a very good idea if men could be a bit less squeamish about a bit more open about the facts of periods, but if that was the reasoning behind the appointment, why not say so? have the courage of their commitment.

I asked previously but am still puzzled.

Callistemon21

I am still failing to understand how he was qualified for this post, gender notwithstanding.

Academic now as the post no longer exists, but it was puzzling.

I asked for clarification of this upthread, having been accused of not knowing enough about the role or about his suitability. I did list why it seemed clear to me that he wasn't suitable, but none of the people who apparently do know enough of the details of the job spec and his personal application to disparage those of us who rely on newspaper articles for our information have bothered to respond, other than to be boorish with their comments to others.

It was ever thus, but it doesn't have to be that way - a bit of actual debate would be a refreshing change.

I really find this whole thing disturbing. Are we now to see male teachers told what they can and can't discuss with girls.
How far would you take this?
Are you really serious that you would advise any male teacher to discuss matters relating to sex with a girl/girls. Teaching in a mixed class situation would be a possibility, but it would only need one parent to question (especially in the media) the appropriateness of a man doing puberty/ sex education classes and answering questions that girls do ask with a girl or group of girls, for his career to be in question.
If you don’t think that would happen . . .

Passed age . I never talked periods with my father, my brother, my husband or my son.

I am feeling like someone from a very pa