premenstrual dysphoric disorder support group

In our online support group for sufferers of pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder, a woman was posting a lot about her sex life, struggles with complex mental health issues, and talking about killing herself because she was suffering so severely from PMDD. She listed all the ways the medical profession were letting her down. She monopolised the conversation and elicited hours of support time from many, many women in the group. Turns out she was a man. Men don't have periods. She was misappropriating our time, channeling support away from where it was needed in the context of the group - and almost certainly getting a sexual kick out of it going on the number of posts he shared about his sex life. She could also have been getting satisfaction from reading the stories of struggling women in the group.

#unitedkingdom #england #pmdd #premenstrualdysphoricdisorder #supportgroup #fetishes

maternity hospital experience

My story is from 26 years ago. I was hospitalised in the mid trimester of my pregnancy due to severe bleeding. I was there for 2 months. Masada private hospital in East St Kilda, had a maternity wing (they have since closed down the maternity ward) and a general wing. This hospital performed transgender surgery too. Maternity was full and I had to be admitted to the general ward. I was placed in a strange part at the back section of the general ward. It was nowhere near Maternity. This room had 6 beds and the room was divided down the middle by a wall with a walk through space at the end for bathroom access. Hence, 3 beds either side of the dividing wall. The bathroom was on my side. I was very unwell and felt very vulnerable because of my pregnancy, which was touch and go. I had the very real fear that I was going to lose my baby. I was required to rest and stay calm to ensure my pregnancy had the best chance of survival. I was alone on my side, however, on the other side were 3 transgender surgery patients. That was uncomfortable enough but when they appeared to use the bathroom this made me feel I wasn’t in a safe space. The last straw was when one individual appeared, stood at the bathroom door and leered at me for a lingering period of time, probably a good 5 seconds, then they swung their head around nose in air and in to the bathroom. I felt so intimidated that I had a panic attack , got immediately out of bed in a very distressed state and rushed through the hospital into the maternity ward and broke down uncontrollably. The midwives were lovely and supportive but it was only then that a private room close to maternity, where I could feel safe, was found for me. I was furious that my sense of security and well being wasn’t considered until I had the degrading situation in that shared first divided room, where I had become so distressed they had to do something about it. Why is it that biological women continue to be the losers in this new WOKE culture? I refuse to be labelled a person that menstruates, a person with a uterus, a chest-feeder rather than a breast-feeder. I’m a woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother and I demand to have safe spaces that I, my mother, and my daughter can rely on having. Spaces not shared with males, who by just saying ‘they identify as female’, can enter. As a woman I’m questioning why is it that my rights and sensibilities not respected?

#australia #stkilda #maternityward #singlesexwards

shared accommodation on coach trip

My mum used to like to travel. As a widow the trips were made affordable by mum sharing a room with another woman also travelling alone. Mum took a coach trip around Tasmania and was put in a share room with a person who said they were female on their booking form.

It was clear to everyone on the trip that this person was not a biological female. Mum had no choice but to share the bathroom and room with this person. The tour company said as the person said they were female there was nothing the company could do and no other rooms were available. This was the last trip mum took other than when family could travel with her.

The experience of sharing a bedroom and bathroom with a man identifying as a woman left her feeling unsafe and vulnerable and unable to risk travelling alone again. The appropriate behaviour for the person would have been to get a room to themself.

#australia #tasmania #coachtrip #sharedaccommodation #identifyingasfemale