In a world where words can wound as deeply as actions, it is heartbreaking to hear insults aimed at people whose bodies have endured illness or surgery. To say that a woman without a womb is āless of a womanā is not only cruelāit is profoundly untrue.
šø Womanhood is not erased by surgery
A woman who has undergone a hysterectomy remains fully herself. Her breasts, her hormones, her libido, her lived experienceāall of these continue to shape her identity. The absence of a womb does not diminish her femininity, her dignity, or her right to be seen as whole.
šŖ Manhood is not erased by illness
The same truth applies to men. A man who has had his testicles removed due to illness or medical necessity is no less a man. Masculinity is not defined by a single organ, but by the breadth of his life, his relationships, his resilience, and his humanity.
āļø Illness should never be weaponised
When illness or surgery becomes a target for nasty remarks, it reveals more about the cruelty of the speaker than the identity of the person being insulted. These remarks attempt to reduce complex, resilient human beings to a single body part, ignoring the fullness of their lives.
š Feminine and masculine are lived realities
Femininity and masculinity are not fragile constructs that collapse under the weight of illness. They are lived, embodied, and expressed in countless waysāthrough care, through strength, through creativity, through love.
⨠A manifesto of dignity
We must resist the idea that illness makes anyone āless than.ā Every person deserves respect, regardless of the changes their body has endured. To honour this truth is to honour humanity itself.