Endometriosis Australia says it was “disappointing” to hear comments made by axed Triple M host Marty Sheargold that implied the disease was “made up” several days prior to his departure from the station.
The former Triple M host left the broadcaster on Wednesday after he made widely condemned remarks about the Matildas and women’s sport on Monday afternoon.
But on Tuesday, when he was still on air, the host spoke treating his sore back with a heat pack, which he had borrowed from a female producer.
“God, don’t ladies carry on. Jesus Christ, there is no end of it. Honestly, endometriosis, and this is controversial,” he said, before a fellow host attempted to cut him off.
“No, I’m going to say it, it’s controversial. It’s made up.”
Endometriosis is a chronic disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it, causing severe pain or infertility. It can lead to other serious health complications and can negatively affect sufferers’ mental health.
It affects one-in-seven women in Australia by the age of 49.
It is a scientifically recognised medical condition, supported by decades of research and acknowledged by leading health authorities worldwide, including the World Health Organization.
“It’s disappointing that someone with a platform would make a joke about something as serious as endometriosis,” Director of Endometriosis Australia Monica Forlano said.
“It affects more people in this country than diabetes.”
“It’s a very scary time for women’s rights and rights on our bodies and I think that kind of attempt at humour puts us back.”
Ms Forlano said it was not normal for women to experience painful periods, but they were constantly dismissed when seeking help.
“A lot of women show up at A and E with debilitating pain and they’re dismissed as drug seekers or ‘it’s just your period, go home’,” she said.
‘Mindless rhetoric’
Dr Brad Robinson, a Brisbane obstetrician-gynaecologist said he was also “perturbed” by the comments.
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“Literally the day I heard about this I was taking to theatre a woman who I had a high suspicion she had endometriosis who had dealt with symptoms her entire life,” he said.
“At 32, and after multiple years of attempts to get this issue taken seriously, she finally gets to theatre where I give her a diagnosis and excise two really large areas of disease.”
He said one of reasons women struggle to get the disease “taken seriously is because of this mindless rhetoric that has taken place this week.”
It takes 6.5 years on average for a person to be diagnosed with endometriosis in Australia.
Dr Robinson said thanks to a late and concerted push, more women were getting medical attention for their concerns but he would have liked to see change a decade earlier.
“That’s no doubt because of the way society and the medical profession has let women down systemically,” he said.
“I think that sadly to a certain extent, the comments about endometriosis got lost in the shock of the other comments he made and it’s somewhat reflective of our lack of recognition of this disease that they did get lost.”
Ms Forlano said she had received a phone call from the chief operating officer of Southern Cross Austereo apologising for the comments.
The ABC also contacted Southern Cross Austereo for comment.
The company continues to have an agreement with the charity in which they donate advertising time on air.
“We feel they’ve been very supportive and their staff made the call to make endometriosis Australia one of their charities,” she said.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Endometriosis Awareness month and Ms Forlano said she hoped the recent spotlight on the disease would begin conversations.
“We’re asking people to make the pledge to speak about endometriosis with at least three people so they normalise it and take the pledge to speak with others,” she said.
“That’s our goal. Get people talking about it so its in workplaces and schools so it is normalised and talked about and believed..”
“We don’t need anymore gaslighting, we need to be believed.”
