Modesty, Doctors and Exams

[Phylogeny]

If you think that the average gynaecologist spends his days examining strapping Playboy bunnies in their early twenties and drooling over his coat, then YOU have a problem.

It's one reason so many medical students in my class do not want to go into OB-GYN.

Most patients we end up with are not playboy centerfolds, and after staring at two dozen vaginas every day for days on end, it GETS REALLY OLD. It's not like I get to see an attractive genital once in a while that I can get excited about. Human nudity does nothing to me now after having dissected and examined so many human bodies.

 

[No Swansong]

I apologize if this sounds harsh but as a paramedic I can honestly tell you after you've seen a few pairs of breasts or a few vaginas they pretty much lose their luster for me except for my wifes.

Most physicians and nurses I have spoken to agree with this entirely. After a very short period of time those particular areas just become part of the human body similar to an arm or a knee and dealing with them are just a part of the job. The sight of a pair of breasts that aren't my wifes just has no appeal to me whatsoever. Of course we need to remain sensitive to who we are treating and make sure they do not feel objectified so it is different than dealing with a knee in that respect but qhite honestly I suspect for most health care providers these issues just don't come up very often.


Additionally I would add that in the U.S. there are many ethical procedures which are obligatory which are designed to prevent such abuse.

 

[No Swansong]

It's one reason so many medical students in my class do not want to go into OB-GYN.

Most patients we end up with are not playboy centerfolds, and after staring at two dozen vaginas every day for days on end, it GETS REALLY OLD. It's not like I get to see an attractive genital once in a while that I can get excited about. Human nudity does nothing to me now after having dissected and examined so many human bodies.

Well that and the highest malpractice rates in the field. LOL

 

[Catherineanne]

I was gonna just take what you said Catherineanne but you just went into ridiculous-land. I want to stop female education beyond 9? I want us to become a Muslim society?

You have said it.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

My opinion: A male doctor can touch whatever he wants wherever he wants as long as he finds medical issues if there are any. I don't care if I get examined as long as they do their job well. My grandmother died of uteran cancer, my aunt of colon cancer, though the latter not related to female exams I have seen the horrors of cancer. If I have breast or cervical cancer I want it found ASAP gender of the doctor not important.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

I would add (4) a woman's body is not inherently a sexual object, female nudity is not polluting, men are not inherently sex-driven base animals and this is not the 12th century.

In short, Western civilisation has grown up and I suggest you do the same.

 

[Braunwyn]

Yeah, but how many female doctors are there, really? It is hard enough to make it through medical school and in general more men make it through than women. At some point supply & demand has to kick in.

Phylogeny responded perfectly to this post but to add...

"The number of female obstetricians and gynecologist's nationwide is growing fast and is expected to shoot up even more, and while that growth has been slower in Spokane, observers here say it's only a matter of time before female ob-gyns will dominate the field here.
...
Most of the students enrolled in training programs nationwide are women," says Dr. Marynell Meyer, of Spokane Obstetrics & Gynecology PS. "That's a trend we're going to be seeing over time."

Women enrolled in ob-gyn residency programs at Northwest medical schools also outnumber men. Out of the 24 residents enrolled in the University of Washington Medical School's ob-gyn program, only three are male. At Oregon Health and Science University's program, 23 of the 26 residents are female."

...

One factor contributing to the rising number of female ob-gyns is that the number of women entering the medical field in general has been increasing steadily, physicians here say. Women now typically make up roughly 50 percent of students enrolled in medical schools across the U.S., they say."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5289/is_20080110/ai_n21303653

 

[Braunwyn]

I don't know which brand of sexism displayed on this thread is worse....

It's clearly a brand that translates as incompetence.

 

[Rois]

this whole thread is creepy. have the number of male posters outweighed the female ones yet? since we all know how to care for ourselves in the doctor's room, thanks for the concern. the postings have turned into something beyond that.

 

[No Swansong]

My opinion: A male doctor can touch whatever he wants wherever he wants as long as he finds medical issues if there are any. I don't care if I get examined as long as they do their job well. My grandmother died of uteran cancer, my aunt of colon cancer, though the latter not related to female exams I have seen the horrors of cancer. If I have breast or cervical cancer I want it found ASAP gender of the doctor not important.

Thanks for sharing that Punkin; (Sorry just can't get used to the new one if that is ok?) I lost most of the men in my family due to their hesitancy to have prostate exams. Prostate Cancer and eventually Colon Cancer is a horrible, painful, and degrading way to die. Your attitude is a healthy one and I applaud you for it.

 

[No Swansong]

this whole thread is creepy. have the number of male posters outweighed the female ones yet? since we all know how to care for ourselves in the doctor's room, thanks for the concern. the postings have turned into something beyond that.

I hope that I have not added to the "creepiness" of the thread. If so please forgive me and understand it was only my intention to add a health care professionals point of view.

 

[flicka]

In emergencies, of course, the normal rules do not apply. That is a given. But in the sort of situations outlined above, that occur by the thousand every day, I believe there is a huge problem, with implications which range from sexual assault and a woman's self-esteem to not causing one's 'brother to stumble'.

I bolded my favorite part.

 

[JCFantasy23]

I'm not sure why this is an issue. There is nothing wrong with the nude body. If a doctor lusts after your body it is by his choice and not a wrongdoing on your part.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Thanks for sharing that Punkin; (Sorry just can't get used to the new one if that is ok?) I lost most of the men in my family due to their hesitancy to have prostate exams. Prostate Cancer and eventually Colon Cancer is a horrible, painful, and degrading way to die. Your attitude is a healthy one and I applaud you for it.

You're very right, thanks for pointing all this out. IMO it's more of an obligation to us to take care of our bodies and prevent what we can through exams rather than worry on nudity. They say cervical cancer is not genetic but it seems most women get it in my family. It's easy to catch in the beginning and treat before it goes to far, and my grandfather died from prostrate cancer because it spead too far before he got it examined.

highflyer -

I think that this is a totally inapproporiate discussion for young men. You must think you have discovered a way to legimatly discuss women's bodies. Well, you haven't. It's skanky and slimey.

Maybe I just get offended easily but I see no topic like this as inappropriate for men. They should be educated on these things just as much as women, as they will be with someone and married someday, or dating and in love. There's nothing wrong with a man discussing a woman's anatomy, our parts are not sinful by nature.

If you can imagine male doctors lusting after their patients' breasts during an exam, why do you find the possibility of male gynecologists lusting after their female patients' genitalia "impossible to imagine"?

Then there's always the lesbian or gay doctor if you try to bypass the possible lusting of your doctor by going to the same sex Seriously though, I am sure there are pervert doctors out there we need to watch out for, but the majority see it so much it doesn't phase them one bit.

 

[Catherineanne]

We were influenced far, far too much by the early Puritans that made their way over here.

And we celebrated their leaving with a party. Our own version of thanksgiving that they had gone.

 

[suzybeezy]

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