Having a man be an Ob/Gyn sounds like a situation where there’s no potential for good but a whole lot potential for bad. A lot of women would have to worry about being sexually assaulted under the pretense of examination while a lot of good, honest male Ob/Gyns would have to worry about their perfectly legit actions, touch, etc. being interpreted as something else.
Yes, I know, plenty of male Ob/Gyns get by without any trouble. But it still sounds like stepping into a daily minefield.
None of my doctors, male or female, has ever made any sexual advances toward me. I can think of no other explanation but a strong professional ethic on their part.
Its exactly that sort of blinkered anti-thinking that has essentially banned men from teaching elementary school throughout the red part of the country.
Huh. Men used to be kids, and have kids of their own. I’m in favor of men teaching elementary school.
Men don’t have woman’s bodies, and it always seems weird to me when they do ob/gyn. The only time i had a really strong sex preference in a doctor is when i was pregnant. I wanted a doctor who identified with me, and considered me to be her patient. I was worried a man might see me as just a vessel for the baby.
@Velocity’s point was that men should not be Ob/Gyns because of the potential for patient abuse, or the fear of patient abuse, or the fear of accusations of patient abuse.
Which is exactly the arguments used against male elementary school teachers.
Conversely your point about wanting a female Ob/Gyn is about her “getting” at a very deep level what it’s like to be a woman, to be pregnant herself, all the rest of the allied ideas. A preference with which I totally agree with and understand. Some women might not feel strongly enough about this to seek a woman doctor. Others do. IMO nothing wrong with either POV.
From the other side:
I have no concerns about the gender of my doctors. My current GP is in fact a woman who has in fact poked and prodded everywhere I have that can be poked or prodded. But, like you, I can see that if I had complicated problems with my male parts, a decent argument could be made that a male urologist or prostate oncologist or whatever might have a real edge in dealing with the complete package of physical and mental issues going on with that.
@Velocity’s concerns about abuse and your / my concerns about shared (or impossible-to-be shared) experience are miles apart.
Fair. And I haven’t had any reason to worry about abuse from any of my doctors, many of whom have been male.
And I will add that my current GP is a guy, and I’m generally comfortable seeing guys for all the parts that guys have too.
(Although I’m still pissed at an orthopedist who, as best as i can tell, thinks it’s no big deal for a middle aged woman to have pain when she walks, because I guess I’m too old to need to walk any more? I do think that he valued my desire for ability less because of my sex. But that’s not about abuse or harassment, that’s about discrimination and inherent bias.)