To think men should not be allowed to be gynaecologists

I'm curious, are you against the idea of tipping the balance in favour of females, if it doesn't reduce the total number of gynaecologists? And are you in favour of mammographers being male?

Incidentally, several of the misconduct incidents I've linked happened with a female chaperone present.

That aside, the reason many women don't want a male gynae is because they don't want a male touching them intimately and invasively. Having a woman watching it happen doesn't help that.

You were ridiculously unreasonable in your original post but this comment (whatever you were trying to say here) made you look dumb. What on earth….?

I completely understand why some women, particularly those with a history of trauma, may strongly prefer or need a female gynaecologist. Services should try to accommodate that wherever possible.

However, if a patient is requesting a specific characteristic in their clinician- whether that's a particular sex, language, specialty interest, or individual doctor it's not unreasonable that this may sometimes involve a longer wait.

That's simply a consequence of having a smaller pool of clinicians to choose from.

The fact that some women choose to wait longer for a female gynaecologist doesn't mean male gynaecologists shouldn't be practising, nor does it tell us what the ideal workforce ratio should be.

2 Children - Birth 1 Female Gyne and attending male Oby- follow up care female was brillant especially with a few problems 2nd birth male oby was crap had great midwife. I go private for all follow ups increasing frustration with male gyne but stayed loyal- he had done all pre pregnancy checks tests etc. and he was well qualified and I knew him ,Menopause kicks in and frustration increases- I move to a female and oh boy the difference in attitude, meds, support - I so wish I had done it sooner and not suffered for 4 years with every symptom under the sun !

Empathy through having the same body parts? Seriously? I just want someone who has the medical knowledge to do their job

Painting every man as dangerous and violent and thinking he’s suspect for wanting to treat women/children is ridiculous.

Of course it should be a choice for patients but given the delays in doing this, why shouldn’t men do it?

Not read the whole thread but you are being ridiculous. I've worked with a lot of gynaecologists over the years and the best ones surgically are nearly always men. Sure, request a woman if you want which is absolutely your right, but to say male ones shouldn't exist is absurd

Yabu. I've had male gynaecologists and female ones. My overall experience has been better with the male ones, who have been more gentle than the female ones.

So that is your response to the posters disagreeing with you on this thread? You purport to oppose misogynous men; but how contemptuous and dismissive of the women on here that post is.

And as for the idea that gynaecology is 'a job for a woman' because they supposedly have lived experience of the issues; that is just ridiculous for the reasons explained by posters above. And if we go back to the days when certain professions were closed to people of one gender, that will ultimately hurt women the most (as it always always does).

The first article relates to American medics as far as I can see. The second refers to sexism across the NHS of which I am sure there is plenty and which of course requires rooting out across the board.

As I said I think, unless you can show that women applicants are being turned down from this particular specialty, you may end up funnelling women medics in to a specialty they haven't necessarily chosen but have been allotted based on their sex.

That's not what I'm suggesting, to be clear.

My suggestion is that in a situation where there are (more than) enough trainees, the ratio should be weighted in favour of females.

How very rude! I hate some of the assumptions on this thread: that women who are happy to have a male (or either sex) gynaecologists are some how in thrall to men; that men (who aren't gay) could only be gynaecologists because they want to look at vulvas/vaginas all day (and honestly how stupid - I doubt for the vast majority of men feel that that is the most attractive part of a woman).

We need to stop seeing all men as the enemy. Many, many are at least semi-decent human beings, not animals who would rape or exploit at the merest opportunity. For those who genuinely think that I can only imagine how miserable your lives must be.

Honestly I’ve always found men better at this job. Kinder and gentler compared to the women I’ve had when I’ve had intimate examinations down there.

I do agree that there should be women available however if that’s your personal preference but I’d actually ask for a man based on local experience.

The concept of an "ideal ratio" doesnt follow from the data though and that was my original point. The study measures patient preferences. It doesn't tell us what proportion of gynaecologists should be male or female. If the majority of patients genuinely have no preference, then competence and availability are more important than trying to achieve a particular gender balance and the article I posted above demonstrates how dangerous it would be for to start imposing limits on male gynaecologists. Women's health would be at risk.

Evidence of sexism and harassment in medicine is an important argument for tackling sexism in medicine. Sexism should be tackled in all work places.

It isn't evidence that male gynecologists are unsuitable, nor is it evidence that trainee selection should be based on sex rather than merit.

Also- I am not sure why you arent acknowledging that chaperones are available if a woman prefers that. The male gynaecologist I saw who was lovely always had a female nurse present for all of my examinations. You are talking as if women are being forced into a dark room with some dodgy doctor.

But it doesn’t make sense.

It makes sense to ensure that there are sufficient females to ensure every woman with a preference is able to see one. Behind that what matters is ensuring theat there are enough gynaecologists in total.

Restricting the total to increase the ratio of females means all women having to wait longer for treatment and more women who want a female having to see a male instead because of having too few available overall.

Why can't women complain about longer waits, if they need to see a female gynae? They may have trauma (thanks to male sexual violence), and be unable to tolerate a male gynae.

Are they not allowed to be upset that male-inflicted trauma, and male gynaes, mean that they have to wait longer for treatment?

I don't think this is true. We have far more doctors qualifying than the specialism training places available for them. There would probably be more than enough female applicants.

I often wonder what motivates. a man to become a gynaecologist.

You mean people are disagreeing with you,

It’s 2026

I'm not sure that having a man you don't know come into intimate and invasive contact with your vagina is quite the same as having people know you've bought a pack of tampons 🤔

And what if she was ?
And ..
Some of us don't feel the need to broadcast everything

I'm not talking about instituting policy, I'm just talking about the best ideal ratio. If there's no preference for most and a quarter prefer women, then it just makes sense to have more women.

Although perhaps the sexism and sexual harassment in the medical profession as I noted in another comment, is part of what's discouraging (female) medics.

You don't need to change/control the whole world to fit your own needs. Just ask for a female gynaecologist if that's what you prefer and let everyone else get on with their lives.

I think the OP is the type who is aghast if her sanitary products are not wrapped in a brown paper bag when she purchases, because "everyone will see" 🙄

I actually agree with you. Absolutely no need for a man to be a gynae. The potential for abuse - including abuse of power - is too high.

In my line of work I’ve seen far too many examples
of how perverted and devious all
kinds of men can be. There’s almost nothing a sexual predator will stop at to gain access to vulnerable potential victims. Including studying medicine.

Of course not every sexual health doctor, youth worker, teacher, nursery worker, sports coach, member of the clergy, etc is a predator. But for men that are, those are the professions they are more likely to be drawn to. Positions of trust, power and access to victims.

I’m just far too wary.

I also wouldn’t really get it if a woman dedicated her life’s work to penis and testicle health. But even then the male patients would never be at risk in the same way as female patients might be.

I completely 100% agree op
But it's equal opportunities these days
So yours won't be a popular opinion
Even if we just had a choice of a male or female one ,that would massively help