To think men should not be allowed to be gynaecologists

It was a female surgeon who did my husband’s vasectomy. Should she be banned also OP.
When I had possible ovarian cancer it was a male gynaecologist/ surgeon who potentially saved my life. He was so compassionate.
You are not being unreasonable in wanting a female gynaecologist if that’s your preference, but you then can’t complain if you have to wait longer.

I'm afraid not. I was young, in my first term at university and wanted to move on as quickly as possible. It was also the 90s when reporting people didn't happen so much.

Afterwards, I did think that it was so obvious that men like this would be attracted to the job so I vowed to myself that I would never have a male gynaecologist again. It is the only way to guarantee that you won't get a creep.

I saw a male gynaecologist 20 years ago for my endometriosis and subsequent laparotomy to remove it and some of my ovary. He was wonderful and I never thought anything of him being male and felt completely comfortable with him.

I think we are more cynical now about men's behaviour and motivations....

Well, I do know that gynaecology has very high rates of sexual harassment, which can't encourage female gynaes to continue in it.

As this article says: "The report found 84% of all respondents said there was sexism in the medical profession, and 61% of women felt they were discouraged to work in a particular specialty because of their gender."

You do know your vagina is just another body part. Your gynaecologist will only be interested in finding out what is wrong and not secretly saving the image for a wank later!!!!

Having had seven hysteroscopies, five without anaesthetic and a hysterectomy, I would say that men are just as sensitive and empathetic. The man who did my hysterectomy was lovely.

You said they should be in the minority - that means deliberate capping or preventing potential good male doctors from entering the field in favour of women so of course that will reduce the pool- how could it not?

The study doesn't support a 60-70% female trainee target. Most women in the study had no preference regarding their gynaecologist's gender. So why should trainee selection be based on sex rather than merit? If the majority of patients don't care, and both male and female gynaecologists can provide excellent care, I'm not seeing any evidence that preferentially selecting trainees by sex would improve outcomes for women.

The NHS isn't drowning in surplus gynaecologists and wondering how to fine tune the gender balance. It's struggling to recruit and retain enough staff across multiple specialties. In that environment, turning away or disadvantaging capable applicants because they're male seems like an utterly bizarre and frankly, dangerous priority when patients are facing waiting lists, delayed diagnoses and overstretched services.

Evidence here: https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/gynaecology-waiting-lists-rise-despite-overall-nhs-backlog-falling-warns-rcog/?

They typically chose obstetrics and gynaecology because they get a mix of medical and surgical work. That’s pretty much it.

Whilst I do sympathise, OP; can I just say, I got nowhere with any female gyne. It wasn’t until I saw a male that any of my issues were taken seriously and I eventually was listened to.

Do you know that more women doctors want to move in to obstetrics & gynaecology and can’t?

otherwise you may end up funnelling women in to a speciality they don’t actually want to do.

All I care about is that medical professionals are competent and have a good bedside manner. And I would want a chaperone whether male or female.

One of the best ultrasounds I ever had was a lovely man, who was very gentle and had an excellent bedside manner. I have to say I’ve had mixed experiences with medical staff and their sex hasn’t come into it.

When I was giving birth I had an awful midwife who told me to stop being a wuss and I didn’t need an epidural. When the male Dr came into the room I said in desperation to him please can I have an epidural while this midwife roller her eyes and he sorted it for me. Honestly the epidural was amazing and enabled me to relax enough to give birth without any further intervention. Once I had given birth the female midwife started having a go at me. She has to be the absolute worst medical professional I’ve ever encountered. My experience with that woman doesn’t put me off women, I also had some lovely female midwives she was just a bad egg.

There are a lot of male gps too that you have to get through before seeing a specialist, should only women gps see women patients with gynae problems?

It’s always very tempting to want someone for an advisory consulting job, almost of any kind, who somehow has lived or direct experience. So I get why you’re tempted to think that someone who is looking at vaginas needs to have one themselves. Indeed, the one man I know who became a gynaecologist was an absolute knob end at school and couldn’t hold a conversation with a girl. God knows what he’s like but he’s advanced in his profession

With any endeavour personal experience can both be useful or it can serve to close peoples minds. And not having that direct experience can result in a fresh, objective, and more open-minded perspective. By way, of example I never had PMT so I’m really unsympathetic to my daughters complaining about PMT.

There are plenty of dismissive, unempathetic, not very good female gynaecologists. There are clearly some amazing ones too who are using their own experiences and their platform to highlight things like endometriosis and issues with menopause.

With any medical professional, and particularly around gynaecology, you often need to fight to be heard. Choose your gynaecologist based on their reputation and how they make you feel, not whether they’re male or female.

Weird and childish take and the comparison is moot- Women generally aren’t worried about sexual violence from lesbians, but they do worry about being attacked by strange men. In the context of gyne examinations and treatment, preferring a female practitioner is not about worries around sexual interest or attraction it’s about wider knowledge of how some men discuss female body parts, treat women in general and dismiss their concerns. That inability to have empathy through having similar body parts, for me, augments concerns about dismissal of women’s experiences and how seriously some males take reports of symptoms and treatment reactions.

Actually , whilst I completely get the nervousness around men as I share that, all the male gynaecologists I have interacted with have been gentler, kinder, and more empathetic than any of the female ones. I know that is just anecdotal, but the men have been far more sensitive, respectful and considerate to my embarrassment/awkwardness when doing internal exams (with a female companion at my request) than any of the women.

Not at all.

I'm not suggesting we ban or remove men at the expense of the number of gynaecologists available. I'm suggesting that as we go forward, we should prioritise female trainees over male, at a ratio of perhaps 60 - 70%, if possible.

I think this is a silly suggestion.

I have had gynae issues since I was a teenager such as endometriosis and adenomyosis and I have been looked after by many gynae consultants over the years.

The best one was a man who finally did my partial hysterectomy when I was 45 and was nothing but kind and supportive and got me my life back after years of misdiagnosis, anaemia and my chronic pain being dismissed.

I also came across unsympathetic and dismissive female gynae consultants so frankly gender has nothing to do with receiving good care.

Male gynaecologists will also ask for a female nurse to be present if they need to conduct intimate examinations.

You can always choose to go private if you only want to deal with women and select your consultant.

I do agree. I had to have a biopsy and later a lletz procedure, all done by a male gyno, when I was 25. He was a very cold man, who assured me it was not painful, when I fainted from the pain and blood loss. It was the worst procedure I have ever had and I feel he had no idea.

luckily during the biopsy I had the most wonderful female nurse, who literally held me and stroked my head as she knew how awful the experience was.

i will always ask for a female doctor going forward. I do not understand why men want to specialise in this.

12 pages on, and the OP hasn't come back.

Yes, absolutely.

This gynaecologist will be allowed to continue to practice if he wishes: A Melbourne gynaecologist who told a patient her vagina was “nice” and looked “just like an Australian one” will not have his registration cancelled.

And I linked this one about inappropriate comments up thread.

Interestingly, this study from 2025 found that male OBGYNs get more complaints than females, with 9% of females having ethics complaints (what sexual misconduct would come under, along with other issues) vs 23% of males.

Did you report this gynaecologist? You should have done.

You sound like a wife from Gilead.

No men near our precious fertile handmaids

I don't think it's realistic to ban male gynaecologists obviously, however I don't think OP is unreasonable to feel this way. Men commit sexual crimes every day, what about that surgeon who had a fetish for amputation that led to him to giving himself a disease that would mean he'd need his legs chopped off.

i'm sure most male gynaecologists are good men, however the basis of probability means there are undoubtably some freaks in the mix.

The on call female gyna nearly killed me and my daughter during labour, my normal gyna (seen for years male) was at my bedside as soon as on shift checking I was ok.

I know which one I would have preferred in that moment!

That being said I couldn’t give 2 hoots as long as it stops the pain I’ve suffered for 25 years!

Yabu
They are interested in medical matters and getting a diagnosis right. And their expertise in doing so.
What I want is competence and skill. If that means a man, fine.
I would expect a qualified doctor who is a woman to be able to treat a man.