Who does your smear tests? Man or woman?

[Ikeasucks]

In my 50’s and had a recent very painful smear test. I’ve always had a female do them, i just prefer it but it’s always been just the norm in my experience. Just wondered about others as I’m following a thread on twitter where lots of posters are pouring scorn on women wanting or expecting another woman to do it, saying they don’t care or have had males doing it. Some might be from other countries of course where it’s more normal to have men doing it.

Thinking about it if more folk, than not, prefer a female to do their smear test and others don’t mind either way - it probably helps and saves time, resources, money- if a practice nurse is female.

Of course it does. My GP has smear surgeries, for example, where the nurses does one after the other, makes it super efficient and the nurse is expert.

That pp is trying to seriously guilt women into feeling bad for having a preference. She can fuck off and be uber-cool elsewhere, and let women maintain bodily autonomy.

@StarlightLady

No, I wouldn't be bothered if the lady was a lesbian. For two reasons:

1. The vast majority of offences committed in that situation are committed by men.
2. I want the procedure done by someone of the same sex as me, I'm not worried about who they're attracted to.

I'll be polite.
No I wouldn't mind if the professional female HCP was gay because it has no bearing on this at all.
Please stop conflating privacy/dignity with sexual attraction.
It might be worth remembering that acts of sexual violence - assault, rape, etc are acts of violence. Plain and simple. But one of the consequences of having been a victim of this may be an understandable reluctance to feel vulnerable around a man and prefer to have an intimate physical examination carried out by a woman.
If I had been assaulted (which I have, more than once unfortunately, once by a doctor when I was a teenager) I may not wish to disclose that or discuss it again with some random person as I book a health screening.
Maybe this hasn't occurred to everyone who is ok with being examined by any appropriately qualified person, but in these situations, I think a little more sensitivity and empathy for others wouldn't go amiss..

You have the right to request a female practitioner but the NHS advice is to check with your Practice that this is possible eg do they have Female staff. If you only want to see a female you may have to wait longer than if you are willing to see a male practitioner. The only thing I would want is a female nurse doing my smear because I know they will be good at them having done many. I'm not fussed about male Gynecologists and have had many in my time. I think this is a right but not a legal right.

Maybe im wording these posts clumsily but I'm not against choice I'm against wasting precious resources and I am for equality and diversity too if a man is trained and paid to do a job then he should be able to do it.

Requesting a specific HCP for an intimate procedure is not wasting resources.

“..but you're not particularly vulnerable during these types of procedures just because they are initimate in nature.”

Being naked in a room with a stranger outing a speculum up my vagina and does render Me personally very vulnerable.

If I didn’t have the option of a female HCP I wouldn’t go, or I’d go private.

Ok so I'm completely wrong it does seem to be a major issue for a lot of women I'm genuinely quite surprised, i know plenty of people in RL who hate the procedure but no one has ever commented on the sex of the HCP maybe they've only seen women so its never come up. This thread has changed my view somewhat. Apologies for the offence caused it was not my intention as previously mentioned with the exception of those who have suffered trauma i was struggling to understand why it was an issue.
To the pp who commented on my ivf possibly being seen as a waste of resources its very true at this moment in time it probably is, i know from experience that its an expensive drain on the NHS and success rates are quite low both of my rounds were unsuccessful and lots of trusts either don't provide it anymore or only offer 1 round in an unfair postcode lottery by my own earlier definition its more a want than a need but it certainly feels like a need to those of us who need the help. I suppose we're all human, to some degree our views match what suits us and our needs and our experiences.

Wiaa I'm glad you can see there are other perspectives. That's all that's needed.

I've always had a woman.
I'm not sure I'd ask to change if I had a man do it, I would definitely feel uncomfortable though.

I wouldn't mind a lesbian doing it, I guess I wouldn't know she was anyway

I don't know why really, it's just the way I feel. Just much more comfortable with a woman doing it.

@Beamur thank you, I didn't realise the way I thought was so contentious and offensive but I'm certainly not blind to others needs or so stuck in my view that I can't accept when I'm wrong

Wiaa that's rarely seen on mn, in life tbh! 💐

But Wiaa equality doesn't matter a fig if we're talking about ladies and girls who may have been assaulted. Not every victim reports/tells - the only other person who knows about mine 20+ years ago is my attacker - and I should never have to disclose this.

I'm not saying I would never agree to a male but I want the choice whenever it's available and I will fight for the rights of women like me who absolutely cannot have intimate care provided by a man.

I'm sure any male HCP would understand this point of view. It's nothing to do with equality it's all about trauma that can last a lifetime.

And breastfeeding is very different to a hands on medical procedure.

at how many posters couldn't care less about having a female but don't acknowledge where others needs are coming from (tbf Wiaa your posts do at least start to do this)

Wiaa I've now RTFT ... yes, thanks for being open to how the experience another woman has can really affect how something so small can be a problem.

I think this needs to be acknowledged more as do many young women put their smear off as it is even before you factor in those who may have been assaulted.

Life lessons can be learnt at any time a simple thread has opened my mind and changed my view i don't mind admitting that I was thinking/writing even omg what is wrong with you people at the start but I did take the time to read the responses and it took a while for me to see where people were coming from but a pp was right you shouldn't have to quantify why you want a female. I wasn't seeing the bigger picture from my limited viewpoint. Hopefully others have also rtft and learnt something. More often than not I'm on the same page as most MNers ltb, equal shared parental responsibility, equal finances ect.

@StarlightLady would be perfectly happy with a lesbian dr. Would still choose a lesbian dr than a male doctor who was gay or asexual. I’m choosing the sex of the dr, not their sexuality.

Female for smears, I have had a male gyno though which I paid for privately when getting diagnosed with vulvodynia, after being passed from nhs gyno to dermatology who both fobbed me off and I was in so much pain I couldn't care less who looked up there as long as they'd actually give a shit and help me. Which he did. Always had a female chaperone though, and DH there as I couldn't drive then.

However that was my choice and I firmly believe that women should have the right to request who they want.

I've got my first smear booked for Tuesday. I did ask for a woman but the receptionist said they only have female 'sisters' preform the smear.

I'm very nervous I have to admit

Female

Hi easy. You're going to be fine. It isn't really the nicest thing but hopefully you'll have a lady that is good at what she does.

Go for cake or whatever your poison is, afterwards

As someone said, it can be hard enough encouraging women to go for smear tests, perhaps especially younger women who haven’t had to put up with being prodded and poked the way older women generally are. Anything to make it easier and more comfortable is better surely. Men generally just don’t have to deal with the more invasive, often painful/uncomfortable medical checks and proceedures being female does.

I've always had a female nurse/health practitioner to do my smear - haven't asked, it's just the way it's always been.

I have had gynae/breast appointments with my (male) GP and it doesn't worry me to be honest. He always asks if I need a chaperone and I always decline - he's a health professional and I feel very comfortable with him. However, if in any way I didn't feel comfortable with a male GP I would always ask for chaperone or take DH for moral support.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz Thank you! I've given birth to 2 children so I really shouldn't be nervous! I've put it off since June when I turned 25 though so I think each month that has passed I've just become more and more chicken!

Lesbian doctor/nurse = couldn't care less and it's completely irrelevant.

Gay or male bi/asexual/heterosexual dr/nurse = nope, because they're a man.

Sexual assault is not about sex or attraction, it's about power and control and violence.

It's maybe worth noting that medics have a lot of power and when someone goes for a smear, they're required to submit to the power of the person carrying it out. It's unnoticeable for many, although not to those who've undergone abuse, even abuse that isn't sexual, but the power dynamic changes when a woman is required to submit to the male medic. Her active consent is absolutely crucial.

Wiaa thanks for reading the thread and considering the opinions and experiences. I've also had my mind changed about things due to MN threads in the past.

I had a woman for my first smear last year but I've had males do internal checks on me for scans and miscarriages and doesn't bother me at all.

Although I had an appointment with a male gynae yesterday and the nurse stayed in the room the whole time which I wasn't keen on. She was sort of hovering in the corner while we were going through what had happened since the last visit and what the plan was. I did have an examination but usually he goes and gets the nurse at that point she's not in the room the whole time.