Yes I have considered that maybe there was a cancellation on this occasion but it certainly isn't the first time something like this has happened. The dentist, the garage, the painter........you name it. I sat beside my father when he rang up and he is assertive and confident, has a deep and rather patronising tone and speaks very well (RP) so I think maybe it isn't just women that capitulate, maybe he just gets better service because he is male. Thing is I'm well spoken, assertive and confident but I am not when I feel ill,I'm rather a pathetic heap when I am ill, which leads me to think that vulnerability acts as a beacon to those who would like more power over others.
I read years ago about some research into the standard of care in nursing homes. The researchers found that poor care often resulted from the demoralisation of the staff. If the staff were poorly trained, not supported, on low pay, working long hours in a dangerous and risky environment with few staff, the staff were more likely to abuse patients. Staff were not responsible for the culture of abuse but they perpetuated this culture for two reasons, seeking management approval (ie, how quickly can you feed/change/bath/meds people and how efficiently they worked) and empowering themselves through the more vulnerable position of their patients. They sought to demoralise those they looked after because they needed to perform their duties efficiently without disruption or antagonism from people capable of advocating for themselves.
This is what leads me to think that in some cases, the demoralised, the weak and the oppressed are indeed capable of exacting a sort of revenge driven by misplaced loyalty and anger on to others more vulnerable than themselves.
Midwifery has campaigned for years to be seen and accepted as something more than just some form of "quackery" the medical profession is deeply hierarchical and patriarchal and midwifery is seen as women making child birth a women's business and not a medical emergency. It has challenged the idea that child birth is the business of doctors, usually male and always better paid. So it would seem that working in an environment that is high risk, poorly staffed, stressful and indeed has to constantly reafirm it's place in the medical professions pecking order may actually give rise to a culture where some try to oppress others more vulnerable, just as in the example of nursing homes. I would also add that male obs are always happy to step in when called for help because they are perceived as "saving the day" this reaffirms Obstetricians as the real experts.
I have seen some excellent women doctors but on the whole I find men react more positively to vulnerability. So maybe men are socialised to both pray on the weaker but also to protect. A sort of super hero complex! I have on the whole been very happy with the standard of care received from male doctors but Midwives and nurses and younger women doctors.....well lets just say I now feel I might prefer to not have any treatment because of my experiences.