Have I understood this correctly?

[Shufflebumnessie]

I'm sue to attend my local hospital for an internal ultrasound (transvaginal).
The accompanying information I've recieved states 'If you have a preference of the gender identity of the person responsible for performing the examination please let us know in advance so that we may be able to accommodate your request'.

If they're going by gender identity, does that mean even if I specifically request the examination is performed by a female medical practitioner, I could still end up with a male (who claims to be female)? Or have I misunderstood?

It's not being a "goady fucker" to point out that literally thousands of medical professionals have some kind of mark against them for various things including assault and rape,yet still get to practice medicine.
Just have a quick look at the medical register.
My own dr has a court case coming up soon for alleged assault.

@ManchesterLu is there was 1 woman who this caused distress to what do you propose we do? Do we sacrifice this one woman for the validation of the TW? Two women? Ten women? 100 women? 1000 women?

How many women is it acceptable to feel distressed, uncomfortable or avoid the procedure all together because of this?

In the short term while (collective) we try to sort this shit out I might play them at their own game and say you want a c*sgender woman (I know) or a transman. It’s absolute bollocks and not at all right but it is a solution for you to get the scan you need done by someone female.
After all, a male identifying as female is neither of the above are they?

The adjective “professional” isn’t some magical charm against sexual assault, which, unfortunately, does happen in medical (as well as many other) settings.

I had one of those last year and I was so grateful the sonographer and attending nurse were both female.
I'm generally quite robust was surprised to find that I felt it was an incredibly invasive process with a lot of very deep prodding at awkward angles, with me in odd positions ‐I felt quite vulnerable, despite the clinician saying all the right things, clearly referencing her own lived experience of female anatomy, to help me 'align' with the probe. I can't even imagine what it would have been like had the sonographer been male.

When I grew up in right-on Scandinavia in the 80s, all sexually active women were expected to have annual gynaecological check-ups with a gynaecologist, kind of the same vibe as going for a dental check-up. The age of consent was 15, but one could easily get prescribed oral contraceptives before that age (and be summoned for check-ups from then onwards) no questions asked pertaining to statutory rape, by visiting a gynaecologist, all of whom seemed to be male in my small town. No question of it being more appropriate for young women to be seen by female clinicians. Thinking about that now feels totally grim.

And as professionals trained to understand that the dignity and comfort of the patient is paramount and second only to issues of patient safety.
Any professional who puts their own feelings above those of their patient is in the wrong job.

Indeed. I would be more than happy to have a ‘transman’, I don’t care as long as they are female. And they can’t exactly accuse you of transphobia in that case.

Oh you'd know. A photo can be filtered, carefully posed, whatever, but movement, speech, Adam's apple, hand size, smell, they all give it away in real life when a man tries to disguise his sex.

This.

Interesting responses that highlight that some women would settle for a male clinician for an internal procedure (including me) but would draw the line at one LARPing as a woman. This, I think reinforces how innately unsettling and uncomfortable it all is for many of us, and yet we are meant to just accept it as if it were perfectly natural and normal. Well it bloody well isn’t.

There are two levels for me - I have had male medical pros do intimate stuff and been fine with that but on other days and other circumstances I have requested a woman. If I ask for woman I expect to get a woman, if I don't ask and would be happy for a man to treat me I suppose I would be OK with a TW. But there is the 'uncanny valley' aspect of men who try to present as female that is different to a man who isn't displaying his gender id.

I had a check of my right breast a few years ago. Female staff who were lovely for the ultrasound and mammogram. Then a male consultant who asked me to remove my upper clothes behind a screen and lie down so he could do a physical manipulation. As I disappeared behind the screen he shouted for a nurse to come and chaperone.

I lay there naked from the waist up looking at the ceiling to avoid uncomfortable eye contact. The consultant felt around the breast and armpit and eventually stood up telling me I could get dressed again. That was when I looked away from the ceiling and saw another man at the foot of the treatment bed. The chaperone. I was shocked. I felt violated.

Then I realised that the chaperone was the man the same height as me, 5’ 4” who had escorted me from the waiting room. I hadn’t clocked him as a transman but he could have been. I don’t know. I was preoccupied and it wasn’t significant for being guided to a waiting room. Either way, I was angry and upset and not in a good state to take in what the consultant was telling me.

So while in principle I might have been ok with a biological female as chaperone, I would have wanted to be warned and I doubt that would be acceptable to a trans member of staff.

Thank you that is a useful insight. I agree that a woman would need to be informed that the staff member was female. But I do recognise how that could be an invasion of the privacy of the staff member. However, if a staff member was openly transman-identified I think that would be fine for all parties. If not then she can simply choose not get involved in providing same sex care which would prevent the need to disclose anything.

'If you have a preference of the gender identity of the person responsible for performing the examination please let us know in advance so that we may be able to accommodate your request'.

The wording of this looks like deliberate and cynical attempt to mislead the public.

We know he's not dressing that way for the patient. That's the problem!

"The wording of this looks like deliberate and cynical attempt to mislead the public"

Yes. that is exactly what it is. Sheer contempt for women for whom they are supposed to show care and respect. Who do they think they are? This reminds me of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis person.

It's not a secret that the root of some transwomen's trans identity is autogynephilia. It's bad enough in a normal context being forced to be an unconsenting participant in another person's fetish, but in a medical setting with intimate exams you're getting into sexual assault territory.

Since we can't tell which transwomen are motivated by AGP* then any woman who's not ok with this is entirely within her rights to refuse consent to being used in this way in a medical setting.

It's frankly staggering that anyone would think this was ok.

*I know often it's actually fairly obvious when it's a fetish - generally they don't look like David Beckham in a skirt.

consented to performing in his roleplay.

Thanks for this, @JellySaurus, I couldn't explain to myself why I would actively NOT want a trans person doing intimate examinations or care.

Tbh, I'd be uncomfortable with it in any but the most ordinary social situations, but feel revulsion at the thought of a TW examining my sex organs. That bothered me, so I was having debates with myself. This is it! I'm not a stage prop.

I commented on a thread elsewhere about my recent experience. I had to have a breast ultrasound, it was firstly done by a doctor (female) who was learning the ropes, and then double checked by the consultant (male). I was absolutely fine with this, I was informed and asked for specific consent.

I stand by my previous post, in that vulnerable place someone gaslighting me is the last person I'd want anywhere near me and I would question their motivation. (A decent TW just wouldn't do it)

to be fair, the likliehood of having a trans woman is very low

It doesn't matter how low the likelihood is. One woman being expected to pretend that a trans identified man is the female clinician that she expressed a preference for is one too many.

It probably is very low but look at the anxiety caused to the OP.

Causing female patients who are due to have intimate procedures worry by using ideological language and giving the impression they might not get the female HCP they ask for.

How many women read this information and cancel or just don't turn up? They won't know because they haven't bothered to find out.

The NHS are a disgrace on this and it's cruelty to gaslight women, many of whom will already be anxious or apprehensive about invasive procedures.

Literature for procedures like this should state a woman can ask for a female HCP and the word female should mean just that.

No. Too many male medical personnel have committed sex crimes on female patients and prove your assertion to be false. Safeguards and chaperone protocols exist for this reason.

You could write back asking how they justify discriminating by gender identity. Do they allow patients to specify the preferred race or nationality of their treating staff.

Point out that there is a long and legally well-founded basis for discriminating by sex.

What's the legal foundation for supporting discrimination by gender identity?

If you are feeling extra playful, you could ask how they square this with their commitment to oppose transphobia.

Yeah, I completely agree with this. But, personally, I don't care who does these procedures on me whether female/male/other but I know i'm in the minority for that and fully understand why we as woman would only want a biological female. For me, as long as they are qualified I hope they will do the job professionally. Is there a way to see the numbers of trans woman who are doctors and who work within the gynaecologist area? I think it will be miniscule, if that. Not something for anyone to worry about.

But I must stress, I understand, we all have different preferences and I think it should be okay to voice these preferences.