WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for January, 2001: Re: The Whole Male/Female Dr. Thing, Esp to Dr. Hill

Re: The Whole Male/Female Dr. Thing, Esp to Dr. Hill

From: Kelly Shanahan, MD (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sun, 28 Jan 2001 17:07:58 -0600 (CST)

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Oh, PUL-EEEZE. And I suppose by that same reasoning gay women should not be gynecologists? And whites shouldn't be involved in the civil rights movement? And those of us of Irish Catholic ancestry shouldn't be concerned about all those poor Indian Muslims who died and were injured in the earthquake?

What is between one's legs does not determine one's competence or one's qualifications for being anything -- not a gynecologist, not a mechanic, not a teacher. What is in one's heart, mind and soul should be the only factors. Obstetrics and gynecology are unique fields in medicine, ones in which we get to combine both medicine and surgery, and, in hte case of ob, one in which we have the unequaled privalege of helping bring a new life into this world. That is a joy I for one do not think men should be excluded from.

I am a woman. I have had a baby, but before I did, was I unqualified to counsel my pregnant patients, just because I had never before experienced carrying a baby of my own? I have never had cancer. Does that mean I shouldn't care for women who do? Maybe I should just limit my practice to 40 year old white women who have had miscarriages? Better not see those women with endometriosis, fibroids, STDs, abnormal pap smears or PMS, because I've never expereinced those either.

You are entitled to your opinion, and you can choose who you seek for medical care (and legal services, car maintainance, accounting, and housecleaning). But if you characterize all men as being wacko perverts because they happen to enjoy the challenges and joys of being an ob/gyn, you are no different than the people who gassed the Jews in Germany, or sold Blacks as property in this country, based only on the god they worship or the color of their skin -- or their gender.

At Sun, 28 Jan 2001, anonymous@obgyn.net wrote: >
>Obviously, being a female attorney does not entail staring at a
>spreadeagled man's genitalia for a living. I think there is something
>fundamentally wrong with a man who chooses this branch of medicine. Why
>gynecology? There are thousands of specialties and they will choose
>gynecology because it satisfies some sort of perversion to be sure. How
>can a man possibly identify, empathize or know anything about the
>mechanics of a woman's body? No, I would never let a male gyno stare at
>my cunt and get his ya yas off, which is why they get into this
>profession fundamentally. K
>>
>>I know I am about to state the obvious, but please let's put a stop to
>>generalizing about any person's competence in ANY area based upon that
>>person's gender. Reverse discrimination against male gynecologists is
>>no more fair than discrimination against female attorneys.
>>
>>That being said, everyone is entitled to their opinion and if your
>>opinion is that you would never see a male gynecologist, that is fine.
>>But you should know that you are being unfairly discriminatory and are
>>perhaps missing out on some of the best doctors. But fine. Go to
>>whatever doctor you want. Your own personal comfort is important.
>>However, as entitled as you are to your opinion, you are not justified
>>in generalizing to all other people and assuming that we all should feel
>>the same way. You should recognize that this is a very personal issue.
>>
>>Dr. Hill, we all do not feel "that" way about male gynecologists. I
>>have been seen by the same male gynecologist for 11 years, and I have no
>>complaints. Recently, a female gyn joined the practice and she is fine
>>too (I see her occasionally for OB appointments). Any one of the male
>>doctors and the female doc are more than welcome to deliver my baby.
>>
>>Personally, I look for expertise and bedside manner in an OB-GYN, and
>>that doesn't exist in only one gender.

--
M. Kelly Shanahan, MD
S. Lake Tahoe, CA

***all posts are archived and can be retrieved; keep this in mind when posting items of a personal nature.
***this is for educational purposes only and does not construe a doctor-patient relationship. You should always consult your own health care provider.
****private e-mails will not be answered! Please respect my (and all the other docs on the Forum) personal time.

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