So today is National Women's Day or World Women's Day, something like that. Im assuming March 8th has always been Women's Day, but it's actually getting attention this year because there have been so many confusingly anti-women scenarios playing out in current events lately.
Anyway, I thought I'd pay tribute by posting a story with sort of a weird/gross/mortifying spin.
My school offers what basically amounts to a comprehensive medical education. Obviously you aren't going to go to a chiropractor if you are needing large amounts of bloodwork done or need your prostate examined, but we learn to do it because its important to know how these things work, if for no other reasons that to be able to speak to patients and other medical professionals about other aspects of healthcare without sounding like an idiot.
Anyway, later in the program we are all going to have to learn to do a gynecological pelvic exam and a male genitourinary/prostate exam.
I am not excited about this at all--on the contrary the very idea make me sort of seize up with fear. However--we are doing the exams on hired models. Students who went to my school 20+ years ago had to practice these exams--wait for it--ON. EACH. OTHER.
So that alone sends chills up and down my spine. But it gets worse.
In the days when this was common practice, the male to female ratio was around 80:20. Each student had to perform a male and female exam. So if you do the math this means that only 25% of the men total had to be examined by a woman, while 100% of the women had to be examined by a different male classmate FOUR FUCKING TIMES. And you know how nasty guys are. Holy. Shit.
So anyway, the moral is that those ladies back then were some kind of teflon-coated brave that I can't really begin to conceive of. Bully for them.
Oh hey look, a picture of an old-timey lady doctor (pretty sure this was just concept art back then though, sorryz)!
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