Why do men become gynaecologists?
In the days when all doctors were men, all gynaecologists obviously were too. A few may have chosen the specialty for dubious motives but, having done a few gynaecology outpatient sessions myself, there's nothing remotely titillating about it. Most male gynaecologists just have a fascination for the subject.
This enthusiasm was first documented by J Marion Sims, a bloke who practised surgery in Alabama in the 19th century and is credited as the founder of modern gynaecology. Of one patient with a fistula (an abnormal connection between vagina and bladder) he wrote: "Introducing the bent handle of a spoon I saw everything as no man had ever seen before. The fistula was as plain as the nose on a man's face." You might query his note-taking but Sims enjoyed his work. He may have liked looking, but with detached objectivity not lust. He invented a speculum, a catheter, several new surgical techniques and kept a straight face when a patient "was embarrassed by an explosive sound of air". A true professional.
There are now far more women in medicine and gynaecology, and you've got a good chance of being treated by a female doctor – more so if you ask. But the sex of a doctor is far less important than the manner.
