I'm going to chime in here with a decidedly non-medical, anecdotal, but experienced perspective on the issue. Some background first: I'm 29 years old with four children (including a twin birth in there). I've experienced eclampsia, gestational diabetes, twin-twin-transfusion syndrome, pre-mature birth, and a myriad of more minor obstetric "issues".
As a patient my experience has been mostly positive. I think this is in major part because I carefully chose my medical professionals. I have no overriding preference for a male ob/gyn however I've ended up choosing a male physician for each of my three pregnancies. I found all of my male physicians to be kind, gentle, responsive to my physical and mental state, professionally competent (to say the least), and generally pleasant medical doctors in both bedside manner and medical prowess.
In comparison I have had pelvic exams performed by female physicians (family practitioners) and didn't have any psychological or physical problem with that situation either.
The only remarkable negative experience I can relate that seems to be a difference in gender among medical professionals is that *some* of the female nurses I've encountered in obstetrics are decidedly unpleasant people in that they would not "believe" my descriptions of my physical state, my discomforts, or various other l/d issues. Perhaps that is more of a nursing issue than a gender issue? I suspect it is not, however, as I have found that in the non-medical world men seem to be more compassionate regarding women in pain or in need. (Perhaps it is a chivalry thing?) Anyway, my experiences have resulted in a leeriness towards female nurses in obstetrics for what it's worth.
As an aside and completely heresay: My husband's least favorite rotation during medical school was ob/gyn. Why? Because the female residents and attendings that dominated the county hospital were quite a group of vipers. There were ridiculous and nitpicky ways this group of females would attempt to belittle the male medical students. This was such a wide-spread phenomenon at that medical school (whose hospital btw consistantly delivers the most births in the nation) that my husband's graduating class included several skits in their class film on the subject of the inane heirarchal practices in ob/gyn. I wonder if the members of that department realize their derogatory reputation among the members of their own affiliated medical school?
Needless to say I am not aware of very many men in my husband's graduating class that stuck with the decision to go into ob/gyn. I do know of a number of these men leaning towards ob/gyn that chose the fp route instead.
Another facet of my point of view that might be of interest: My husband did not find pelvic or breast exams arousing in the slightest. We actually had several conversations on the subject in the last few years (from the ob/gyn exam issues to having to remove clothing from er patients to doing various sonography and such as a radiologist). He sees it very clinically and unemotionally. From my personal experiences with his friends in medical school and residency and my own physicians I do not doubt his professional manner towards these exams is the norm among male physicians.
I am sure that a few "sickos" might manage to slip into the ob/gyn specialty and harm some patients before they are caught and stripped of their licenses. However, I am equally sure that some "sickos" of a pedophilic persuasion manage to get into pediatrics. This doesn't mean I'm going to stop taking my children to pediatricians or avoid male ones (since a number of pedophiles are, in fact, women). It simply means I vigilantly screen our choices for physicians AND I educate myself on medical issues (something a certain troll on this thread has apparently NOT done).
My opinion (and, not a humble one either).
