Heard something kind of disturbing today

[FSUMED]

Ok, so friend of mine, who happens to be gay interviewed at a school the other day(I forget where because he has gone on like 4 interviews in a month) was telling me that he was talking to some of the med students. They somehow got on the subject of gay doctors. He wants to do family practice, but I gather that from some of the things some other med students told him, gay and lesbian family practitioners are very uncommon. Evendently, many of them have trouble building a practice if it gets out that they are gay. I had to wonder, in this day in age, are there still that many closed minded and ignorant people out there that would refuse to see a gay or lesbian doctor, or for that matter take their kids to one. I myself worked with a gay doctor a couple summers ago. He didn't seem to have any trouble getting patients. And he had a very good way with patients. I think I would have gone to him or taken my kid to him any day. Just curious about you guys' thoughts on the matter.

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[jimjones]

I'll think you'll do fine. It should be better (hopefully) in 10 years or so anyway, and it shouldn't be a problem for you especially if you go to an urban area

 

[senioritisplease]

jim,
i just wanted to point something out: i think it's funny that you read that email and then sat to write a response and wrote it as if the original poster wrote it about him(her?)self. I don't know if the poster will come back and say he wasn't talking about himself because there's that whole issue with "is he saying it's not him because he would have a problem with people thinking/knowing he's gay"? Just thought i'd drop a work about it.

 

[Trek]

Just ignorant people and stupid med students. No biggie. Perhaps we know so much in these times that we forgot about common sense? Who knows- either way, i don't associate with bigots of any fashion. --Trek

 

[gel1]

Check out <a href="http://www.glma.org" target="_blank">www.glma.org</a> for more information. There are plenty of gay and lesbian doctors, people that are supportive of them, and also people that specifically seek them out because they prefer to be treated by gay- or lesbian-friendly doctors.

 

[bald]

i work in a psych lab that does work on stereotyping and prejudice; if anyone here thinks our society (especially the public at large) doesn't harbor ill will towards certain people who have made some lifestlye choices, you're in for a rude awakening upon leaving student life and entering the 'real world.' i dont support this prejudice, but to think that it doesn't exist, or that only 'stupid, ignorant people' harbor these feelings, is just as ignorant.

 

[BUmiken12]

to be honest, yes, I would be hesitant to have a gay doctor examine me or my child (if I had one). I'm not saying I would never have one, but I can't say that I'd be totally comfortable with a gay doctor. I don't consider myself a biggot, you may, but I don't. My ex-boss was a lesbian and I had no qualms with her (in fact I'm still friends with her), but other then that, I've had no known conversations with gay people. But to answer your question, yes there still are those in the world not totally comfortable with homosexuality especially when it comes to gays in a profession where touching and examining are routine.

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

A few years ago we thought being gay was a lifestyle choice, but now we have evidence to the contrary. In fact, there has been significant evidence to the contrary since WWII. People are born homosexual because of an aberration in the fetal development process at around either 15 or 26 weeks (can't remember, been a few months since I read the research). Some researchers' findings also suggested brain abnornalities in truly homosexual people (as opposed to perverts who want to get attention by "coming out" and making their sex lives known to the rest of us) exist in the form of female structure in the male brain and vice versa. They claim that periods of extreme stress during this particular gestational period causes blockage of the male or female hormones necessary for maleness or femaleness in sexual preference by the stress response. They claim to be able to reproduce this effect consistently. So my friends, truly gay people can't really help it and it is not simply a lifestyle choice for them. Some suggest that it is a disability and that they should collect a check like alcoholics (It is also viewed as a disease now, rather than a choice). Oh and BTW, people are not ignorant or closed minded because they harbor some prejudices against people who are different than themselves FSUMED. I have many prejudices as I suspect you do too (evidenced by the fact that you seem intolerant of people who think differently than you do about your gay issues).

 

[dustinspeer]

I think it is curious how gay and lesbian people prefer to say that their sexuality arised from a birth defect rather than it being their own choice. Are they feeling guilty?

 

[kutastha]

I could care less. a gay doc had the same education as a straight doc. where's the difference?

Andrew

 

[Zack90]

I can't agree more with Andrew's response.... But, back to the initial question - I think it will depend somewhat on where he decides to practice family medicine (urban vs. rural), as well as his appraoch to being gay (announcing to the world he's gay everyday vs. just being comfortable with who he is and what he does without fanfare)

 

[GATORade]

Originally posted by BUmiken12:
•to be honest, yes, I would be hesitant to have a gay doctor examine me or my child (if I had one). I'm not saying I would never have one, but I can't say that I'd be totally comfortable with a gay doctor.•••

Hmm? Just out of curiosity, would you feel uncomfortable allowing a straight female doctor to examine your child? As if a gay males or females have uncontrollable sexual desires or something? Just a thought.

 

[quaileggs]

I have three children and I would not care if their doctor was gay. I am not raising bigots.
Plus why would the subject of the doctor being gay come up in an office visit? My doctors are not in the habit of discussing their personal life and sexuality with me and I hope would not do it around my children! And not every gay person is easily identifiable. Could all of us hear classify with certainty all the doctors/teachers whatever we've ever had as "straight/gay"? OK, maybe if a gay doctor is festooning his whole office with rainbow flags and is really "Out and Proud" then he is running the risk of scaring off straight people and having a practice which draws primarily gay and like-minded others, but that would be a choice both sides are making. Professionalism is professionalism. We are all getting the same education. But bigotry is out there, make no mistake. I have a good "Christian" friend and she would be damned before she let anyone gay get near her precious children.

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

dustinspeer I think it is curious how gay and lesbian people prefer to say that their sexuality arised from a birth defect rather than it being their own choice. Are they feeling guilty? ••


If you re-read the previous post, you would be enlightened, but hey, don't take my word for it. Go to the academic literature and look it up for yourself. Like Zacka nd Qualieggs said, it really makes no difference unless they choose to show it. But it is not their choice to feel tat way. In fact my wife works with a gay dude that is constantly saying how he hates being gay and wishes he weren't.

Oh and BTW dustin, do you feel guilty fo who you are? That's a ******ed thing to say.

 

[alice]

personally, i think it's kind of gross to think about your doctor's sexuality. i would hope that my male gynecologist is not thinking of his patients in a sexual way. why is having a gay doctor any different than having a straight doctor? there should be NOTHING sexual at all about a patient visit. gross.

 

[lilninja]

Why should it matter whether or not your physician was gay? For me, I think seeing a doctor of the opposite sex can be a little uncomfortable, depending on the purpose of the visit - and I think this is because I feel a same sex doctor "understands" my body a bit better. And I think other people feel the same, since there are fewer men going into ob/gyn these days and also relatively few female urologists. For medical help, they should all be able able to provide you with what you need (after all, we aren't talking about qualifications here). I'd go to a gay doctor - I think sometimes people have this strange notion that gay people are instantly attracted to people of the same sex. I have a good friend who is lesbian, and when other people meet her, they always ask me later, "so do you ever feel uncomfortable?" It's silly to assume that she would be attracted to me any more than a male friend would be.

 

[penelope]

GATORaid and others, you uncover the crux of the matter.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by dustinspeer:
•I think it is curious how gay and lesbian people prefer to say that their sexuality arised from a birth defect rather than it being their own choice. Are they feeling guilty?•••

Oh I see, so I guess people who are blind and deaf should also feel guilty because of their birth defects? what a silly comment to make...

even if gays or lesbians suffered from guilt, it is because of those religious sociopaths....ever heard of excorcism? it was a practice by the church to remove the devil from a person's body by tormenting the poor soul and going through all kinds of rituals and constantly told it was a "sin"...that they shouldn't practice witchcraft, and all their hallucinations and problems were because of their wrongful ways....

ok a century later, we udnerstand that those "evil doers" were actually suffering from schizophrenia..and the treatment of choice is antipscyhotic medicaiton, not holy water and asking "God to forgive you for your sins"....what silly nonsense.....

 

[praying4MD]

Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•Oh I see, so I guess people who are blind and deaf should also feel guilty because of their birth defects? what a silly comment to make... ••• I don't understand why people always compare homosexuality with birth defects and abnormalities (both physical & mental.) This insinuates that homosexuality is deviant behavior, which, as we all should know by now it is not. It is not wrong, it is not bad; it is different from the so-called "norm." Overly religious people, AKA fanatics, are also different from the "norm" (at least in my eyes,) but I don't see anyone comparing that to birth defects and abnormalities.

 

[md2be06]

Originally posted by praying4MD:
• I don't understand why people always compare homosexuality with birth defects and abnormalities (both physical & mental.) This insinuates that homosexuality is deviant behavior, which, as we all should know by now it is not. It is not wrong, it is not bad; it is different from the so-called "norm." Overly religious people, AKA fanatics, are also different from the "norm" (at least in my eyes,) but I don't see anyone comparing that to birth defects and abnormalities.•••


Actually, I never paid much attention to the comparisons between homosexuality and birth defects. I could care less what personal preferences people have or lifestyle choices they make. It's none of my business. However, you have to recognize that certain religions explicitly forbid homosexuality. There is absolutely no getting around that. It's not just a matter of being different than a social norm if various religions denounce it as immoral. Hence, numerous people do believe it is "wrong" and it is "bad." As with everything in life, you gotta look at where people are coming from and why they think the way they do.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by md2be06:
•


Actually, I never paid mcuh attention to the comparisons between homosexuality and birth defects. I could care less what personal preferences people have or lifestyle choices they make. It's none of my business. However, you have to recognize that certain religions explicitly forbid homosexuality. There is absolutely no getting around that. It's not just a matter of being different than a social norm if various religions denounce it as immoral. Hence, numerous people do believe it is "wrong" and it is "bad." As with everything in life, you gotta look at where people are coming from and why they think the way they do.•••


certain religions also forbid adultery...I don't see people in an uproar on this issue....people only like arguing issues that don't concern them....they never judge their own lives...it's always the person on the other side of the fence that is leading the "sinful" life...whatever

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

Au contraire, praying4md, the research does indicate that it is a result of inhibited fetal development. It is nonsense to say that the NORMAL biological intent of the species is to waste sexual energy on unfruitful (no offspring) homosexual activity.

P.S. I don't have a problem with gay doctors or gay people in general, because I recognize that their condition is beyond their control. Well, even if it weren't I still wouldn't have problem with them. I subscribe to the live and let live ideology, but this hogwash about homosexuality being normal development, just different, makes no more sense than saying schizophrenic people are normal, they just have their own way. That's that same touchy feely liberal B.S. that makes NORMAL people shudder.

Hehehe this is fun..What was the original question again? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

[md2be06]

Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•


certain religions also forbid adultery...I don't see people in an uproar on this issue....people only like arguing issues that don't concern them....they never judge their own lives...it's always the person on the other side of the fence that is leading the "sinful" life...whatever •••


You're right. Various religions do forbid adultery, and the punishment described for them is indeed very severe. I also agree that people are quick to judge on issues that don't concern them, and tend to shy away from those that they have personal experience with. That's just inherent human nature, not much you can do to change that Watcha.

 

[FSUMED]

OK, first of all, I am going to ignore the issue of my own sexuality as I stated clearly in the original post what the situation was...if jimjones or whoever doesnt believe it oh well. But the fact is it shouldnt really matter, as the orignal purpose of the post was to pose the question of whether people in general would feel uncomfortable with a gay or lesbian doc. I DID NOT mean to dis on anyone who may be uncomfortable with this, and it was probably not nice of me to refer to them as stupid and ignorant, but whats done is done. I guess I feel like people shouldnt feel any different about a gay doc than they would a straight one. I guess it goes back to he old time prejudice against gay people that they cant control their feelings. IMHO, growing up in a place where ignorance and prejudice just a normal part of everyday life, one of the things I came to realize is that the widespread misconception of gays and lesbians is that they are "sexual beings" and not "human beings". My sister is a lesbian and I hate they thought that anyone would ever believe that she was deviant in any way, and would be afraid to be around her or to have their kids around her. But that is what happened, and that is why she is not longer working for a school system. It is sad that ignorance, would keep somebody from seeing a really qualified doctor, or learning from an excellent teacher, and making a wonderful friend. We all have a lot to learn in a short time on this earth, and I can only hope that I can die with the knowledge that I treated everybody with dignity and compassion.

 

[praying4MD]

Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•people only like arguing issues that don't concern them....they never judge their own lives...it's always the person on the other side of the fence that is leading the "sinful" life. ••• EXACTLY. Interestingly, many of the actual religions preach that the supreme judge is God, therefore, no human should transgress their boundaries of mortality and judge others because in the end, only God knows who is correct; however, once again, the followers do not even follow their own teachings.

Slingblade: To be perfectly honest, I'm not familiar with the research, so I can't argue with you intelligently on this matter. My only point was that it is very annoying when people speak of homosexuality as deviant and abhorrently abnormal, when in many ways, the people that speak in those terms are severely "abnormal" themselves. Speaking of homosexuality in those terms brings an air of disgusting condescension to the discussion.

Take for instance this quote:

Originally posted by Slingblade:
•That's that same touchy feely liberal B.S. that makes NORMAL people shudder.••• Hmmm. This is exactly what I mean. So now liberals are abnormal too? I suppose the only "normal" people left in the world are right wing conservatives? That's not a personal attack by the way, but that is what can be implied from your comment.

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

Here here!

Well said.

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

No offense taken praying4MD, my personal politics are of the fence straddler type. I do tend to lean a little toward the conservative side some though, I must admit. I heard about this research in a child psychology class, in case anyone is interested.

later

 

[quake]

I think it is about time I contribute to this discussion. Mind you, you have to read the whole post to understand where I am coming from.
In answer to the original question I wouldn't mind seeing a gay doc myself or even allowing my kid to be treated by him/her. However, other issues have been brought up in this thread that I feel compelled to disagree with: None of us is in the position to rewrite the bible. That is to say that if the bible says some behavior is wrong then, according to the bible it is. You should not expect the people of the book to change their belief system just to satisfy everyones whim. The bible says that fornication and adultery (pre-marital or extramarital sexual liaisons) are wrong. I know many people who see nothing wrong with having sex with their girl friends. does that mean the bible should be re-written to accomodate their choice to fornicate... absolutely NOT. I have gay friends and I have fornicating friends. I tell both my opinion but not in a judgemental way (that is why we are still friends). In answer to the people who insist that gay people cannot do anything about their condition I have several things to say: The fact that the kleptomaniac cannot do anything about his condition does not justify petty theft. The fact that the nymphomaniac cannot do anything about her insatiable libido does not justify fornication or adultery. Again I don't mind that my kids see an alduterous doctor or a gay doctor but the bible is immutable. Both doctors are living in sin. I am sure that the question you can't wait to ask me is: what should the gay person do about his condition, given that it is a developmental issue? Two things: 1. Do you know that soon after puberty we are biologically driven to have sex but the bible says that we should flee these youthful lusts. Do you think that a married man is biologically turned off from other women? Nope he has to make a choice not to break his marriage vows. Ask any married person. One of the reasons why divorce rate is high in this country is that people feel sex is a natural urge and hence can't be controlled. I insist that natural (biological) urges can be suppresed. 2. According to the bible there is hope. After all didn't Jesus heal the blind, or heal the lame and the lepers? All these seem ridiculous but I have to say that i was raised in the house of a pentecostal pastor and I have seen crippled people walk with my very eyes. I have seen deaf people begin to hear miraculously. Please, don't even go there, I know that my dad was not in a deal with these people. More importantly, many gay christians have testified that they have been set free. There is one in my church. So it is possible. I am not saying it is easy. Do you suppose it is easy for any guy who has decided not to surf pornography to stick to his decision? Nope! But little by little God liberates.
NOBODY is perfect but let us not justify our imperfections. Let us find our way to perfection instead. Cannibalism, stealing, murder, violence, according to the BOOK all these things are wrong. Don't expect to find the book to be reasonable. Try this :Love your enemies! How dumb is that. Can you imagine loving a terrorist? Turn the other cheek! Huh!? usually my natural impulse is to hit back! The book is supposed to teach you the way to life...You will notice that the way is narrow and rugged. My favorite miracle is Jesus turning water into wine. How can that be? Or walking on the water...Hmmm! But to christians like me all these things are true. And I can personally testify that my life has been enriched by knowing JESUS!

 

[nochaser]

Actually, I thought a rewrite of the Bible was being discussed?I have not kept up with that topic, don't know if it's an update or full scale rewrite (which I think it should be, given all the discrepancies, errors, excluded works and mistranslations). Anyway, I have known gays that are just men who prefer men, and some that are *really* women in male bodies. Same for gay women. If you have ever seen one of those "What sex am I?" type medical shows, you would understand this better. I know it helped me understand the diff's between sexual preference and sexual identity. That said, I have had a lesbian midwife, and my kids have had a gay pediatrician (whom I had to drop due to my employer's HMO changes) and they were fantastic doctors. I don't think that medicine is a good choice for people that have problems (read: hang-ups) concerning lifestyle, race, religion, or ethnicity. If you have not had the exposure to a diverse collection of backgrounds, then you are only operating from a standpoint of ignorance, and that is understood. But that is not to say that outright discrimination should be justified in this case. I have yet to meet anyone that supports, say, female circumcision, but if I did, I would treat them with respect, even if I personally do not agree.

 

[Cobragirl]

Exactly Alice...how would you feel about your "straight" doctor if you somehow found out that he/she was into "bondage"? Or wore the opposite sexes underwear? Or frequented strip-clubs on a regular basis? or any number of other kinky things that "straight" people do? Personally, I'd be more comfortable with a "committed" gay person, than a straight doc that I knew had a taste for serious perversion (and I'm NOT talking about child porn or anything criminal!)

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

I think typically having some sort of aberrant pediatrician would be a non-issue since people stay in the room with their kids usually. But if I had a choice with all other things being equal, I must say I would choose someone who was as close to my idea of normal as possible (much like picking friends).

 

[Jamier2]

This has nothing to do with applying to med school so it's headed to the lounge.