Differing generational attitudes regarding medfet experiences and enjoyment

Quite some time back on Reddit, I posted a comment comparing medical exam procedures of the past compared to now. I described how the procedures normally went- all clothes completely off, or at least down to your underpants, regardless of age or gender. The dreaded manual prostate exam for males, and a generic rectal exam for both sexes. And then finally, the open group exams for sports or school where you have a dozen or more students or aspiring athletes all standing around in their underwear while a teacher or coach chaperone looks on, anxiously waiting their turn to step behind a flimsy plastic or paper partition or curtain where they know what's going to happen once they get there.

To most folks my age and older, it was simply part of life and not that big a deal. On the other hand, most GenZers and younger Milennials were horrified. The disgust and outrage among that group was palpable. Many of them started talking about abuse, grooming, lawsuits, police, Nazism, fascism, the school staff / administrators burning in hell after they die, and stuff like that. The anger and vitriol displayed by the younger posters was a bit shocking, to be honest. When I added that some of the guys who were part of that process freely admitted to getting a slight kick out of being able to show themselves to a female examiner or chaperone, that's when they got REALLY upset.

Tempi cambi (one of hub’s favorite Italian expressions)

Tempi cambi (one of hub’s favorite Italian expressions)

True that.

My daily drivers are an '07 Tahoe and an '02 F250 diesel, while my hobby vehicles are a '70 Buick and a '67 VW. I also prefer nylon ( plastic ) jackets for wet weather over oiled canvas. I'm also a staunch believer in castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws. Finally, I still enjoy things like cheerleaders and Hooters restaurants. As you can probably imagine, guys like me ain't too popular with the young, progressive, "green" crowd.

Even though I'm GenX, "boomer" is a popular slur used by young people to describe older, more traditional folks like myself.

I remember vividly the school group physical exams in the 70s, and how we had no choice if we wanted to play intramural or to compete with other teams from other sch"ools from 6th grade on we had to gather in gym after school on a designated day. We were then called into the outer nurses office ten at a time and told to strip to our just our underwear while the school nurse and her "assistant" usually a woman from the front office or a teacher would read off names and write down our height, weight, and blood pressure. The worst part was having your height taken because we were all in white briefs and then told to stand up straight and tall with our back to the wall and you could feel eyes on your groin from the assistant as she noted the numbers. Then we had to line up and wait to be taken into the interior office and there the doctor did a rudimentary physical but never did a rectal or prostate exam, but at the end I was told to lower my underwear for the genital and hernia check and it was usually a male doctor, but the girls parents felt a female doctor would be better for the girls so then we had a female doc in the back room and she would tell me to come forward as she sat on a stool and then she just reached out and whipped my underwear down and I was already semi erect from her touching body parts before the genital exam, and just completely went fully erect. She completed her exam and while she started filling out the forms she said you can wait a couple minutes. It was difficult to hide coming back out of the room and putting my clothes on. I remember asking a teacher in high school why we had to do that and he said it was to prepare us for the draft as we would be going through a much stricter exam at that time. Fortunately the war and draft had ended prior to my graduating in 78.

I remember vividly the school group physical exams in the 70s, and how we had no choice if we wanted to play intramural or to compete with other teams from other sch"ools from 6th grade on we had to gather in gym after school on a designated day. We were then called into the outer nurses office ten at a time and told to strip to our just our underwear while the school nurse and her "assistant" usually a woman from the front office or a teacher would read off names and write down our height, weight, and blood pressure. The worst part was having your height taken because we were all in white briefs and then told to stand up straight and tall with our back to the wall and you could feel eyes on your groin from the assistant as she noted the numbers. Then we had to line up and wait to be taken into the interior office and there the doctor did a rudimentary physical but never did a rectal or prostate exam, but at the end I was told to lower my underwear for the genital and hernia check and it was usually a male doctor, but the girls parents felt a female doctor would be better for the girls so then we had a female doc in the back room and she would tell me to come forward as she sat on a stool and then she just reached out and whipped my underwear down and I was already semi erect from her touching body parts before the genital exam, and just completely went fully erect. She completed her exam and while she started filling out the forms she said you can wait a couple minutes. It was difficult to hide coming back out of the room and putting my clothes on. I remember asking a teacher in high school why we had to do that and he said it was to prepare us for the draft as we would be going through a much stricter exam at that time. Fortunately the war and draft had ended prior to my graduating in 78.

In the future, I suppose this could go one of two ways. Advancing medical technology along with increased concern for patient privacy and dignity could ensure that those old practices remain obsolete, OR the world's increasing involvement in global conflicts could bring them back with a vengeance in the name of efficiency.

That last scenario is really a sad and sobering thought. All those healthy, virile young men being paraded around like prize specimens just before they're shipped overseas to be killed, maimed, or mentally scarred for life. It's beyond fucked up, it really is.

As long as you were not naked in group - no matter in front of whom, even non medical persons , it was nott really humiliating !

we have had in the past some remlations of group exams for sport or at boarding school where the respect of the shyness toward nudity and the privacy of boys was not respected at all, in that time there was no place to complain or protest and it seemed normal to all adults , parents as well as teachers or other figures of authority, it was like if it was considered as normal, things were done like that and that was all !

and of course in the past the draft examinations were the worst for the lack of respect of dignity and privacy for young men but it was also considered as normal since it was the way things had been done since a lot of years !

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, when these kinds of detailed, naked physicals happened - even my school sports physicals required nudity for part. While I understand that younger people who have not experienced this might be surprised, the "grooming" and "abuse" claims are overboard and silly. Not only are they inapplicable, it serves to dilute the concept and does a disservice to people who really were victims of grooming and abuse.

Everyone reacts differently to medical exams and protocols. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, all for the better. The majority of exams only involve simple blood tests, and a series of questions. If you’re still getting poked and prodded by the doctor, it might be time to switch physicians. I would suspect that they haven’t kept up with new procedures, and don’t care to.

In a disability school, no abuse, we were examined regularly. The math teacher took our bp regularly.

The majority of exams only involve simple blood tests, and a series of questions. If you’re still getting poked and prodded by the doctor, it might be time to switch physicians. I would suspect that they haven’t kept up with new procedures, and don’t care to.

Hard disagree here. Blood tests and imaging are great and all, but if my doctor isn't actually physically examining me then he's not doing his job. The idea that me taking 2-3 hours out of my day for a "wellness check" that could have been done entirely in a 15 minute FaceTime call is a good thing is insulting, to be completely honest.

I can put a finger to my wrist and check my heart rate

I can step on the scale at the gym

I can get my blood pressure checked at any pharmacy

If that's all they're going to do then they've wasted a significant chunk of my day and there's no reason for me to have the appointment at all, because the only thing that comes out of it is a pile of work that I now have less time to complete.

As long as you were not naked in group - no matter in front of whom, even non medical persons , it was nott really humiliating !

we have had in the past some remlations of group exams for sport or at boarding school where the respect of the shyness toward nudity and the privacy of boys was not respected at all, in that time there was no place to complain or protest and it seemed normal to all adults , parents as well as teachers or other figures of authority, it was like if it was considered as normal, things were done like that and that was all !

and of course in the past the draft examinations were the worst for the lack of respect of dignity and privacy for young men but it was also considered as normal since it was the way things had been done since a lot of years !

On the odd occasions when such a thing actually happened, I can't imagine what it must've been like for a bunch of young guys to have to stand fully naked in front of several female peers and / or authority figures as well as your same gender buddies. It had to be an odd mix of arousing and terrifying, with varying degrees of each.

A wise person once said "be careful what you wish for". I've often wished that I could briefly trade places with one of these lads, just to see what it was like.

I think there's definitely a generational divide here. While GenXers and Boomers would say to keep quiet and just get on with it, a Millenial or GenZer would be more likely to loudly protest.

I am on the Gen-X Millennial cusp and it was often said growing up that everyone gets naked at the doctor's office. I find it interesting that the younger generation who are exposed to sexual content through the internet, entertainment, and almost everywhere else tend to be more prude when it comes to nudity in a medical setting.

I find it interesting that the younger generation who are exposed to sexual content through the internet, entertainment, and almost everywhere else tend to be more prude when it comes to nudity in a medical setting.

I find it disconcerting that the younger generation is prudish in just about any setting requiring nudity or with so much to do with sexuality.

I know younger generations are, by tradition, supposed to rebel against the norms and values of their elders, but you'd think that, at least when it comes to sex, they would appreciate the expanded freedoms their elders achieved. But no. For heavens knows what reason they reject so much and end up missing on so many sexual experiences.

I also find it hilarious that you’re claiming Millennials and Zoomers are prudish when so many have OnlyFans or the like and kids are having a LOT more sex now than they did when we were younger. You’re just irked that they don’t share your particular kink.

I also find it hilarious that you’re claiming Millennials and Zoomers are prudish when so many have OnlyFans or the like and kids are having a LOT more sex now than they did when we were younger. You’re just irked that they don’t share your particular kink.

I was not commenting on any particular kink. Just on nudity and sexual situations in general.

And you must certainly see clearly how sexual freedoms and the linked reproductive rights are being broken down and curtailed bit by bit. And especially at how open the discussion is about curtailing many more. That is what frightens/appalls me most. The things that are being targeted next. Transsexuals, books with gay content, LGBT rights in general, gay marriage. I never seem to see legislation of any level whereby sexual freedoms are being expanded. Only curtailed. We are now in an age of sexual regression.

And I'm not that certain which age group is the most active in this social trend of breaking down accepted sexual freedoms and rights. I doubt it is the young, though they are so easy to recruit and influence and get riled up. It could even be that people of my age group are the ones actively doing the social and legislative organizing that brings about so much prudery and repressive thinking or who are influential in the media.

I can’t and won’t speak for Europe or other parts of the world. In the US it’s reactionary. In the 90s and aughts we saw a precipitous expansion of rights reaching their apex during the Obama administration. They loosened so quickly it scared the swing voters and we got Trump 1. Even during his first term, he didn’t push a hard right agenda all that effectively. Lots of social media noise, not a lot of actual legislation. Pendulum swung the other way and we got Joe Biden and COVID-19 which trashed the economy. People voted their wallets and we got Trump again and this time it was different. He and the uber right wing of the Republican Party are using one another. A case of misfits joining up. He’s passed no actual legislation, it’s all been executive orders which can be undone by the next president. The only thing we’re stuck with is the overturning of Roe and Roe was always on shaky ground anyway - and yes I support a woman’s right to choose. His approval rating is in the low 40’s depending on the poll, which more or less aligns with how the country lines up politically:

BUT people are having more sex than ever, porn is ubiquitous, and teens are very casual about sex. Don’t confuse reactionary pendulum swings with the actual state of things. On a trend line society is way more open today than it was 50 years ago.

I find it disconcerting that the younger generation is prudish is just about any setting requiring nudity or with so much to do with sexuality.

I don't think my generation are more prudish. What we are more aware of is context and consent.

In a medical situation where the doctor (or other member of staff) tells you that you have to be nude/undressed, there must be a reasonable need for you to be undressed and every effort should be made to minimise the exposure needed.

If you're told to undress and no gown/drape etc is offered (as happened to me as a teenager), there is an inherent power imbalance in favour of the healthcare provider.

The situation cannot be fully consentual - you've consent to be examined/treated but not to have to be unnecessarily exposed in the process.

There is a big difference between being exposed in a communal changing room or in a play exam scenario (where everyone knows the score and consents) versus being in a vulnerable position as a rl patient and being told your options are (a) get naked and get treatment or (b) don't get treated.

but disrobing for a physical is "abusive" somehow.

The reason some people consider being disrobed for a physical to be abusive is because some doctors did it deliberately to be abusive.

I'll tell you a true story on being disrobed to be examined. It happened to me, nearly 26 years ago.

Aged 15, completely able to dress and undress myself, and to give consent, I had a male doctor 40 years older than me lift up my shirt, undo my belt and trousers, including the fly, and lower my underpants, exposing my lower abdomen and pubic hair. He never asked me to undo my clothes, nor did he ask for permission to do it himself.

Was it intentionally abusive? Probably not. Was it appropriate? Also, probably not.

Other patients, sadly, were not so lucky - there was a case here in the UK where a doctor did similar and he is now 11 years into a 22-year prison sentence.

It’s precisely because of the early exposure to sexual content on the internet that they’re like that. They have no concept of non-sexualized nudity. The association of nude = sex is formed early on ergo if the doctor wants me to be nude then it must be because the doctor is a secret perv.

We were taught that nudity was private and being naked in front of others was wrong. Yet the exact opposite was happening at the doctor's office. It was this dichotomy that sexualized the experience for my generation.

I also find it hilarious that you’re claiming Millennials and Zoomers are prudish when so many have OnlyFans or the like and kids are having a LOT more sex now than they did when we were younger. You’re just irked that they don’t share your particular kink.

Not prude in general, but just in this instance. That's why I find it interesting. They are open to many sexual experiences, but are reluctant to be exposed in a medical environment.

There is a big difference between being exposed in a communal changing room or in a play exam scenario (where everyone knows the score and consents) versus being in a vulnerable position as a rl patient and being told your options are (a) get naked and get treatment or (b) don't get treated.

That aspect also helped to sexualize the experience for us. Having no say and being forced to comply with the doctor's demands, which included nudity and touching of intimate areas, made the experience more embarrassing yet arousing.

There’s a very strange dual-world situation regarding nudity, sexuality, and simple physical exams, that makes all of this so complicated.

It’s the casual nature of how nudity was dealt with for children in the past that made it feel out of control, but normal. Having to be exposed but knowing it’s just the way it was made it feel safer somehow. The parents who we trusted didn’t think it would be a big deal, so our brains registered that and didn’t turn it into trauma, mostly.

Today there’s is so very much attention and focus on not forcing discomfort or nudity that even when it is necessary or reasonable, parents freak out and and then kids feel traumatized, sometimes for no good reason. And yet, these changes happened “for their protection”.

See, it’s how our brains register these experiences they determines how it will be perceived in our memories and egos? Ids? One of those.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s modesty was more protected, but there still wasn’t any concern when a doctor lifted your underwear for quick peek. He was a doctor, it was okay. And .. most of the time, it WAS okay. Which gave us permission to consider these embarrassing thoughts as unique to us, to our feelings, our perception, and to note the overlap of our hormones and puberty and sexuality and how it mixed together with the shame and humiliation but maybe in a fun and personal way.

That doesn’t take away from the fact that some doctors did abuse, and some were just so uncaring or distant that it bordered on abuse. But it does explain why it was less likely to leave trauma.

Now that no “imposed” nudity is ever, ever allowed or endorsed for almost any reason - even medical exams unless it’s 110% certain it’s needed - every kid who experiences it has their feelings that “they were abused” reinforced by everyone from their therapist to their parents and friends and teachers and TikTok.

-TYD

That aspect also helped to sexualize the experience for us. Having no say and being forced to comply with the doctor's demands, which included nudity and touching of intimate areas, made the experience more embarrassing yet arousing.

I know what you mean. I hated having it done to me, but the power imbalance and the thought of it happening to others was a very different story.

Along with another moderator, I have only just completed a complex task of splitting blocks of posts out of one thread into multiple others, including this one. The process of moving and merging all these posts took a while to finish.

This time, members need to remain on topic. If they don't, or members become uncivil once more as happened at the very end of the Teenage Physical Exam thread some posts here came from, the thread will simply be locked.

Thank you moderator for allowing the focus to go unblemished!