All of my physicals. except for two, were done with me stripped to my underpants--white briefs--so this concept has not really applied to these exams. Of the two in which I was clothed in other than my briefs, for one, I had on my briefs with a gown over them. During that exam, the abdominal exam was done with palpation through the fabric of the gown rather than the doctor exposing the bare abdomen. The abdominal exam was very cursory with me just lying supine and him doing a quick feel. This gown had the tie in the front off to the side over one hip. It would have been pretty easy for the doctor to have untied the gown and opened it up to expose the bare abdomen. He did utilize the opportunity of untying the gown in a very effective manner. Immediately after the abdominal exam, he instructed me to stand on the pullout extension at the end of the table. While I faced him in the gown, he untied the gown and pushed the sides apart to open the front and expose the front of my briefs. He then instructed me to slip down my briefs. I thought this was a dramatic unveiling of the genitalia, showcasing the body parts I am the most nervous about having seen and examined. Also, having me stand on the pullout shelf, almost a foot above the floor where he was standing, had me on display.
I had another exam for which I was prepared by being instructed to take off my shirt and sit on the table. This was an exam for my first job out of college done by a doctor to whom the employer sent me. He was fairly elderly, rather grumpy, and did a very cursory exam. He just, took my blood pressure, stethoscoped my chest front and back, then told me to "loosen the top of your pants and lie flat on the table." I thought this was a pretty nonspecific instruction and left me unsure of exactly what to do. I just unbuckled my belt, opened the hook on my trousers, and unzipped about halfway down and swung my legs around and lay back supine. I guess I did what he wanted because he didn't say anything and proceeded with the abdominal exam. This was done with palpation only and did involve him pushing aside the front sides of my pants and pushing his hands down just slightly below the front of the waistband of my briefs. This was a quick palpation but transitioned beautifully into the grand finale. He then stepped back slightly from the
table and instructed me to "stand on this platform (pointing to a four-legged step stool next to the table) and slip your pants and shorts down."This was excellent because, in addition to the ultimate embarrassment of having the genitals seen and examined, I first had to deal with the awkwardness of having to finish unzipping my pants and getting them lowered adequately to give the needed exposure and then pulling the briefs down as a separate step. I wash not able to lower the pants and briefs in one maneuver since my pants were not unzipped enough for them to go down. He did not even feel my testes or touch me. Just looked at my genitals and had me turn my head and cough twice.
I do think it adds a lot to an exam for the doctor to move or remove clothing items to reveal body areas. Anything that adds awkwardness enhances the exam experience and humiliation for me.