I was born in 1991. I had to get three physical exams in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (ages 13,14, and 15) that were very extensive and thorough
Did you have to undress for the exam?
Yes
Were you given a gown or did you receive the exam in your underwear or nude?
I received the exam in my underwear and was completely nude at the end.
Did you (or the general majority of people) wear white underwear - briefs, bra and panties?
Me and the general majority of people wore colored boxer briefs or boxers with some kind of color or plaid design.
Did you have to remove them during the exam?
Yes. I had to eventually remove my underwear and be completely naked during the exam.
Were you barefoot for your exams or did you wear socks? Were you wearing white socks?
I was barefoot. I tried to leave my white socks on during the physical one year but I was told to take them off because he needed to see my feet.
What clothes, particularly from the style of those decades, did you wear to the doctors office before your exam?
T-shirt, jeans, white socks, boxers. vans shoes
How were you weighed, in the hallway or in the exam room? Were you weighed in your underwear or fully clothed?
I was weighed in the exam room. I only had to had my shoes off.
How would the doctor or nurse instruct you to undress? What did they say? Would the nurse give you instructions ahead of time or wait until the doctor arrived? Did they step out of the exam room while you changed or did they remain?
I had my shoes off after being weighed by the nurse and sat and waited for the doctor. After the doctor checked my eyes, ears, nose, and throat, he gave me the instruction "take off all of your clothes accept for your underwear". He remained in the exam room when I took off my shirt, jeans, and socks.
Did more doctors do examinations with gloves on or bare hands?
Bare hands
How thorough were genital exams back then?
Mine were very thorough. I would be lying on the exam table on my back and he would tell me that he was going to check my penis and testicles and remove my underwear. I was completely naked on the exam table and he would spread my legs further apart and look through my genitals. I would generally close my eyes or look away when it was happening, but I could feel him looking though my pubes, checking all the skin of my penis and scrotum, and feeling each of my testicles.
Did doctors traditionally do a rectal exam before middle age?
I did not have a rectal exam but he did briefly look at my anus. Before the genital exam, I would be lying face down, on my stomach, on the exam table. He would feel my spine then pull my underwear down slightly and feel the skin on each of my butt cheeks.Then he spread my butt cheeks apart for a few seconds to look at my anus.
If you had enlisted in the army during the 80s, what was getting the MEPs like?
As an adult, I met a couple guys who were a little bit older than me who enlisted in the U.S. military shortly after 9/11. I heard that they had to be naked for the group part of the MEPS physical and that their genital and anal exams were done in view of some other recruits. I'm not sure if that practice was universal or widespread at the time though.
How thorough was it compared to what they do now?
Around 2010/2011 (age 19/20), I considered enlisting and researched what the MEPS process was like. From what I read, the policy at the time was that you could keep your underwear on for the group exam part but that guys who did not wear underwear had to be naked. The individual more thorough examination was done behind a curtain or screen, away from the other recruits, but you did have to remove your underwear and be completely naked.
When I was looking into the issue at the time, I came across an image of the group exam at MEPS. My understanding is that it generally still works that way today.
Link to photo: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/a-m-waiting-for-a-more-thorough-examination-by-medical-news-photo/161075832