Australia's 'first bloke' says: seek small, female Asian medics for prostate checks

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Australia's 'first bloke' says: seek small, female Asian medics for prostate checks

Prime minister Julia Gillard's face said to have turned to stone as partner Tim Mathieson made gaffe at official reception

Alison Rourke in Sydney
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 January 2013 02.51 EST

Australia's "first bloke" has landed himself in hot water over comments that men wanting to get their prostates checked should seek out small, female Asian doctors to perform the examination.

Tim Mathieson, the long-term partner of the prime minister, Julia Gillard, made the comments at a reception for the West Indies cricket team at the prime minister's official residence in Canberra, with Gillard standing right behind him.

One commentator observed that her face "performed a remarkable transition – jolly, carefree smile to impenetrable stone on the turn of a phrase".

Gillard – Australia's first female prime minister – became famous around the world last October for her fiery attack on sexism and misogyny in a speech to parliament directed at the country's conservative opposition leader, Tony Abbott. The speech has been viewed more than 2m times on YouTube and sparked a heated debate about the treatment of women in Australia.




Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/29/julia-gillard-husband-prostate-doctor

[MrScorpio]

1. Obviously, he's had a few too many FYAW-Stahs BEE-Yahs nt

[JoeBlowToo]

5. Almost no one drinks Fosters in Australia...

Let's be clear: Foster's lager, as we know it in Britain's pubs and supermarkets, is an Australian brand; it is not an Australian beer. "Australian for lager" it may claim to be, but 1.2bn pints of the amber nectar a year are brewed in Manchester, not Melbourne. And almost all of them are drunk in Britain, making Foster's this country's second best-selling standard lager, behind Carling.

The ersatz Aussie beer, initially brewed under licence, first captured the imagination of British drinkers thanks to tongue-in-cheek television adverts in the early 1980s.

These featured Paul Hogan – that international embodiment of the Australian stereotype – at a wine tasting, telling viewers he had brought "enough of the amber nectar to go around".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/21/fosters-lager-brewed-in-britain

Victoria Bitter (VB) is the most popular beer in Australia.

[formercia]

18. Black Swan is pretty good too.

..and they like their Beer Cold.

[FlaGranny]

2. It's obvious the fellow

has had the exam by a man with large hands and fingers. Ouch! I can see his point. I don't even see it as sexist (on the surface of it). He just wants the most petite of persons to do the exam.

[Ferretherder]

3. Actually, I agree, wholeheartedly!

The first prostate exam I ever got was performed by a female doctor, and I kept thinking to myself, 'why are guys always going on about how uncomfortable this is?'. The NEXT time I had it done, a tall, bass guitar-playing MALE doctor did the exam - BIG difference.

Petite Asian female doctors for prostate exams....yeah, I can see that.

[AAO]

13. But why must they be asian? I understand the petite part (oh boy do I ever).

[Igel]

32. On average Asians are shorter than Caucasians.

So the most petite group would be Asian females, if you have to look at the two numerically largest groups in Australia.

There's semantic overlap, with "petite" making the meaning of "Asian" a bit more specific. It's not language, it's not skin tone, it's not tooth shape or hair cross section, it's size.

Just like in "cold, refreshing beer." "Cold" doesn't have to mean "refreshing." Things can be "refreshing" without being "cold." But them together and you narrow the meaning of both.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. The last dr visit was a three-fer.

My usual Dr (somewhat large lady) came into the exam room with two Doctors-in-training, both female, Asian, and thin.

So along comes the Prostate exam. Dr does her usual thing, then asks me if I mind if the two trainees took this opportunity ...

They took turns, chatting back and forth (in English. They were not from the same Asian country.) I think they were surprised to be allowed "in". I guess I'm too old to be bothered about the indignity of it all.

[AAO]

14. I'm wondering how much you would mind if it was done in your bedroom.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. Mind? Then all four of us would be "doctors"!!!11!

I think I need to add "blue nitrile gloves" to my shopping list!

[AngryAmish]

12. I know a proctologist with hands like toilet seats

Never in a million years would I go to him.

[formercia]

19. I have a Woman for a Doctor.

She has nice Hands.

[longship]

27. You mean no more Dr. Jellyfingers?

"Are you using the whole fist?"

[jerseyjack]

4. He is Austrailia's Prince Phillip

[RandiFan1290]

6. How was I to know

my urologist's nickname is Fat Fingers Mcgee?

[AAO]

15. Any relation to "Tits" McGee of Anchorman fame?

[RandiFan1290]

24. lol

I was trying to think of Iron Balls McGinty from 'The Jerk'. It was a bit too early for me. Brain wasn't kicking in

[AAO]

39. "Pay to the order of Iron Balls McGinty, one dollar and nine cents!"

[smirkymonkey]

42. LOL!

One of my favorite movies.

[AAO]

43. The Jerk and Groundhog Day are 2 of my favorite movies of all time

I don't know what that says about me, but I'm sure someone here on DU will explain it all to me.

[morningglory]

7. When I had a baby, the doctor was a big man. When he palpated my stomach to see whatever they need

to see (how big the uterus is?) there was nothing uncomfortable about it at all. When I went into labor, a scrawny nurse or PA came in to palpate the area, and it was like being poked with a broom handle (hard). I was glad to see the doctor come in from his golf outing.

[radonc]

8. it is not just sticking your finger up there

I am a cancer doctor who treats protate cancer patients.

I have done many DRE exams in my life.

in the spirit of clearing up misconceptions, it is more than just sticking your finger up the bum.

the prostate is one of the few organs were a doctor can "feel" cancer. we can't do this for lung, or colon, or pancreas, or liver, or stomach, or brain tumors.

the prostate has a very distinct feel to it. and if you are not using your finger to press down on the prostate a bit to feel the prostate, then you have gained no information about the prostate and your exam was worthless.

so it doesn't really matter who is doing the exam.

but if you are insecure in your manhood and think that a DRE is akin to being sodomized, then I guess it would make sense to joke about it amongst your pals about having a smaller asian finger being stuck up your arse if you really don't care about your doctor detecting your prostate cancer

[msanthrope]

9. Would you make this an OP at some point? It's really good info, and although

DU does not like it when you give medical advice, giving some clear facts about the exam itself might encourage male DUers to go to the dr.

[Auntie Bush]

25. Can a small/short slender finger do an adequate job of detecting cancer?

If not, they shouldn't be allowed to do the exam.

[olddad56]

30. DRE digital rectal exam. Not as high tech as it sounds.

[Orrex]

11. You know, even if the doctor has fingers like bananas...

An annual or biennial prostate exam is nowhere near as bad as a woman's standard internal exam. Any guy who can't tolerate a few moment's probing has issues that involve more than the size of the doc's digits.

[Lars39]

23. And a thorough exam for a woman also includes checking out the rectum and anal canal.

And then there's the mammogram...

[Jamastiene]

34. Don't even get me started about mammograms.

It feels like having someone place an 18 wheeler on your breast and letting the majority of the weight just sit there. Then, they tell you to be still while that is happening. I hate mammograms. They pinch the skin AND make the girls really sore for days.

[Lars39]

35. And the road kill positions they put you in, having to hold your breath...urgh

I started taking Ibuprofen before the mammogram...it helps a bit.

[bubbayugga]

28. not true.

[Lars39]

36. Males don't get a chunk of prostate taken out during their exams.

[mainer]

16. I thought it was a funny remark. Not sexist or racist.

Just the sort of thing a man would say after he's had a painful visit to the doctor.

What's sexist or racist about saying he prefers a petite Asian female as a doctor?

[Sunlei]

17. ohh those Aussies are such cheeky people

[L0oniX]

21. How dare they out source that job.

[Demoiselle]

22. I'm with the Prime Minister on this one.

The "joke" wasn't funny enough to overcome the stupid.

[timdog44]

26. Prostate exam

I am a medical professional and an avowed liberal. I guess I am appalled at the lack of sensitivity and knowledge base that goes into what a rectal exam is about and for. It makes not one difference who does the exam as long as that person is professional and knows what he/she is feeling for. For a few seconds of uncomfortable feeling in your rectum you have a first line of defense against prostate cancer. If you have ever witnessed, as I have, several prostate removals and the outcomes you would not think this so funny and act like a bunch of right wing idiots. I thought my liberal friends to above this kind of behavior.

[TwilightGardener]

29. And Bloomberg was quoted as saying "Look at the ass on her" (admiringly) about a woman

at some function where reporters were apparently present. At some point, most men just pop off with something sexually inappropriate. I have seen it all my life. One of my nicest bosses made an off-color remark to me once, thinking he was being funny. I don't take one gaffe that seriously, though--it has to be a pattern.

[olddad56]

31. and if you don't like the DRE, get a high PSA and try the 10 point biopsy of your prostate.

That is definitely a procedure that you will not enjoy.

[Nevernose]

33. Makes sense to me

I go to a small, female Asian dentist. I have a small mouth and most dentists have a problem maneuvering. It's uncomfortable for them and its uncomfortable for me, so I found a dentist with teeny tiny hands. Does this make me a sexist racist? I don't know, but I go to the dentist far more often than I used to.

[Matilda]

37. One positive result of Tim's gaffe

is that it's given a lot of publicity to the need for regular prostate examinations. Not something blokes really like to think about, but they are now.

[dlwickham]

38. what a douche

[Fearless]

40. Oh just find yourself a gay man

There's a certain adeptness we have at such things.

But wait, was that just a sexist comment made for no reason? My bad, carry on douchebag.

[uriel1972]

41. He's supposed to be a men's health advocate or something...

I'm Australian and couldn't even remember who he was when the name came up.
As for the remark Small/thin fingered doctor would have sufficed, but the whole asian woman stuff is sexist and racist as far as I am concerned.
Given that the PM was giving the Liberal Party (our conservatives, eh, go figure) and its leader a lot of stick on the sexism front, this was needed like a hole in the head.