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Men do not have a right to see a gynaecologist

Doctors in France are being forced to affirm the delusions of trans activists.

Jo Bartosch

Jo Bartosch

Topics Identity Politics World

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When a man walks into a gynaecologist’s office and demands an examination, it’s safe to say that the problem lies between his ears, and not necessarily his legs. Yet when Dr Victor Acharian, a French gynaecologist with decades of experience, refused to examine a male transgender patient, he was suspended from practising for a month.

The incident took place in August 2023, when a male patient sought an appointment at Acharian’s practice in Pau, south-western France. Recognising the limits of his medical training, Acharian declined to perform an examination, offering instead to refer the patient to a more suitable specialist – to which the patient allegedly shouted, ‘You’re transphobic!’, and stormed out of the consulting room.

The outraged boyfriend of the would-be-patient and wannabe woman left a negative Google review about Acharian. In response, the gynaecologist hit back, addressing the disgruntled patient as ‘gentleman’ and adding, ‘I have no skills to take care of men, even if they have shaved their beards and they come and tell my secretary that they have become women’.

Acharian later apologised for these remarks, explaining he had reacted out of anger. ‘I felt I was being attacked unfairly’, he said. ‘I thought I was being honest when I said it wasn’t my speciality. I don’t know how to treat trans people.’

Despite his apology and candour, the patient at the centre of this case described Acharian’s words as ‘hyper-violent’. Predictably, Acharian was also branded ‘transphobic’ by activists. He was even hauled before a disciplinary board of the French Medical Council, which handed him a suspension. He is reportedly undecided about whether to appeal this.

The patient’s lawyer called the situation ‘totally abnormal’. On this, it is hard to disagree. A medical professional refused to indulge in someone’s delusional fantasies and, as a result, he was pilloried by activists and punished by the professional body that should have defended him.

Yet for some trans activists, the decision to suspend Acharian is not enough. Trans-activist group SOS Homophobie issued a statement claiming that the doctor’s actions were potentially ‘also punishable by criminal sanctions’.

Feminists and many in the medical community have rallied to Acharian’s defence, arguing (quite rightly) that gynaecology is a speciality rooted in female biology. The clue is in the name: ‘gynaecology’ comes from the Greek gynē, meaning woman. The issue of biology is especially relevant in this case, given that the trans patient in question has not even received any gender-reassignment surgery.

For actual women, there’s nothing affirming or pleasurable about lying on a crackly paper sheet while a nurse shoves a chilly speculum up your fanny. No woman skips into the room for a cervical smear. At best, it’s awkward and a bit uncomfortable. At worst, it can make traumatic experiences resurface. Yet for the men who reduce womanhood to a performance, roleplaying even the banalities of women’s lives can give them something of a kick. From menstruation to pregnancy to breastfeeding, female bodily functions are routinely fetishised by men who claim to be women.

Having just finished writing a book about pornography, I am acutely aware of what’s lurking online. ‘Trans’ is a huge and growing pornographic genre. Even on mainstream pornography sites, you can find films with titles such as ‘anal exam during shemale physical’ and ‘lucky trans patient receives extra threeway exam’. It’s clear that some men get off on being treated like women in the examination room.

The sanctioning of Acharian for telling the truth, for refusing to play along, will send a warning signal to medical professionals across France – submit to the demands of transgender activists or face retribution. Should Acharian decide not to appeal, there will be a chilling effect. Men will be emboldened to demand that doctors play along with their desires. Anyone who wants to stay in practice will have little choice but to comply. It will warp the very purpose of medicine.

Jo Bartosch is a journalist campaigning for the rights of women and girls.

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