Thank goodness it’s Film Friday!
For this week’s segment I’ll be covering the documentary At Your Cervix. Get some popcorn and enjoy!
At Your Cervix trailer:
Thank goodness it’s Film Friday!
For this week’s segment I’ll be covering the documentary At Your Cervix. Get some popcorn and enjoy!
At Your Cervix trailer:
Plus: What you need to know before volunteering abroad and excerpts from She's Shameless!
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11 comments
This trailer reminded me of how lucky I am to have an amazing doctor who warms up her hands before examining me and says things like "Your cervix looks BEAUTIFUL today." Unfortunately I am a minority (of one?) among women I know.
Posted by Anna
October 24, 2008, 11:48 AM
Wow! You TOTALLY get it! Thank you! Thank you for this post, for your articulation of the related issues we are addressing and for helping us to raise very needed finishing funds. This is exactly what we hope At Your Cervix will do: to create dialogue about these issues, raise awareness and help women to better advocate for themselves by knowing their rights. We also hope to inspire and create dialogue with health care providers. But we have to finish the film! We are editing now, and need a minimum of $20,000 to get through all of our post-production costs. With help like this, we feel even more confident we can do it. We have not had tremendous support from big donors--it's our communities and extended communities that are making this grassroots effort a reality. We are determined to shine a spotlight on pelvic exams, to improve how they are offered and how they are taught. Our team is so grateful.
Thanks for the work you do!
In Cervixtude,
Amy Jo Goddard
Director/Producer, At Your Cervix
Posted by Amy Jo Goddard
October 24, 2008, 1:01 PM
Thanks Jenna -- great info. Making out a cheque... right... now!
Posted by Catherine
October 24, 2008, 1:03 PM
Thank you so much for letting us know about "At Your Cervix", Jenna. I had no idea students were being taught exams on unconscious women with no consent! I'm horrified!!! I'll absolutely spread the news about this incredibly important film!
Posted by D. Cole
October 26, 2008, 11:43 PM
Thanks Jenna, unfortunately I have never been to the gyno (I am almost 27) and therefore I have never had an exam. It would be nice if this was free in the USA and I am not sure how these types of exams work in Canada.
Posted by Cecelia
October 27, 2008, 1:08 AM
thank you for doing these videos.
Posted by chocolatebullets4
October 27, 2008, 7:29 PM
Hi Jenna. Point of information: As a recent nursing degree graduate, we were specifically prohibited from doing/practicing any invasive procedures on each other. A pelvic exam would fall into this category. Further, while they didn't prohibit us from doing BSE's on each other, it was not required like you suggested. Perhaps this was an American phenomenon?
Posted by Bleatmop
November 2, 2008, 3:58 AM
Actually, I've had two female doctors (from the same med school) tell me that they learned pelvic exams by practicing on their instructor, who would point out her quirks (see, my labia do such and such) as they went. They said it was crazy awkward, but helpful.
Posted by Erin E.
November 2, 2008, 7:09 AM
Bleatmop -
Thanks for the info, and that is great news. The info I used for the video is American. However, I noted that the focus of the video is also relevant to Canada because I have spoken to a Canadian doctor who said that when he was in med school pelvic exams were performed on unconscious women. (That was a few decades ago)
Erin E. -
I can see that being perhaps awkward, but it seems to be a pretty consensual and ethical way to have students practice on an instructor.
All nursing and medical school do not operate the same way, and I'm glad to hear about respectful teaching practices happening in Canada. The same could be said for the United States -- it's not a blanket situation.
Posted by Jenna
November 2, 2008, 9:27 AM
Thank you so much for doing this movie. This practice needs to be exposed and changed! As a prospective nurse midwife student I was shocked to find out that nursing schools require students to practice on each other before allowing them to pass. This is completely unethical! What about those students with a history of sexual abuse or those with a sexually transmitted disease that don't want it known by their fellow classmates. Frontier School of Nurse Midwifery and Columbia are too colleges known to participate in this practice. This is not acceptable and continues the disempowerment of women. Thanks for giving us a voice At Your Cervix!
Posted by Jamie
November 8, 2008, 3:16 PM
hey shameless~ leaving a shout-out from the New York-based lefty newspaper the indypendent. i write a sex advice column as the macktivist and am taking time out from answering questions to cover at your cervix because, like you, i think as many people NEED to know about this as possible. i really think that a lot of this secrecy is rooted in deep shame and fear of women's pink'and'ins. i wonder sometimes just how far as a society we've come. amy jo turned me on to your magazine and i'm glad for it; one can never know too many shameless folks.
Posted by rebecca
November 21, 2008, 5:26 PM
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