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Medical textbook featuring women having bones checked wearing underwear branded ‘soft porn’


The textbook and one of the pictures (

You know when you do to the doctor with a finger injury and have to strip down to your underwear? We’ve all been there, right?

No us neither, but that’s what one medical textbook shows.

Advanced Examination Techniques in Orthopaedics features models including Page 3 girl’s Leilani Dowding and Jade Cartwright inexplicably wearing underwear to have their bones examined.

The book, which was first published in November 2002 by Greenwich Medical Media, was spotted by neurologist Kate Ahmed, based in Sydney, Australia.

She tweeted some pictures she took of the book and said: ‘If you don’t think women in medicine have problems – check out the required textbook for orthopaedics at one Australian med school.’

The images were called ‘soft porn’ by Caroline Criado Perez.

Another person said: ‘This is revolting and frightening. What woman wants to be a patient of a male doctor trained with this sort of material?’

Kate pointed out that it suggests women are objects to be leered at and makes it hard to reconcile an appropriate doctor-patient relationship with images like this’.

One of the images in the book (Picture: Kate Ahman/@duskywhalerkate)
A woman having her fingers examined (Picture: Kate Ahman/@duskywhalerkate)

Cambridge University Press, who acquired the book, along with the other publishing assets of GMM, said they considered the images to be inappropriate and requested that they were replaced for the second edition, published in January 2014.

A spokesperson said: ‘We accept that some of the images are still out of place given the subject matter.

‘A new, third edition is currently being prepared and the images will be reviewed again to ensure that are appropriate and relevant to the material – a medical textbook about the clinical examination of muscle, nerve and joint function.

‘To demonstrate examination techniques effectively the reader needs to be able to see skin, muscles and bony features were appropriate. Photos of patients with the medical conditions under discussion are also used where appropriate.

‘The book is widely used and has been well-reviewed in academic journals. It is for this reason that a new edition is being produced.’

Kate responded: ‘The problem is that the books are both still available and used. They perpetuate the stereotype that women are sexual objects for powerful men to use. They jeopardise the doctor-patient relationship, and erode trust in male orthopaedic surgeons.

‘The books also promote a ‘boys club’ culture where male surgeons bond over the ogling of attractive women, even when this is most inappropriate, as in the case of the vulnerable patient. This culture makes orthopaedics a very unattractive speciality for women surgeons.

‘We know that fixed gender roles and objectification of women are the kindling for misogyny and violence against women. We know that doctors play an important role in identifying and managing vulnerable women. This makes these images completely inappropriate – in both editions.

‘It would be most appropriate to stop distributing such damaging material. Further editions should have representation of male patients, female doctors, and there should be no attempt to titillate. Women patients should be appropriately dressed.

‘This is an opportunity to reflect and educate. Time is up for sexism in medicine.’

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