Sarah Silverman is finished getting mammograms from men.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday evening, the 48-year-old comedian described an extremely uncomfortable interaction with her mammographer. Silverman decided she was finished with male mammographers after several complaints went unacknowledged, and used her story to encourage other women to feel empowered to stand up for themselves.
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“He opened my gown and put gel on my breasts and smeared it around with his bare hands,” Silverman wrote. “Then he started talking about my chest X-ray and was pontificating with my boobs just out and covered in gel and cold.” Finally, Silverman said something.
“I said ‘Hey can we either talk about this when I’m dressed or WHILE you’re doing the ultrasound? I’m not comfortable with my breasts out just shooting the shit with you,'” she wrote. The mammographer continued, still with no gloves on, to perform her ultrasound. “When he glides the ultrasound wand thing over my breasts he drags his fingers on them and it fucking bothers me.” Silverman clarified that she had this same conversation with the man last year when he made her similarly uncomfortable.
“I said ‘Hey! Do you need to be touching me with your fingers?'” According to Silverman’s story, he said “no” and took his hands off of her before explaining that “I do that for balance.”
Silverman explained that she genuinely doesn’t think there was anything intentionally creepy about the encounter, but stressed that it is this man’s job to ensure that patients are comfortable. “It is his job to be aware that this is vulnerable for a woman,” she wrote. “This is my last mammogram with this dude. Or any dude.”
After sharing her story, Silverman pivoted to make a resounding point about women and our societal need to be polite. “Look. I’m a grown woman and I’m fine. But this guy does this with everyone and I know that personally, it took many years into adulthood before I spoke up for myself,” Silverman said. “It’s uncomfortable and too easy to think it’s all in your head. And arrogant fucks like this doctor take advantage of women’s socialized instinct to not speak up.
“All this to say speak up. Trust that thing in your gut that tells you this shit ain’t right.”
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H/T Daily Mail