RebDoniel, thats an interesting take on the Yoetzet thing. But i think that kinda our fault too. Judaism is constantly obsessed with sexuality. We prohibit almost every interaction between men and women (and we seem to frown upon things that women want to do themselves, and can and should do) but yet we seem to make an exception for certain things. Like mochs and bedikahs. Its a little disconcerting. Think about this, imagine being an outsider, you know about our strict separation of the sexes yet, when a question arises about what could arguably be one of the most personal things ever, you have to bring it to a rabbi!! TO EXAMINE IT!! It looks skewed. Now, I really dont care what outsiders may think. But this is fostering a very bad feeling among women within the fold. WE are saying that men are uncontrollable and are seconds away from transgressing halachic sexual violations so why do we allow a man to perform such an intimate examination?? Shouldn’t a woman do that too? So I think we are being complicit in fostering this feeling among the women of our community.
As an aside IMHO if a woman wants to do something, and its fully within the realm of their doing, why should they be prohibited from it or even frowned upon for doing it.