Whew! Lots of really touchy nerves here. I'm just going to tell my story that is related to this and why I think that practicing on eacth other is an *awesome* thing.
I volunteered at a free clinc for two years--as a volunteer medic we had an intense 6-month, 6 hours every Saturday/Sunday, plus 5-12 Friday shift. The main things we dealt with were respiratory infections, TB tests, and STD screens.
I come from a super-religious upbringing. I could barely talk about sex with my husband when I was interviewing for the position at this clinic. I was so naive, I asked my husband a few months after we got married, if he could tie his p---- in a knot. Yeah, seriously.
So, I knew I needed to get over my fear, because thats what it is--MY fear, and MY uncomfortableness. How can I expect a patient to feel comfortable discussing sex in front of me if I'm making them uncomfortable by my discomfort talking about it. In the process of working at the clinic, hearing the stories, talking about sex in a comfotable, matter of fact way, you just learn... its just sex. Its not about me and how I feel about it--its about how the patient I'm trying to help feels about it--my job is to make them comfortable.
To me, its the same thing with practicing exams in front of your peers. Its just a body. Its your body, and its great and awesome and all, but everyone has got one. I've got to learn to be comfortable in my own body, and to learn how awkward the first couple times are, so I can learn how to make it more comfortable for my patients--how its better to try to warm my hands up, to be confident, not tenative and unsure when palpating. You don't think about those things until it happens to you.
Anyway--when we were giving each other practice butt-shots and physical exams, was I nervous as hell? Yes. Was I worried about seeing my first non-husband p----? Yes. But you know what? Better practice out that nervousness on someone you know than on someone that is counting on your professionalism.
Do I remember anybody's body that I saw? Even though I volunteered with them for 2 straight years? Um, no. Because by your third or fourth one, they all look the same.
And, honestly, while its been great for my own personal growth and comfort with the subject, the person who really benefits is the patient. I'm not too good, to uncomfortable to put myself in their shoes for a few minutes to learn something. Maybe thats why many med schools require it--as a method of humanizing & helping you consider from a patient's perspective.
I, for one, love it. I wouldn't tell the OP to get over it... but I would say, just think about what you can learn from it (even if you weren't as puritanical-crazy as I was) and how it will benefit the patient. You can read and study about how patients feel all you want, but you don't really know until you acutally put yourself in those shoes. My two cents.