Identify a recent current event that has some connection to gender (and possibly other intersecting identity categories), and reflect on this event. What does the current event tell us about gender in our world? How does the current event relate to your own life? How do you feel about the issue?
I think a current event that really says a lot about gender roles is Joseph Epstein of the Wall Street Journal's treatment of upcoming first lady Dr. Jill Biden. He wrote a controversial op-ed saying that Jill, who has a doctorate in teaching, should drop the Dr. from her title because she is not a medical doctor. Epstein referred to Jill as "kiddo", called her "fraudulent" and "comic", and said that no one should call themselves a doctor if they haven't delivered a baby. He also compared her hard-earned degree to an honorary doctorate, which are often given to celebrities. I think his treatment of Jill Biden comes from a place of deep misogyny and devaluation of women's labor.
Doctorates take time, money, and hard work. If Jill Biden wants to use the title she worked for, it is her prerogative. Epstein's patronizing and dismissive tone treats Biden like a child playing house rather than an intelligent woman working in a demanding field. A woman is no less of a doctor because her degree is in education and not medicine. If a man had chosen to go by Dr., Epstein would likely not have questioned it.
Also, I think it's important to note that Joseph Epstein himself directly mentioned that he only has a B.A.-- in absentia, yet he still taught at Northwestern for 30 years. He had the audacity to undermine the achievements of someone who studied for years to get them, without acknowledging that she is more qualified than him to be a teacher. Not only is she more educated than him, Epstein got a teaching position at a prestigious university with barely a bachelor's, no advanced degree, and no impressive credentials. He is all too willing to criticize an accomplished woman while downplaying the male privilege that gave him his position in the first place. Joseph Epstein gives himself authority to speak on a degree that he himself has not earned, to criticize a woman for acknowledging the degree she did earn.
Epstein then goes on to disparage "political correctness" and question the validity of honorary degrees because he thinks too many African-American women get honorary degrees. (he says, " If you are ever looking for a simile to denote rarity, try 'rarer than a contemporary university honorary-degree list not containing an African-American woman' ")Why should black women not get degrees, whether honorary or not? Epstein implies that they are given honorary degrees solely because of their gender and race, rather than their accomplishments. I think this is also indicative of his bias and sexist assumptions that women deserve accomplishments less and that they do less to earn them. In the year 2020, we need to get rid of this type of thinking once and for all.
I have not read the article by Joseph Epstein myself, but everything I have heard about it has pissed me off. I was unaware of Epstein's own education, and I think the fact that he feels he can come after someone more educated than him and argue against their qualifications just shows how awful, tone-deaf, and of course misogynistic a person he is. Not to mention that, Jill Biden will be the first doctor in the White House, so she is literally making history with her degree.
ReplyDeleteYeah that article was really irritating! I almost wrote my blog post on it as well. It was just very strange because I haven't really heard of someone taking this sort of stance before on who should be called a doctor or not. And I agree that Epstein wouldn't have written this article if it was a man instead of Dr. Jill Biden. I'm glad that so many people are pointing out the many problems with this article, though it is also worrying to see people agreeing with Epstein. The final thing that I will add is that as a Latin student, I know that the Latin word "doctor" has the english definition meaning "teacher." I am guessing that is where we get our english word "doctor" (and I have seen this mentioned elsewhere as well). So really, it doesn't even make sense to tell a teacher to drop the Dr.
ReplyDeleteSadly, men like him will find any way to attack women with more power or education than them. I believe that this is simply because they are intimidated by women like Dr. Jill Biden. He is very misogynistic and just wants attention from other insecure, intimidated men who believe like he does. It is so sad that people still think like this in 2020. But we just have to remember that they act like this because of their own insecurities and bigotry, and instead focus on the women who are making history, like Dr. Jill Biden being the first doctor in the White house, and Kamala Harris being the first WOC as vice president.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read his article either, but this is so disturbing. It's incredibly frustrating that women are still dealing with this kind of treatment and misogyny in 2020. I agree that he definitely would not have written this, or even thought about it, had it been a man we were talking about. Simply because she's a woman, he assumes she doesn't deserve the title and only got it out of pity. I was particularly disgusted with the fact that he called her a child when she is a fully grown, accomplished woman.
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