If Female Doctors Are Shamed For Bikinis– How Can Women Hope For Empathy As Patients?
A now-retracted article in a medical journal made the sexist assertion that bikini pics on social media make female doctors look "unprofessional." Many women tell SurvivorNet they feel male doctors treat them differently, or ignore their symptoms.
A new story about the medical establishment shaming female doctors for social media posts of bikinis and Halloween costumes has many people asking how the system can hope to deliver empathetic care to women as patients.
The uproar started when the prestigious Journal of Vascular Surgery published a study which claimed that female surgeons posting bikini photos and underwear shots on social media is “inappropriate” and “unprofessional.” The authors argued that these images negatively impact patients’ respect for their physicians. An immediate uproar ensued as female physicians began posting photos with hashtag #medbikini to demonstrate their outrage. The article, entitled “Prevalence of Unprofessional Social Media Content Among Young Vascular Surgeons,” was quickly pulled by the journal.
Can Female Patients Get Fair Treatment When Women Are Shamed For Being Doctors Who Happen to Wear Bikinis?
From the SurvivorNet community’s perspective, this is hugely troubling because of what it says about how parts of the established medical system still view women; namely through antiquated and offensive ideas rooted in hurtful stereotypes.
The paper’s warning that “young surgeons should be aware of the permanent public exposure of unprofessional content (bikini photos on social media) that can be accessed by peers, patients, and … employers” is certainly deeply troubling for female physicians. But for any woman who has been ignored at the doctor’s office, or felt judged for their appearance, this episode is shocking evidence that dangerous stereotypes still exist inside medicine. Women routinely tell SurvivorNet that their cancer symptoms are indeed ignored by their male doctors.
Journal Founded By Michael Debakey, Pioneer of Coronary Bypass Surgery
Many of the physicians SurvivorNet spoke to found it shocking that an elite medical journal founded by one of the most famous names in medical history just completely failed to see the offensive nature of this sort of allegedly academic study. The journal is still edited by major names in medicine.
As the hashtag #medbikini went viral, and the Journal’s editors retracted the paper, they posted this statement on Facebook: “We offer an apology to every person who has communicated their sadness, anger, and disappointment caused by the article.” But that didn’t stop the flood of outraged responses:
Brains and Bikinis!
“Meet Dr. Scott Hardouin who works at @The_BMC,” Dr. Michael Gold tweeted. “He published a paper sharing his beliefs that women doctors posting pictures of themselves in bikini swimwear are “unprofessional.” It is time for sexist, misogynistic garbage like this to stop. #MedBikini.”
“My body in a bikini still carries my brain that has the knowledge to … detect breast cancer in my patients. I can still be a healthcare worker and wear whatever I want,” @Kaeedub tweeted. ”
One of the most touching posts came from a surgeon and breast cancer survivor, Dr. Sharon Ben-Or, proudly showing herself in a bikini post-mastectomy, still bald from chemo:
In another Tweet, @doctortater wrote, “Wore a swimsuit on a family vacation and now I’m too slutty to be a doctor,” adding, “don’t let this happen to you #medbikini.”
In an Instagram post (below), Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center writes, “I want young female physicians to know that they can be their best selves, however they wish to define it. The more we honor all parts of who we are, the more we can connect with patients to help them be their best selves.”
In a lighthearted, but still very relevant Tweet, Dr. Jennifer Dhingra tweeted, “As a hard-working and empowered woman in medicine, sometimes I like to get my coconuts out on the beach. Our swimsuits do not define our professionalism… #MedBikini.”
Another popular response came from Rachel Bocchino, who poked fun at the paper’s assertion by tweeting photo of herself wearing a lab coat in a pool and asking, “am I doing it right?”
A new story about the medical establishment shaming female doctors for social media posts of bikinis and Halloween costumes has many people asking how the system can hope to deliver empathetic care to women as patients.
The uproar started when the prestigious Journal of Vascular Surgery published a study which claimed that female surgeons posting bikini photos and underwear shots on social media is “inappropriate” and “unprofessional.” The authors argued that these images negatively impact patients’ respect for their physicians. An immediate uproar ensued as female physicians began posting photos with hashtag #medbikini to demonstrate their outrage. The article, entitled “Prevalence of Unprofessional Social Media Content Among Young Vascular Surgeons,” was quickly pulled by the journal.
Can Female Patients Get Fair Treatment When Women Are Shamed For Being Doctors Who Happen to Wear Bikinis?
From the SurvivorNet community’s perspective, this is hugely troubling because of what it says about how parts of the established medical system still view women; namely through antiquated and offensive ideas rooted in hurtful stereotypes.
The paper’s warning that “young surgeons should be aware of the permanent public exposure of unprofessional content (bikini photos on social media) that can be accessed by peers, patients, and … employers” is certainly deeply troubling for female physicians. But for any woman who has been ignored at the doctor’s office, or felt judged for their appearance, this episode is shocking evidence that dangerous stereotypes still exist inside medicine. Women routinely tell SurvivorNet that their cancer symptoms are indeed ignored by their male doctors.
Journal Founded By Michael Debakey, Pioneer of Coronary Bypass Surgery
Many of the physicians SurvivorNet spoke to found it shocking that an elite medical journal founded by one of the most famous names in medical history just completely failed to see the offensive nature of this sort of allegedly academic study. The journal is still edited by major names in medicine.
As the hashtag #medbikini went viral, and the Journal’s editors retracted the paper, they posted this statement on Facebook: “We offer an apology to every person who has communicated their sadness, anger, and disappointment caused by the article.” But that didn’t stop the flood of outraged responses:
Brains and Bikinis!
“Meet Dr. Scott Hardouin who works at @The_BMC,” Dr. Michael Gold tweeted. “He published a paper sharing his beliefs that women doctors posting pictures of themselves in bikini swimwear are “unprofessional.” It is time for sexist, misogynistic garbage like this to stop. #MedBikini.”
“My body in a bikini still carries my brain that has the knowledge to … detect breast cancer in my patients. I can still be a healthcare worker and wear whatever I want,” @Kaeedub tweeted. ”
One of the most touching posts came from a surgeon and breast cancer survivor, Dr. Sharon Ben-Or, proudly showing herself in a bikini post-mastectomy, still bald from chemo:
In another Tweet, @doctortater wrote, “Wore a swimsuit on a family vacation and now I’m too slutty to be a doctor,” adding, “don’t let this happen to you #medbikini.”
In an Instagram post (below), Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center writes, “I want young female physicians to know that they can be their best selves, however they wish to define it. The more we honor all parts of who we are, the more we can connect with patients to help them be their best selves.”
In a lighthearted, but still very relevant Tweet, Dr. Jennifer Dhingra tweeted, “As a hard-working and empowered woman in medicine, sometimes I like to get my coconuts out on the beach. Our swimsuits do not define our professionalism… #MedBikini.”
Another popular response came from Rachel Bocchino, who poked fun at the paper’s assertion by tweeting photo of herself wearing a lab coat in a pool and asking, “am I doing it right?”
