On Friday, December 11th, a controversial piece by journalist Joseph Epstein was published in The Wall Street Journal. The piece centered on soon to be first lady Dr. Jill Biden, in which Epstein essentially mocked and diminished her credentials, urging her to drop the prefix “Dr.” from her name. Epstein begins the article by stating: “Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the “Dr.” before your name? “Dr. Jill Biden ” sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.” (Wall Street Journal)
Dr. Biden received her Education Doctorate (EdD) from the University of Delaware in 2007 while in her 50’s, which is an impressive accomplishment to say the least. She works as a community college professor, with plans to continue teaching in her husband’s time as president, making her the only first lady in history to work a full time job. Epstein even discredits her dissertation topic and title, “Student Retention at the Community College Level,” as “unpromising.” Ultimately, Epstein cites his reasons for this mean-spirited attack as being that no one should refer to themselves as a doctor unless they’ve delivered a child. This thought trajectory is completely unfounded of course, as the prefix “Dr.” has never been strictly reserved for medical doctors. The etymology of the word “doctor,” as pointed out by Merriam- Webster dictionary on Twitter, actually comes from the Latin word for “teacher.”
Many have been quick to point out the sexist nature of Epstein’s piece. From everything to the mocking tone to the demeaning language it seems clear that Epstein would not be writing this piece about a man with the same credentials as Dr. Biden. Furthermore, Epstein’s piece encourages Dr. Biden to forget her accomplishments and focus more on her duties as first lady when her husband takes office. Dr. Biden’s spokesman, Michael LaRosa, responded to the Wall Street Journal on Twitter, stating: “If you had any respect for women at all you would remove this repugnant display of chauvinism from your paper.” On Monday, December 14th, Dr. Biden herself tweeted: “Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished.” To see the public outrage that Epstein’s essay caused as well as the support that Dr. Biden has received is extremely positive and heartwarming. As she rightly should, Dr. Biden seems to have no intention of downplaying her accomplishments by dropping “Dr.” from her name.
Sources:
“The Wall Street Journal column about Jill Biden is worse than you thought” https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dr-jill-biden-wall-street-journal/2020/12/13/e43883a4-3d45-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html
“Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-there-a-doctor-in-the-white-house-not-if-you-need-an-m-d-11607727380
“Jill Biden appears to respond to column urging her to drop the ‘Dr.’ title” https://news.yahoo.com/jill-biden-appears-respond-column-143427177.html
“Merriam-Webster cheekily shuts down op-ed that said Jill Biden should drop ‘Dr.’ title from her name” https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/merriam-webster-cheekily-shuts-down-op-ed-that-said-jill-biden-should-drop-dr-title-from-her-name/694694
