It's 2020 and women still can't have anything, apparently, because yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by writer Joseph Epstein saying that Dr. Jill Biden, future first lady and holder of a doctorate degree, should stop using "Dr." as her title.
I don't want to link you to to the article or devote too much time to what he said, but let's very quickly mention the lowlights.
Thankfully, the internet, as well as the university he used to teach at, said "NOPE" to all that.
Dear @DrBiden: My father was a non-medical doctor. And his work benefited humanity greatly. Yours does, too.
Her name is Dr. Jill Biden. Get used to it.
The most perfect response came from Merriam-Webster's Twitter account, which tweeted an article about the history and origin of the word "doctor."
The word 'doctor' comes from the Latin word for "teacher." https://t.co/wUihrn6Hyq
"The word 'doctor' comes from the Latin word for 'teacher,' itself from docēre, meaning 'to teach,'" the article explains.
HOW VERY INTERESTING. You know who's a teacher? Dr. Jill Biden, who has an Ed.D., a doctoral degree in the field of education. She has a doctorate, which makes her a doctor!
Obviously the word "doctor" is most often used to refer to medical doctors, but as Merriam-Webster pointed out, smart people know that when someone has "Dr." in front of their name, it doesn't necessarily mean they have a medical degree.
I don't know why this man woke up one day and decided to write this, but I'm certainly glad that the reaction has been swift and dismissive.
Medical doctors are vitally important to our lives, teachers are vitally important to our lives, and anybody who goes through the hard work of obtaining a doctorate should call themselves a doctor if they want to.
Any other misogynistic and classist questions about Dr. Jill Biden's academic credentials can go right here!
