Doctors Put On Their Swimwear To Protest a Study That Called Them "Unprofessional" For Sharing Swimwear Photos On Social Media
Is it alright that smart and capable women, who worked hard to get through medical school and internship, paid off numerous student loans, and most importantly, are keeping us alive and well, are judged by how they dress in their free time?
The answer seems to be -yes, according to a piece on the conduct of younger vascular surgeons called “Prevalence Of Unprofessional Social Media Content Among Young Vascular Surgeons,” that was published in The Journal Of Vascular Surgery.
Were the article creators trying to protect these doctors' professional reputation, or was it plain misogyny? After all, mostly women were called out…
Doctors were reprimanded for “provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear” and “holding/consuming alcohol” on their social media accounts.
The Internet responded—the hashtag #medbikini quickly started to trend, as ladies in medicine shared pictures of themselves in swimsuits to demonstrate that what they do in their off-hours has no impact on their medical skills or their dedication.
Even some older doctors wanted to contribute.
Other professionals in that field suggested that the research was faulty at best and, at worst, had some major ethical issues. Allegedly, the three doctors who conducted it used false social media accounts to get the results they wanted.
They also happen to be men in their mid-30s, and they could be biased.
People concured:
"1 I concur & I’m a patient
2 Researchers sound CREEPY & CRAZY in this study. Very intrusive and sketchy. I’m not sure I want ’em as my docs
3 I’ll keep my smart & kind docs, who want to wear speedos/bikinis in their personal time
PS. How is the study even legal to do???"
— Pam (@Pam25708340) July 25, 2020
Others mentioned misogyny:
The uproar resumed, and ultimately, The Journal Of Vascular Surgery did the right thing, withdrew the controversial study, and expressed regret. But the study actually did some good by directing attention to something that can no longer be acceptable in modern society.
