DISHONORING WOMEN DOCTORS
Language is important. In this article studies were done and found that female doctors are often introduced by their first names while male doctors receive the title they have both earned of “Dr.”
The question this raises is whether in the church we also introduce our female pastors as “Pastor” or only use their first name. The result of such continual referencing is noted in the article as dishonoring. For the entire article click here.
The article reads in part:
“As sociologists, we know language is very powerful; it both reflects larger social meanings and patterns and can directly contribute to them, in many cases perpetuating social inequality,” said Allison, who studies gender equality.
“The words we use can shape how people feel about themselves and others, how they interact and how they make decisions about the distribution of rights and resources,” she said….
“Women don’t tend to be thought of as leaders. They’re thought of as worker bees and the people who work well together,” said Templeton, immediate past president of the American Medical Women’s Association. “Talking to us is no different than talking to their wives or daughters at home. They just assume, somehow, that they don’t warrant the same respect as the men do,” she said….
Anupam Jena, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said male introducers could be using first names because they felt that “the work done by female colleagues is somehow different than the work done by male colleagues.”
“Subconsciously they are not equating the stature of female speakers to be the same as male speakers,” he said.