Doug Emhoff Says the 'WSJ' Op-Ed About Dr. Jill Biden 'Would Never Have Been Written About a Man'

Photo credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY - Getty Images
Photo credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY - Getty Images

From ELLE

On Saturday, a Wall Street Journal column from Joseph Esptein titled "Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.," made the rounds, and ...ticked off a lot of people. The piece is offensive as soon as it begins: "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. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title 'Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students' Needs.' A wise man once said that no one should call himself 'Dr.'unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc."

Kiddo? Really? It didn't take long for the internet, and Twitter, especially, to come up with a comeback to this sexism.

One came from incoming second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, who absolutely dropped the mic with this tweet about the former second lady and incoming first lady: "Dr. Biden earned her degrees through hard work and pure grit. She is an inspiration to me, to her students, and to Americans across this country. This story would never have been written about a man."

If you do a quick scan of Twitter right now, you'll see that women with doctoral degrees are changing their bios to include the honorific using the hashtag, #mytitleisdr.

To all women who are PhDs: In solidarity with Dr. Jill Biden and to stand in solidarity against that sexist trash op-ed about her in the WSJ, please consider adding “Dr” to your twitter name to show how many of us there are. We deserve respect. You earned your PhD. #mytitleisdr," archaeologist Sarah Parcak tweeted. Her fellow doctorates followed suit.

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