Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Gay or Sexist?

Women in my generation have been pretty lucky as far as sexism goes. I can count on one hand the times I've actually been treated differently because of my sex, and I bet other women today rarely experience discrimination because of their gender.

However, one of those times when I felt mistreated because of my gender was today, and I'm still livid. A doctor absolutely spoke down to me today, as if I couldn't understand the big words he was using. I won't say his name, although he deserves to be called out for his bad behavior. I will say that this was not in the UA student health center.

My brother was with me and the doctor spoke normally to him. But when the doctor turned to me, he actually said "Ok, I'll try to put this in easy words so you can follow it." Later on, he mentioned that he went to Mount St. Mary's University "back when it was a good school." "Why was it a good school then and not now?" I asked. His response: "Because back then no women were there."

He's either gay or sexist, right? I'm concluding sexist.

ADDED: Some of the commenters seem to think that I was saying the doctor might be gay because he talked down to me, a woman. That's not what I was saying at all. When I wrote that he might be gay, I was referring to the comment he made about college. He might have preferred an all-male college because he was gay, or he might have preferred it because he's sexist and doesn't think women belong in higher education. (Yes, I'm ignoring the other positives that come from single sex education, but I wrote this post with tongue planted firmly in cheek.)

Also, I ended the post by saying he was sexist, not gay. Even if the preceding statements were unclear, the last line should have clarified it. Re-read the post. There's nothing offensive in there except for the way he treated me.

13 comments:

SneakySimian said...

That's not cool. Have you considered rattling some cages and talking to his superior(s)?

I had a doctor once that stood there ranting to someone about how drug companies were evil when it came to giving proper care to diabetics for a whole 45 minutes, while I sat in the room waiting with a nasty chest cold and a broken foot (that one is a long story). I almost walked out. I should have walked out. He looked at me, listened to me, and when I asked him for an xray of my foot, he outright _refused_ because it would more time on the visit (not his exact words ...). Yeah, well, if he was so worried about time spent on each patient, don't keep them waiting for 45 minutes.

That doctor didn't last long at that practice. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sharon! Please don't assume that gay men talk down to women simply because they only engage in intimate relationships with men. Whether you believe homosexuality is a choice or genetic predisposition, homosexuality is not based in discrimanation, bigotry, bias, or just general narrow mindedness. I am sure the good doctor is just your average jackass!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I was empathetic right up to the point you asked, "He's either gay or sexist, right?" That is a pretty offensive question in itself. It makes you sound like one of those women who if a guy she finds attractive doesn't hit on her, she makes the assumption he's gay.

Anonymous said...

You are as judgemental / bigoted as the doctor if you assume that he spoke down to a women because he was gay, that's pretty offensive. It's one thing to call someone sexist, but to assume they disregard women because of being homosexual makes you as prejudicied as the sexist doctor. Nice work.

Anonymous said...

This post is very uncool. I agree with the anonymous posters and disappointed. You are no better than that sexist doctor.

Anonymous said...

If that's your attitude then you deserved to be talked down to by the doctor.

Sharon said...

Whoa, guys. I wasn't saying that the doctor was gay because he talked down to me. I was saying he was either gay or sexist because he preferred the time when women weren't allowed in his college.

Anonymous said...

Your follow up edit really doesn't help much. It's like you are now talking down to us. I am pretty sure I know how to read. Why even bother making the leap of stating he might be gay? Dude was sexist and just leave it at that.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. It doesn't help your case to treat your readers like they are illiterate morons. You wrote the post unclear and ambigious and it came off sounding like you were prejudiced.

Gregg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

5:26 PM needs to know that there is no such word as "empathetic." The word is empathic. Idiot.

And 12:52 AM does not have a grasp of proper English grammar. That last sentence uses adjectives where adverbs are needed, and a comma is missing to separate the clauses in that compound sentence. In other words, 12:52 AM really is an illiterate moron.

Anonymous said...

3:02 PM - I am so glad you are perfect. I wish we could follow your blog to harrass you.

Anonymous said...

Do you know any gay men? True, they like guys, but they almost always have a ton of women in their lives. Honestly, I don't even know why that thought popped into your head and I'd like to assume that you're too intelligent to be a homophobe. But I'm wavering on that one.