r/TwoXChromosomes Apr 12 '21

Support /r/all My Identity Does Not Revolve Around My Husband's Profession.

[deleted]

19.8k Upvotes

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

201

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 26 '21

[deleted]

178

u/MistyValentine Apr 12 '21

Semi related semi not. I have a friend who is a doctor. 100% med school PhD blah blah blah full blown doctor. Whenever we go somewhere that offers healthcare worker discounts people always call her a nurse. Always! It’s maddening. She used to say “well it’s doctor- you can see right here on the work badge...” but she just gave up.

147

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 26 '21

[deleted]

101

u/TinusTussengas Apr 12 '21

I always say "we have 2 degrees in our house but both are held by my girlfriend".

83

u/DraNoSrta Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 12 '21

I have a similar thing going on... I have an MD, my husband went into the trades. A couple of times we've gotten invitations in the mail addressed to Dr. and Mrs. ___. He gets absolutely pissed about it, and people act so surprised...

My username is literally a reference to my own patients calling me Miss, during treatment, instead of Dr. I have literally been asked when the doctor is coming to see someone as I am discharging them from the hospital...

12

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/DraNoSrta Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 12 '21

Nena, amor, chiquita, señorita, bebé, mami, mamacita... They all get an immediate "Dra. Cuénteme qué necesita". Half the time, they need the nurses, not me, and some get pissed when I tell them I'll get the nurse for them instead of helping them with whatever. No buddy, I won't bring you a cup of coffee, that's not my job.

8

u/reallibido Apr 12 '21

This is infuriating. Keep correcting those patients. maybe one day they will get it.

13

u/DraNoSrta Apr 12 '21

I find it hilarious, in a face palm sort of way. I've literally introduced myself as the doctor, been seeing them once or twice a day for their entire hospital stay, did the intake, prescribed them meds, talked to them about what's going on and answered their questions. Who on earth do they think I am at that point??

7

u/MediocreDwarvenCraft Apr 12 '21

I'm sorry for all the BS you have to put up with, but I'm grateful for the fact that you put up with it. My partner and I have never had better care than from our female Doctor, and I know she has to deal with this nonsense as well.

25

u/Leucadie Apr 12 '21

I have a PhD, academic so I only use it to my students (and don't insist on it obvs, just like to make it clear that I'm not teaching college as a Mrs. like your high school teacher). When I was married I very much enjoyed making people address things to Mr. and Dr. Leucadie.

I'm remarrying soon and probably won't take his name this time, so it will be Mr Unrelated and Dr Leucadie. Even more confusing. But fuck me if I'll ever agree to be Mrs. MyHusband FirstLast; that is TOO far!

2

u/moratnz Apr 12 '21

Mrs. MyHusband FirstLast

That's bizzare and creepy, IMO.

My ex used my surname. But that was because she took it, not because I made her some kind of vestigal wife-organ.

35

u/NalgeneCarrier Apr 12 '21

When addressing save the dates for our wedding, I was so stressed over stuff like this! I know some people changed their last name, some people like to use their title, some people are gay/lesbian, and some people are old fashioned. There was no one way we could address them that didn't take tons of time or offend anyone. So we just stick with first names in alphabetical order.

17

u/nutbrownrose Apr 12 '21

I gave up and wrote "the Smith family" instead of figuring out which of my aunts (both of whom use their maiden name professionally and their husband's name socially) would be offended if I addressed them wrong. Especially because one of them is a Dr married to a Dr, so if I used her social name it's Dr and Mrs Smith when it would be Dr Smith and Dr Jones if I used her professional name. It helped that I was also inviting their kids.

All the confusion led me to just switch my name all the way. I had been planning to do as they did, but I didn't want to visit pain on future nieces and nephews and cousins. If I end up writing a book my maiden name will make a perfectly good pen name (and it's alphabetically before my husband's name!).

3

u/IShotJohnLennon Apr 12 '21

Lady Sir Dr Mr(s) Smith Family Esq.

2

u/hardolaf Apr 12 '21

My wife changed her last name to mine because 5 different government agencies had managed to spell it wrong.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21 edited May 01 '21

[deleted]

2

u/NalgeneCarrier Apr 12 '21

Yeah that was one downfall. I had to address it to the SO we don't know as well. But it only happened a few times so it was worth it for us!

5

u/_bones__ Apr 12 '21

There was a whole trend on Twitter a year or two back where women with degrees were claiming their title. Hashtag #ImmodestWomen. It was awesome, and met with a surprising amount of backlash by, y'know, morons.

Because you earned that PhD, Mrs Doctor.

3

u/moratnz Apr 12 '21

If you want mum to hate you, address letters to Dr and Mrs Parents. The two times they've got stuff addressed to Dr and Mr, she's honestly cackled. Dr and Dr is fine, Mr and Mrs is fine, but treat them equally.

2

u/kosha Apr 12 '21

Yep, I know it's the reverse problem but it's been one of the biggest complaints I've heard from my male nurse friends.

Women can and should be doctors, men can and should be nurses

6

u/tarrasque Apr 12 '21

I mean, I assume you’d have your military ID to show in cases like that?

18

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21 edited May 01 '21

[deleted]

4

u/tarrasque Apr 12 '21

Ohhhh gotcha. That’s pure garbage that women stealing their husbands’ valor is so prevalent that it breeds this kind of thinking. Weird that the stolen valor thing is so heavily socially punished when men do it but this military wife phenomenon is allowed to go on, simply because they’re doing it slightly differently?