#Medbikini
If this hashtag means anything to you, you'll know that what is about to follow is a very justified rant.
For those whom it does not here is a recap; an article was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery titled "Prevalence of unprofessional social media content among young vascular surgeons". In this study, young vascular surgeons’ social media accounts were screened, using fake social media accounts created by the authors. The authors rationalized the lack of informed consent from study participants and blatant privacy violation, by suggesting that what they were doing mirrored a regular screen by an employer. The authors looked for any “clearly unprofessional content”1, including illegal activity, patient confidentiality violations, and slander against colleagues, which are important for patient care and are obviously inappropriate.
However, the main problem with the paper involved what authors considered “potentially unprofessional content” including; “holding/consuming alcohol”, talking about “controversial social topics”, and “inappropriate attire” which included “pictures in underwear, provocative Halloween costumes, and provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear”.
The authors felt this content depicted on social media would lead a patient to lose trust in their healthcare professional, were they to stumble across it. To nobody’s surprise six out of seven authors responsible for deciding the criteria of unprofessional content were male and all three researchers performing the screening were male. This is very unsettling when you simply consider that three men were using fake accounts to judge female surgeons’ social media presence and shame the ones wearing bikinis.
The authors’ views on “potentially unprofessional content” perpetuate oppressive and patriarchal norms which overwhelmingly targeted females. The words “controversial”, “inappropriate” and “provocative” are highly subjective, yet they were used to make insensitive moral judgements on women and publish them in order to claim that women in medicine needed to be discouraged from acting in a way that was “unprofessional”. Let’s make something clear, wearing a bikini outside of hospital does not define a woman’s professionalism, intelligence, or capability to do her job and is frankly no one else’s business.
Faced with the blatant misogyny of the study, female physicians took to social media to protest by sharing photos of themselves in bikinis; starting a movement under the hashtag #medbikini.
It started an important conversation around how female doctors are notoriously treated differently to their male counterparts. Stories of ridiculous comments by senior male and female colleagues like too much skin, too much makeup, too attractive, too fashionable, flooded the internet.
It was glorious to see all these women band together and support each other when confronted with shameless double standards. It was also amazing to see many male doctors condemning the article and being aware of their privilege.
Simultaneously, you couldn't help but feel a sense of overwhelming disappointment at the sexism that still exists within our profession and is continuously maintained by those who uphold antiquated standards for women (patients included). Even as a medical student, the infamous rhetoric of "you have to become a GP if you want to start a family", rings in my ear’s too loudly. I know for a fact I am not the only one who has been told that motherhood will come at the price of a career in something I am actually interested in.
Following the backlash, the article was redacted, apologies were made by the journal's editorial board for their review process and excuses given included that there were no women on the editorial board (I have to laugh). Being male does not make you exempt from standing up to sexism; in fact it is critical for men to be involved in the conversation as medicine is historically a male-dominated field. Apologising in hindsight is futile. Does this seem harsh? Well it is and that is because this study included a female author, went through the rigorous process of peer-review at a reputable journal and was scrutinised by an editorial board before being published. Out of all those brilliant scientists, not one identified the glaring gender bias and if that does not scream systemic failure to you, then I do not know what will.
Beyond the sexist nature of the paper, it highlighted another massive issue with the definition of professionalism in medicine. Why were doctors being shamed for having a life outside of medicine? What is wrong with going to a Halloween dress-up party and having a drink? Are doctors no longer allowed to have opinions on social issues e.g. gun control, reproductive health, rights for the LGBTQI+ community, racial injustice? Doctors are notoriously held at a higher standard than other professionals in and out of the workplace, and this is important as they take care of people at their most vulnerable point. The authors explanations of “clearly unprofessional content” are reflective of the minimum professionalism values expected from doctors.
As healthcare professionals we should be expected to not let our personal lives affect patient care, however, the study ultimately suggested that there should be no boundary between being a doctor and being a human being outside of medicine.
By no means am I suggesting it is ok to post a photo of yourself lying in a puddle of your own vomit, but this fairly extreme example is not what the authors were portraying as “potentially unprofessional content”. Their view promotes a damaging standard for young doctors and is directly opposing the incessant preaching about the importance of a healthy work-life balance. Doctors should feel comfortable posting photos of themselves having a good time, regardless of what they are wearing or what drink they are holding, just like any other human being, without worrying about senior colleagues or patient scrutiny. This is also true for opinions on social issues; having to sacrifice your own personal beliefs is unethical. Take for example abortions; a doctor opposed to abortions is allowed to refer a patient to a different doctor who will offer them the care they need, without having to compromise their values. We are taught in medical school to call out racism when we witness it within the workplace, why should it be deemed unprofessional to do so on our social media?
The hypocrisy of a paper about professionalism being so unprofessional is laughable. It is abundantly clear that there is so much work that still needs to be done and that sexism is still thriving in medicine and within society as a whole. The elite pedestal on which doctors are placed on is harmful and carries the risk of doctors being seen as individuals without lives outside of the hospital. The definition of professionalism is long overdue a revisiting and this study has really brought that to everyone’s attention. The hashtag is no longer viral, but the movement cannot stop until female doctors and surgeons are treated as equals, and physicians are allowed to be people when their shift is over.
