Misogyny in Health Professions? An Analysis of the Dalhousie Dentistry Scandal

Abstract

This commentary offers an explanation for how and why the Dalhousie Dentistry scandal could occur in a society and time where traditional gender roles are seemingly being eradicated. We use Foucault’s modes of objectification, applied to an analysis of the use of “manhood acts” and in relation to the hidden curriculum, to argue that when women threaten the authority of men in health professions, men may subconsciously look for ways to re-exert an unequal and gendered subject-object binary.Ce commentaire explique comment et pourquoi un scandale, tel que celui de la Faculté de dentisterie de l’Université Dalhousie, peut se produire dans une société et une époque où les rôles traditionnels assignés aux femmes et aux hommes ont apparemment disparu. Nous nous référerons aux modes d’objectivation de Foucault, appliqué à une analyse de l’utilisation des « actes de virilité », en relation avec le curriculum dissimulé, pour faire valoir que, lorsque les femmes menacent l’autorité des hommes dans les professions de santé, les hommes peuvent inconsciemment chercher des moyens de ré-exercer une partition binaire sujet-objet, inégale et genrée

Are there more women in the dentist workforce? Using an intersectionality lens to explore the feminization of the dentist workforce in the UK and US

“…The persistence of these gendered and patriarchal ideologies contributed to delaying women's entry into dentistry until the late 19th/early 20th century, keeping their numbers low until the second half of the 20th century 32–34 . As more women entered the dentist workforce, they were met with sexual harassment in dental surgery and dental hygiene education 12,35–38 . and a high incidence of women working part time in dental practice, which suggests that work‐life balance is difficult to attain in this profession rather than an indication of the opposite 39 .…”

‘Male’ficence or ‘Miss’understandings?

“…There, male students voted on which female classmates they would like to have 'hate sex' with and joked about using chloroform on women. In another post, a woman was shown in a bikini with the caption, 'Bang until stress is relieved or unconscious' (Hunter 2015). The female students (21 in total) lodged a formal complaint about the derogatory remarks posted online about them, and a full departmental and university investigation was launched (Hunter 2015).…”

“…In another post, a woman was shown in a bikini with the caption, 'Bang until stress is relieved or unconscious' (Hunter 2015). The female students (21 in total) lodged a formal complaint about the derogatory remarks posted online about them, and a full departmental and university investigation was launched (Hunter 2015). The 13 men in question were removed from the programme as the academic investigation was undertaken.…”

“…The 13 men in question were removed from the programme as the academic investigation was undertaken. The investigating committee decided that the students in question should undergo a restorative justice programme and write and read a full letter of apology to their classmates, before they could rejoin the year (Hunter 2015).…”

“…Last, this story can be interpreted as evidence of a success for feminist activism: taking this negative experience and turning it into a moment of activism and gender awareness building. While the offending students were sanctioned by the institution, it is important to note that some of the female students were upset that a restorative justice approach was taken, interpreting it as a 'softer' line of sanctioning than could have been adopted by the institution (Hunter 2015). The Facebook posts contained threats of sexual violence-can a verbally delivered apology really make amends for such gendered hate speeches against classmates?…”