Most of you have probably heard the story:
A man and his son are in a tragic car accident. The little boy’s condition is critical, and he is in urgent need of medical attention. An ambulance takes them to the nearest hospital, where the doctor walks into the room and says, “I can’t operate on him; he’s my son!” How is this possible? Who is the doctor?
Most people who hear this story find that their brain goes into meltdown: it just doesn’t add up. Are they a gay couple? Is the man at the accident really the boy’s father?
The point of the story is to highlight the gender norms of our society, as the huge majority of people picture a man in the hospital as soon as the word “doctor” is mentioned. Ironically, there’s really nothing strange at all about this story, and the questions aren’t trick questions: the doctor is the boy’s mother, and that’s that. But I have yet to meet the person who doesn’t have to think twice before realising that.
Here’s a bad-quality iPhone photo of a Corsodyl poster campaign that is currently on the London underground:
“You might choose to ignore spots of blood in the basin when brushing your teeth, but ignore them too long and one day your dentist may shake his head…” goes the copy.
I’m just sayin’.
The norm, the exception, and a fragile bridge | Blog | Freelance Writer & Translator Linnea Dunne | London, UK
[...] There is of course nothing wrong with distinguishing between traditionally feminine and masculine, and I doubt anyone would suggest that we should get rid of these distinctions altogether. What this highlights, though, is that these traditional values and properties are deeply ingrained in our culture, and if we are likely to judge a bridge by them, we are probably very likely to do the same with people. Moreover, the fact that there’s always a norm means that there’s always an exception. That the norm is more often feminine in regards to professions to do with care, physical weakness, childcare and tidying won’t come as a surprise to anyone, and I’ve argued the case for dentists and surgeons before. [...]