On Credentialism and Titles
16th December 2020
The incoming First Lady has been noted for years for her penchant for wanting to be called “Dr. Biden” outside the professional context. She has an Ed.D., a doctorate of Education, from the University of Delaware, which she earned in 2007. As the Vice President’s wife (I refuse to use the term “Second Lady”), she went by “Dr. Biden” all the time, and the White House press releases used this as well. But her predecessor, Lynne Cheney, went by and was always referred to as “Mrs. Cheney,” although she earned a Ph.D. in English.
This difference was occasionally remarked upon over the years, but there was nothing like the uproar after the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Joseph Epstein in which he called on Mrs. Biden to drop the “Dr.” as she takes on the role of First Lady. In response, there were howls from academics, many of whom added “Dr.” before their Twitter names in solidarity.
The only people who insist on being called ‘Doctor’ are people who don’t deserve the respect they are trying to grab.