The Wall Street Journal has come under a torrent of denunciation for publishing a “sexist” opinion article that calls Jill Biden, the first lady-in-waiting, “kiddo,” and questions her right to use “Dr” in front of her name.
The article, written by Joseph Epstein, a former adjunct professor at Northwestern University, purports to offer Biden “a bit of advice.”
Calling her “Madame First Lady — Mrs Biden — Jill — kiddo,” Epstein wrote that “‘Dr Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic,” as the title refers to an “Ed D — a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware.”
On Sunday night, Jill Biden wrote on Twitter: “Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished.”
Elizabeth Alexander, Biden’s director of communications, denounced the piece as “sexist and shameful.”
Michael LaRosa, Biden’s spokesman in the transition team, demanded an apology, saying the newspaper should be embarrassed by the “sexist attack.”
Over the weekend, a groundswell of criticism built into a tidal wave over the haughtiness of the piece and its sexism and racism.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton put her reaction most pithily: “Her name is Dr Jill Biden. Get used to it.”
Other prominent public figures also waded in.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, said in a tweet to Biden: “My father was a non-medical doctor. And his work benefited humanity greatly. Yours does, too.”
Doug Emhoff, the spouse of US vice president-elect Kamala Harris, said that Biden had earned her degrees through “hard work and pure grit? This story would never have been written about a man.”
Northwestern University said Epstein has not taught there in almost 20 years. In a statement, its English department said it rejected his opinion on Biden “as well as the diminishment of anyone’s duly-earned degrees in any field, from any university.”
Epstein’s profile on the Northwestern Web site, where he had been listed as an “emeritus lecturer,” was apparently later taken down, the journalist David Gura reported on Twitter.
Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse wrote that while Epstein cited his own refusal to be called “Dr” when he taught at Northwestern, he could not have done so as his highest degree is a bachelor’s.
Additional reporting by agencies
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