The Internet’s doctors are posting photos of themselves lounging around in bikinis with alcohol, and frankly, we’re living for it.
Today, a 2019 study from the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery was posted on Twitter. In the study, three male doctors sifted through 480 vascular surgeons’ social media profiles and detailed the “unprofessional content” they saw on the accounts. The study concluded that half of recent or soon-to-be graduating vascular surgery trainees had an identifiable social media account, and of that half, one-quarter of the accounts had “unprofessional content.”
What did they count as unprofessional content? Among other things, they included holding/consuming alcohol, inappropriate attire—which was later specified as “pictures in underwear, provocative Halloween costumes, and provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear—profanity, and comments on political or social topics.
If you are a true #heforshe then you must speak up against this disturbing study
— Mudit Chowdhary (@DrChowdharyMD) July 24, 2020
3 men created fake social media accounts to purposefully spy on applicants
Worse they are shaming our women physician colleagues for wearing bikinis ??♂️ #MedTwitter #MedBikini #retraction pic.twitter.com/MvNZoBnok2
The study has come under fire on Twitter because of the shady methods the researchers used to gather information—creating fake social media accounts to look through surgeons’ social media pages—and because of the ludicrous suggestion that doctors should not have fun, go swimming, or drink in their off time.
In protest, women doctors have been flooding Twitter with photos of themselves drinking and/or in their swimwear and Halloween costumes trying to prove that what they do or post in their free time does not affect how they do their job.
Apparently it’s unprofessional for doctors to post social media pics wearing bikinis & drinking alcohol, so here’s me doing both. #MedBikini
— Dr. Victoria Dooley (@DrDooleyMD) July 24, 2020
Also deemed unprofessional, profanity & political talk but these dudes can fuck off b/c health care should be free at the point of care. https://t.co/Lk99jCRdrD
It breaks my heart, but this just shows a peak behind the curtain at how behind and backwards the culture in medicine is. Here's a picture of me after finishing my leading Research Thesis on Emergency Vehicle Trauma. Doctors are people too #MedBikini pic.twitter.com/A4zrSYEFNo
— Emily Casey (@emilyscasey) July 24, 2020
#MedBikini bc I’m in a hospital at 4 am, and if you don’t think 12 mi hikes, beers, and bikinis don’t make me a better doctor you’re nuts. pic.twitter.com/0M7kGpWxFv
— Lauren Agoubi (@laurenagoubi) July 24, 2020ADVERTISEMENT
I'm here in support of my female Vascular Surgery colleagues because (gasp) #WomenInCardiology also wear bikinis on family vacations. Women doctors are like real people. Having some fun in our free time does not make us unprofessional. Wellness makes us better doctors. #MedBikini pic.twitter.com/XzFiJ567Ud
— Erin D. Michos, M.D. (@ErinMichos) July 24, 2020
As per usual, Twitter has not failed to astonish us.
Header image courtesy of Lauren Agoubi on Twitter
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Evi Arthur is a graduate of Roosevelt University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies and a minor in women’s and gender studies. The former editor-in-chief of her university paper, Evi has previously interned at Chicago Agent Magazine and St. Louis Magazine. A St. Louis native (and lover of St. Louis-style pizza), she plans to eventually return to school and earn a Master's degree in investigative reporting. You can follow her at @EviArthur on Instagram and Twitter.
