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Academic Calls Out Airline For Referring To Her As 'Miss' And Not 'Doctor

Academic Calls Out Airline For Referring To Her As 'Miss' And Not 'Doctor

Dr O'Dwyer received backlash after her Twitter compliant

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

An academic has slammed Qantas after a flight attendant called her 'Miss' rather than 'Doctor' during a recent trip.

Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer, an Australian currently working in the UK, did what everyone does when they're angry in 2018 and took to social media to complain about the incident.

Twitter/Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer

She tweeted: "Hey Qantas, my name is Dr O'Dwyer. My ticket says Dr O'Dwyer. Do not look at my ticket, look at me, look back at my ticket, decide it's a typo and call me Miss O'Dwyer. I did not spend 8 years at university to be called Miss."

The post has received nearly 8,000 likes and sparked debate about whether Dr O'Dwyer, who has a PhD in Philosophy, or the flight attendant was in the wrong.

Some have said Dr O'Dwyer complained about the mistake as a way to get an ego boost while others argued it's disrespectful not call her doctor.

Twitter/Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer

Other female academics have tweeted to show their support to the doctor.

Dr Mel Thomson wrote: "You have all of the solidarity on this issue.

"I'm first gen to finish high school (let alone get several degrees) in my family ... I'll be damned is some trolley dolly gets to decide what honorific I get called, FFS."

It seems Dr Thomson forgot that saying: 'two wrongs don't make a right', because what people really picked up in the tweet was the doctor calling someone a 'trolley dolly'.

Twitter/Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer

One air steward tweeted: "Please don't refer to us as trolley dollies. We may not have completed a PhD however we are required by law 2 maintain quals that enable us to evacuate an aircraft in 90 secs, keep you alive in-flight, prevent hijacking, put out fires etc."

She added: "I have always used the correct honorific. And I have always been especially careful to ensure I used it when I saw it on a woman's boarding pass as I was proud to be able to support the woman and her achievements in a male-centric world.

"You've just gone and sh*t on that with your condescending comment about us."

Qantas said it stood by the professionalism of their cabin crew in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.

It read: "We are extremely proud of our cabin crew who respectfully serve our customers day in and day out and play a vital safety role."

After the tweet went viral, Dr O'Dwyer took to social media once more to say she had been 'copping so much flak' for her Twitter complaint

She said: "This was not about my ego. It was about highlighting one of a thousand instances of sexism that women encounter every day.

"It's not about the title, it's about the fact that this wouldn't have happened if I was a man."

People divided over her reasoning of the incident - some people have said she's making a mountain out of a molehill, other say it was simply sexism.

One man said: "Your tweet is exactly about ego. How many male doctors write tweets to Qantas complaining they get called Mr & not Dr ? If they did, they would cop exactly same the responses as you."

Another person argues: "Why don't the trolls understand that it's about equality?"

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer

Topics: sexism, World News, UK News, News, Australia