Doctor slams Qantas for calling her 'Miss'

Australian academic Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer took to social media to call out Qantas for calling her "Miss". Photo / Twitter

An Aussie doctor has sparked a Twitter feud after a Qantas flight attendant referred to her as "Miss", rather than "Doctor". She says women face this kind of "sexism" every day.

An Australian doctor has unleashed on Twitter after a Qantas flight attendant accidentally addressed her as "Miss", calling the incident an example of blatant "sexism".

Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer, an Australian academic currently working in the UK, took to social media of Friday to share her gripe with the airline.

"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," she wrote.

Copping so much flack for this tweet. 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. https://t.co/1XHvQIb2iZ

— Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer (@Siobhan_ODwyer) September 2, 2018

The tweet, which has so far garnered more than 1000 retweets and 8000 likes, sparked fierce debate about whether the flight attendant was wrong to refer to a woman with a PhD in Philosophy as "Miss".

Some Twitter users suggested Dr O'Dwyer was being "precious" and called her out for "first world problems", while others have agreed the Qantas employee was disrespectful. Some have proposed the attendant simply struggled to pronounce her first name, "Siobhan".

"So it's clear you define yourself in society by your title. Good on you Doctor. It's a well spent 8 years if this your biggest worry in the world," one user commented.

"The comments on this threads compelled me to reply. Congrats on your PhD, you smart, amazing, strong woman! I know how hard you must have worked. Thanks for paving the way for future women!," another wrote.

"One of the more narcissistic tweets I've seen in a long time. Fabulous," a tweet reads.

I often travel with male colleagues who do get ‘Dr’ and then I get called ‘Miss’. It’s the casual nature of the sexism that makes it so hard to combat. Keep calling it out Dr O’Dwyer 😊

— Cameo Dalley (@CameoDalley) September 4, 2018

I’ve got no idea. The vitriol in my feed at the moment is staggering.

— Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer (@Siobhan_ODwyer) September 3, 2018

The Twitter discussion took on a new life when fellow academic Dr Mel Thomson tweeted her support for Dr O'Dwyer's situation, writing: "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 if some trolley dolly gets to decide what honorific I get called, FFS."

Many took offence to the term "trolley dolly" used to describe flight attendants, arguing it is offensive to airline crew and also degrading women.

"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 u alive in-flight, prevent hijacking, put out fires etc," an airline steward tweeted.

Dr O'Dwyer received so much attention for her original tweet, she took to social media again to clear up why she took issue with the attendant's mistake.

"Copping so much flack for this tweet. 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," Dr O'Dwyer wrote.