As a female medical student, I've felt uncomfortable too many times. There's the time where one of the neighboring male patients complained to my patient: "Why do you always get the pretty girls?" Or the time where I get called 'endearing' words such as "sweetheart." Or when a hospital staff member kept ogling me, asked me where I was from, and then backhandedly replied, "Oh really? You're really pretty though."
One time, I finally mustered the courage to tell my preceptor about the discomfort I was experiencing. I looked up to him and wanted his advice. His response? "They're old. They don't mean no harm. That's their way of being polite." And right then, I felt casted as yet another "overly sensitive" woman of color.
One time, I finally mustered the courage to tell my preceptor about the discomfort I was experiencing. I looked up to him and wanted his advice. His response? "They're old. They don't mean no harm. That's their way of being polite." And right then, I felt casted as yet another "overly sensitive" woman of color.
