Avenger of the Week | Rebecca Katz

Last week, when details were emerging about the deadly shooting at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York, Communications Specialist Rebecca Katz took offense to The New York Times headline about the slain doctor.

We’ve talked before about how women doctors are consistently referred to by their first names, versus the title “Doctor” like men in the same profession. But beyond that, what really rubbed Katz the wrong way was that even in her death, this unnamed victim of the shooting, a doctor, was simply referred to as a woman. She was not given the respect she deserved, as a doctor, as a person who went to work that morning to serve others, and as someone who made the ultimate sacrifice while doing so.

The Twitterverse rose up in solidarity. Rebecca’s tweet was retweeted 6,527 times and liked 14,198 times, ultimately causing the paper to change the headline from “…Killing Woman and Wounding 6 Others” to “…Killing Doctor and Wounding 6 Others”.

While the change may seem insignificant given the severity of the overall situation, thanks to Rebecca Katz, it now accurately and respectfully honors the life that was lost.

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Twitterverse rises up, @nytimes changes a headline, and slain doctor gets the respect she deserved. #genderavenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-rebecca-katz