Woman Clashes with Sister-in-Law After She Demands to be Called ‘Doctor' at Family Events

Yahoo

2 days ago

A woman's sister-in-law, who recently earned a PhD, shocked her family by demanding to be called 'Doctor' at a reunion
Tensions rose after the sister-in-law said 'aunt' was too childish and refused to accept informal names from loved ones
The sister-in-law stormed out of the event, vowing to skip future gatheringsA woman seeks advice from the Reddit community after a tense family gathering left her questioning whether she crossed a line with her sister-in-law.
In her post, she explains that her sister-in-law, who recently earned a PhD, now insists on being addressed as 'Doctor," even by close family members.
'So, I have a SIL that after her kids had grown she went back to school, then got her Master's then PHD in literature,' the woman writes. She notes that everyone in the family was "proud" of the 53-year-old's academic accomplishments.
According to the poster, the sister-in-law now works part-time at the library and also teaches as an online professor at the community college.
But things took an awkward turn at a recent family reunion, the first in years, when the woman's children and nephews went to greet their aunt warmly.
'Our entire family has called her 'Beth' for 36 yrs,' she explains. "Of course our kids called her aunt or auntie Beth. Even after her Master's degree. So our kids and a couple of my nephews went to give her a hug and said 'Hi Aunt Beth you look great.' "
That's when she stunned everyone by correcting them on the spot. 'She told them, 'Don't you know it is rude to call someone with a PhD by their first name or 'aunt.'" She then instructed everyone to call her "Doctor," followed by her first and last name — specifically her maiden name.
One of the nephews immediately spoke up, telling her, 'You are our aunt, not our doctor.' However, she didn't back down and instead pulled her brothers aside to demand they teach their kids what she believes is proper respect.
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'She pulled my brothers and I aside and said to teach our kids some respect because Aunt is childish,' the woman writes. The sister-in-law insisted that 'regardless of relation, someone with a doctorate should be addressed as doctor and her legal name she was born with.'
Trying to keep the peace, the woman pointed out that they were in a casual setting. 'I told her that it was fine in a public place or if they see her at the library,' she shares, but adds that most of the family has only ever known her as "Beth" and didn't realize she had started using her maiden name again.
The poster notes that her brother and sister-in-law are not separated, though she seemingly started hyphenating her last name after years of using their "family name."
Things escalated when the sister-in-law announced that they were abruptly leaving. 'She ended up telling her husband, my brother 'Tim,' it was time to go and that they were not going to any more family functions because his family cannot use professional etiquette,' the woman writes.
Tim stayed behind to say his goodbyes, "and apologized and said she has been this way since she started teaching. He even said she won't let him call her Beth."
Looking back, the woman questions if she and the rest of the family were wrong for sticking with the name they've always used. 'Were we wrong? If knew it before we would have reminded everyone,' she says.
In an edit to her post, she thanked the Reddit community for their input and said she's considering some of the advice given. 'I may actually give some of the ideas to my brother Tim,' she adds, showing she's still open to mending things.
Read the original article on People