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diasIItema

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For current or former dental students. Not sure how many schools have a chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD), but my school has a thriving chapter. Naturally, the organization is for women. They do an abundance of things from lunch and learns to specialist panels to wine tastings to lake weekends, etc. Most is funded by a local vendor and they pay small annual dues.

The original purpose of the organization was to provide networking and support for women dentists at a time when they were a significant minority in the profession. Now, however, at my school it's an even split. In fact, in my class there are more women than men.

This is really curious to me, as the purpose of the organization seems to be defunct. It's simply a "girls-only" dental organization. It wouldn't really bother me, but the organization is able to host some really awesome opportunities and men are not permitted.

Would there be any objections to the creation of a similar organization that promotes the interests of male dental students? The idea of a "skull-and-bones"-type male dental society would be fun. Obviously, the function would parallel that of AAWD: networking, panels, lunch and learns, fundraisers, etc. But for the fellas. We already have the typical Psi-O and Delta Sig, but they are co-ed.

Thoughts?

EDIT: It appears there is a Future Male Dentists of America (FMDA) chapter at KY, so apparently male organizations do exist, but not at a national level...
 
That's interesting. I'd join it but what exactly are in the interests of male dental students? lulz
I'm imagining what it would be like if there were some association for Caucasian dentists. Promote higher number of Caucasian dentists?
 
That's my point. What exactly are in the interest of female dental students who comprise the majority of the student population at an institution? This isn't corporate America; female dentists can perform equitably with their male counterparts, especially in some specialties like pedo.

Seems to me it's like an excuse to pay cheap annual dues and reap greater benefits (banquets, trips, lunch and learns, panelists). Especially since most of the cost is fronted by a local dental vendor (that funds most of our organizations).

Thus, a male society would provide similar opportunities (host panel of male dentists, guys lake weekend, lunch and learns, annual fundraiser, mixers, etc.)
 
Destiny11 said:
3 things come to mind when I think of fraternities...undergraduate boys, alcohol, and parties.
Click to expand...

I've drunk more alcohol and been to more parties in 1 year of dental school than my entire undergraduate career. So I associate dental school with alcohol and parties. Next.

The purpose of this thread is for you to take the information given and apply a reasonable critique to the proposal, not simply spout off your flippant opinions. It's an interesting 21st century social commentary if nothing else.
 
If male dentists needed to bond or something, we should join a club sport or play golf. I don't know what there would be to do in a room full of guys. What exactly do these female dentist only clubs even talk about anymore if male-to-female ratio equality has already been reached. In some cases they've surpassed the goal of 50:50. It's probably a celebration every meeting.
 
Seeing as how in any given average dental school, the population of dental students these day is 20% or less white male, and given the fact that white males represent less than 5% of the global population (and sinking exponentially), the time has come to propose a doubly politically incorrect Society for the disenfranchised white male.

I am sick of being held to a higher standard while simultaneously being told to feed the lie of affirmative action (and lower the bar) for everyone and everything else non-white and not male.

I see no problem with a Society for asian male dentists, either.

The social paradigms which predominate in this cultural mileu at present have been determined by forces that are no longer in play, i.e. whites are no longer the population majority for those under 20 years old in the US and neither are males in professional/ graduate schools.

The notion that women are "powerless victims" is so fundamentally absurd, it needs to be addressed. Here are a few stats:

■Women live on average seven years longer than men
■Women make up 55% of college graduates
■Women cast 54% of the votes in elections
■Women win almost automatically in child custody disputes
■Women suffer only 6% of the work-related fatalities (94% are suffered by men)
■Women are the victim of only about 35% of violent crimes
■Women are the victim of only about 25% of all murders
■Special legislation has been passed to punish "violence against women" as if "violence against men" was not quite up to par
■Two out of every three dollars spent on health care is spent on women
■Of the 25 worst jobs, as ranked by the Jobs Related Almanac based on a combination of salary, stress, security, and physical demands, 24 of them are predominantly, if not almost entirely, male
■Men commit over 80% of all suicides"

Over the course of the last decade, many dental schools have actually had a majority female student body.

Time for an American Association of Male Dentists (AAMD).
 
UCSFx2017 said:
If male dentists needed to bond or something, we should join a club sport or play golf. I don't know what there would be to do in a room full of guys. What exactly do these female dentist only clubs even talk about anymore if male-to-female ratio equality has already been reached. In some cases they've surpassed the goal of 50:50. It's probably a celebration every meeting.
Click to expand...

Uhh...organize for our collective interests (as do every other "society" for special interest X, Y, Z) or something :idea:
 
UCSFx2017 said:
If male dentists needed to bond or something, we should join a club sport or play golf. I don't know what there would be to do in a room full of guys. What exactly do these female dentist only clubs even talk about anymore if male-to-female ratio equality has already been reached. In some cases they've surpassed the goal of 50:50. It's probably a celebration every meeting.
Click to expand...

Again, the point is that their organization has nothing to do with promoting the interest of females. Their gatherings tend to provide benefits related to dentistry or simply leisure activities all under the GUISE of a former women dentist empowerment organization. As such, a male organization wouldn't do anything to promote the interests of men per se, but would stand to point out the fact that AAWD no longer serves to fulfill its original mission and is simply a discriminatory organization. Basically, my point is that AAWD chapters at dental schools need to either be inclusive of both genders or a society for males should be established. It's simple.
 
Actually, I recant my previous statement about female dental students having nothing to fight for.

"Among 186,084 professionally active dentists in 2009, 22.2% (41,309) were female."

http://www.ada.org/1444.aspx

Although the composition of dental students is split almost 50:50, the number of practicing female dentists is still in the minority.

"In 2010-11, 9,288 predoctoral dental students were female (45.6%), and 45.3% (2,261) of graduates of the class of 2010 were female."
 
1) You're using data that is 4 years old regarding employment. You should be using prospective data.

2) A principal reason that there are less practicing female dentists is due to many female dentists retiring early to rear children. For years it caused some institutions to enroll fewer women despite women having equitable if not superior credentials.

3) The fact that there is a nearly 50:50 split should greatly equalize the playing field in years to come.

I hardly see AAWD as an organization fighting for equal rights. There is no glass ceiling in private practice and dental education is more than equitable. But I guess we can just terminate this conversation b/c I don't think it's going anywhere constructive.
 
Our AAWD chapter is open to men. Might try and ask them? Seems like they could grow the club.
 
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