A Story of #DoctorsAreDickheads: Discourses of Medical Oppression on Twitter

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Abstract

Hashtag activism and social media movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo serve as expressions of resistance to oppression led by minority groups and individuals. The interpersonal networked dialogue between the oppressed and the oppressor that occurs when social media movements get hijacked provides insight into the ways in which challenged hegemonic power structures are defended and maintained. The hashtag a #DoctorsAreDickheads, a social media movement led by patients with chronic illness on Twitter, and its subsequent hijacking are critically examined in this study. The original hashtag generation, use, and collective intention are explored; the unfolding drama analyzed. The purpose of this study is to understand the development of the movement by looking at the rhetoric employed by patients and health care providers through the use of and engagement with dominant and counter-narratives. Over 35,000 tweets and 9,195 user bios were aggregated and analyzed using computer-assisted content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis. Analysis of twitter bios indicated that patients perceived medical mistreatment to be exacerbated by their intersectional identities. Four waves of the social movement were identified: 1) movement initiation–patients sharing personal stories of mistreatment; 2) the internet reacts–healthcare providers and some patients defend doctors against the language and intentions of the movement; 3) movement clarification–patients call out resisters and attempt to clarify the systemic nature of the issue; and 4) movement to dialogue–some healthcare providers and patients express willingness to talk. To contextualize the findings, concepts of online disruption are discussed in the context of voice.

Authors

• Heather Rose Walker, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Michelle Litchman, Professor; University of Utah

• Evgueina Popova, University of Illinois at Chicago