Because of my lofty ambitions for my children, which I wrote about at length in Something to Prove: A Daughter’s Journey to Fulfill a Father’s Legacy, I’ve been compared often lately to Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. She and I were both guests on Minnesota Public Radio’s Midmorning show last week.
You can hear the program here.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
Linda Villarosa, a reporter for The Root (part of the Washington Post family), an online magazine that focuses on black perspectives, recently interviewed me about Something To Prove: A Daughter’s Journey to Fulfill a Father’s Legacy. I’ve been interviewed by more media than I can name, at this point, and each reporter has wanted to discuss slightly different aspects of my new memoir. Ms. Villarosa was most interested in contrasting Something To Prove with another memoir that recently came out, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a widely publicized book about an Asian mom who pushes her kids to excel.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
In her book, Chua, a Yale Law professor, discusses her struggle to raise brilliant, accomplished children — straight-A students and musical prodigies — using the lessons of her super-strict Chinese immigrant parents.
But another mom, also the author of a memoir that landed in bookstores about the same time as Chua’s, has already done it. She, too, was raised by super-strict, old-world parents, and she brought up her kids the same way. This mom, however, is black, and she prefers to be called a lioness.
“Parents don’t have high-enough expectations; they give up on their kids,” says Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, 63, author of the new book Something to Prove: A Daughter’s Journey to Fulfill a Father’s Legacy. “No, I’m not a Tiger Mom; I’m a lioness. I growl when I need to growl, and set the bar high.”
The article went on to point to some of the issues I raised in Something to Prove about juggling motherhood and a career.
A few days earlier, I was again on NPR, this time chatting with Michel Martin on TELL ME MORE. We focused mostly on my father’s wisdom, which inspired me in so many ways, from my career decisions to the way I raised my own family. (And there’s not a day that goes by that Donald Thornton, AKA Daddy, doesn’t still guide my decisions). You can hear the interview and read the transcript, here.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
Anyone who has read my new memoir, Something to Prove: A Daughter’s Journey to Fulfill a Father’s Legacy, knows that I encountered at least as much gender bias as racial bias in my career. Now, a new study by economics professor Anthony T. Lo Sasso, PhD, and coauthors, of the University Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago, shows that women doctors are routinely paid much less than their male counterparts. Worse, the gap between the pay offered male and female doctors has been widening, according to this article about the study from MedPage:
Among new physicians entering the work force, women earned almost $17,000 a year less than their male counterparts — almost regardless of which specialty they picked — according to an analysis of starting salaries over a 10-year period.
In fact, the analysis of starting salaries for more than 8,000 physicians found that the pay gap between men and women increased almost fivefold — from $3,600 in 1999 to $16,819 in 2008.
It’s great to have the pay gap out in the open, but I must take exception to the way the authors of the study seem to place the blame for lower pay on the shoulders of the women doctors. The authors speculate that the pay gap might be explained because women take jobs that give them more balance between lifestyle and career, or because women are poor negotiators.
I am married to a fellow physician, and I’m sure he’d agree that I’m a terrific negotiator, and I’ve always worked as hard, if not harder, than him or any male physician we know. This is true of all the working women I know: physicians, administrators, nurses, executives, salespeople – all women. Blaming women for bias against them is just another aspect of the bias.
The perpetuation of the myth that it’s a woman’s own fault if she’s paid less, or passed over for promotion in favor of a less qualified man, must end. We women have to cry foul every time we hear it.
It’s still true that women must work twice as hard as men to be thought half as good. Even now, in the 21st century.
Isn’t it time that changed?
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH.
I had a great time visiting with Leonard Lopate of WNYC Radio, and talking about my new memoir, Something To Prove.
We spoke of my father, Donald Thornton, how our girl band, The Thornton Sisters came into being, and how sexism has often been a greater impediment than racism in my career.
The interview was videotaped and posted to YouTube, so here it is.
Let me know what you think.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
Want to win a copy of my new memoir, Something To Prove? If you have a blog, you can enter a contest to win one of two free copies. See the details for the contest, here.
You only have until January 13th to enter, so please get started now.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
The week before Christmas, I was a guest of co-hosts (and registered nurses) Casey Hobbs and Dan Grady on the award-winning “Nurse Talk,” a radio show with a sense of humor similar to the popular NPR show, “Car Talk.”
You can listen by clicking the link below (I’m the second guest, so I’m a bit after the halfway point), but stay for the entire show. It’s a lot of fun – and you’ll learn a lot, too. Nurse Talk with Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, author of Something To Prove
And if you’re in New York City, please be sure to stop by and see me tonight, January 4, 2011, at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 2289 Broadway at 82nd St. (212) 362-8835. The event is free and everyone is invited.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
I don’t need to tell you how chaotic New York has been after the big snowstorm. We’ll re-schedule the interview with Chuck Scarborough of WNBC-TV once the weather improves. See you then.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
Thanks to everyone who came to the party to help celebrate the launch of my new memoir, Something to Prove. It was a roaring success — and it was great to see you there. Here I am, next to the party cake (it was delicious) with images from the book cover on the icing.
Yvonne S. Thornton, MD at the party for the launch of her memoir, Something to Prove
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
I’ll be signing copies of my new memoir, Something to Prove: A Daughter’s Journey to Fulfill A Father’s Legacy, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and beyond, starting in January 2011.
The list of book-signings and other appearances is on my website and will be updated as new events are added. I hope you’ll check often, to see when I’ll be visiting near you. Come say hello, tell me your stories and I’ll share mine. And I’ll be delighted to sign your copy of Something to Prove when we meet.
- Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH
