Man goes to dinner party and everyone makes fun of him for his job as a podiatrist: 'I don't take kindly to my dream job, and a critical and noble medical field, being disrespected.'

Author image for Baiz Hoen
Baiz Hoen
Feb 7, 2025 9:00 AM EST

There are a few professions that hold a higher honor in society than others. Doctors, lawyers, first responders. Being the President. Typically, people in these vocations have to sign an oath, vowing to protect the people they have chosen to help. On the other hand, there are a few professions that are joked about more than others. Becoming a clown, for example. Or consulting. Whatever you do for work, whether you're following your dreams or just paying the bills, people are bound to have something to say about what you do for a living.

There are times when jobs can be equal parts honorable and silly, and if you are someone in that profession, that's something you will have to live with and be prepared for. This man, for example, is a podiatrist. That's right, a person in the medical profession who specializes in feet. This man had always dreamt of being a podiatrist and feels very honored to have his job. So when he finds himself at a dinner party, and his friends start making a bunch of jokes about his job, is he right to be offended? Or is society's "foot" stigma part of the job in the first place?


 

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    Cheezburger Image 10462805248
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+
  • 02

    AITA for being offended [...]?

    It has been my dream since 1995 to be a podiatrist, and I set my life to achieving that goal. I accomplished it! I have been a practicing podiatrist for years. It is wonderful to do my dream job and I am fortunate that it pays well to boot.
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  • 03
    I recently was invited to a dinner with my girlfriends co-workers. When it was revealed that I was a podiatrist one of the guests, a "gentleman", laughed and asked what I really did. I said I really was a podiatrist. For the rest of the dinner he kept calling me "Quentin" in a funny sarcastic kind of voice, which I don't understand.
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
  • 04
    Later in the dinner he said something like "Okay, be honest, what percentage of podiatrists are just foot fetishists?" I laughed it off at first but then he kept asking. "No seriously, ballpark? Fifty percent? Forty? It has to be some."
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  • 05
    To my astonishment several people at the dinner found this amusing and seemed to agree. One person even said "SOME of them must be".
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  • 06
    I said I was very uncomfortable with this line of questioning and that I took my profession. seriously and so did every colleague I know. Their questions were unethical and an insult to an honorable and essential medical field. This guy then said "You can't seriously think NOBODY got into podiatry because of their ?"
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
  • 07
    This is when I got up to leave. When I was walking out of the kitchen (this was at a home) I heard him say to the table "Hope he only takes his OWN shoes" and the whole table laughed. I couldn't believe it.
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  • 08
    When we got home, my girlfriend told me she had texted her friends an apology for my "inability to take a joke". I said I don't take kindly to my dream job, and a critical and noble medical field, being disrespected.
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  • 09
    He accused me and my colleagues and indeed my entire profession of being sual deviants with ulterior motives. She said he took the joke too far but then she said "You have to admit there must be a few podiatrists who are a little too into feet." I was astounded. I said no, there weren't. Nobody who studied podiatry would violate the codes of the profession. She said "I'm not saying a lot, just a few. Like 5%."
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    This is when I left and went back to my own apartment. I have never been so offended in my life.
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    But now my Aunt is telling me that I need to get over "my issues" and "accept that podiatry is kind of a funny thing". I have always known my Aunt to be someone of high moral standing and good judgment, so although her comment dismayed me it did make me start to wonder if I overreacted.
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
  • 12
    A male colleague, who is an OB-Gyne, told me that if he is asked his profession he only ever says "physician". In the past, when he used to say he was an obstetrician, he would be subjected to insulting and filthy remarks from other men.
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  • 13
    Response: "Foot fetishes are not really something that podiatrists discuss professionally, so I don't really know much about it. You seem to know plenty, could you educate me about it?"
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  • 14
    NTA He was trying to offend you. I would be more concerned now knowing that your girlfriend agrees with what he was saying about your profession.
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  • 15
    NTA, it's one thing to make an offhand joke. Another thing to keep making your profession the bt of a joke when you're clearly getting offended by it. Repeatedly making jokes at someone's expense is just plain buying. Your girlfriend should have backed you up and left with you for that level of disrespect.
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  • 16

    Punching up is the biggest rule in comedy!

    Couldn't imagine making a joke like that to a stranger, much less a colleagues spouse. Then again, I don't make jokes where laughing at someone is the bat of the joke (unless it's punching up).
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  • 17
    That your girlfriend apologized on your behalf rather than condemning the co-workers tactless and r de behavior is disqualifying. NTA
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  • 18
    Its completely inappropriate for someone to make those kinds of comments, and its even worse that ur gf and aunt r downplaying it. Theyre basically saying ur feelings dont matter. U dedicated ur life to this profession and its insulting to have someone reduce it to a s ual f h. U deserve an apology, not to be told to get over it.
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  • 19

    This was a real truth bomb.

    The unfortunate truth of the matter is that there are always going to be people who s k and you are going to have to learn to deal with that. Was he being an a hole? Yes. Is this probably going to happen again, given your field? Also yes.
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  • 20
    I want to share my personal experience with you. I am a firefighter and have been one for over a decade. People ask a lot of the same questions but there's always that one guy (or girl) who pressures you to tell them "the worst thing you've seen". Not a cool story, not a funny story, the worst story.
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
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    I used to get annoyed by it. For a while I would just talk around it, then I would get angry, then I would oblige them. I would tell them some horrible sh about de d kids or someone burned to death or horrific ab e. It would instantly kill the vibe and make the person look like a huge a hole.
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    But you know what? It wasn't worth it. It always put me in a bad mood and killed the vibe. I eventually took the advice of one of my captains and would make a joke out of it. I would tell a story about something stupid or just say something like "ah well there was this one cat that just wouldn't come out of a tree" and eventually the guy would drop it. There's always going
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
  • 23
    drop it. There's always going to be people that just don't "get it". You've got to learn to roll with it. Trust me, it made me happier and ultimately that's what matters.
    via FeetFeetFootFeet
  • 24
    NTA. I'm guessing they assume all gynecologists or obstetrics or urologists or gastroenterologists are perverts as well.
    via FeetFeetFootFeet

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