LAUSR

I was born in January of 1950, a time when girls were expected to marry well but not pursue careers. Despite that, four men molded me into a career woman and feminist. I confess this despite the fact that I have penned many articles regarding the importance of women as mentors and women’s equal rights ( DeWane and Grant-Kels, 2020 ; Grant-Kels, 2015a ; 2015b ; 2016 ; 2017 ; 2018a ; 2018 b; 2020a ; 2020b ; 2020c ; 2021a ; 2021b ). A recently retracted publication from Nature Communications argued against female same-gender mentor–mentee relationships in science ( Alshelbi et al., 2020 ). These authors suggested that those who were mentored by women had less success in their future careers than those mentored by men. The reflex feminist in me was offended, and with a group of colleagues we undertook a survey and then submitted a manuscript contradicting the conclusions of the authors ( Lin et al., 2021 ). Meanwhile, I have been guarding a secret: In my life, only men have mentored me. I now want to set the record straight. How have I earned the badge of feminist? Writing profeminist articles alone does not make me a feminist. I am a feminist because I have survived and even thrived despite being regarded as inferior because I am a woman. For example, I was asked at my medical school interview whether I planned to get married and have children. My response to this query was to inquire of the interviewee whether he was married and had children and why would he think my aspirations would be different than his. Additionally, I was told, while pregnant, during a discussion with my fellowship director that women who have children are of no use to him or academic medicine, and how dare I get pregnant on him. My response to my fellowship director was that I unequivocally did not get pregnant on him! There are countless other examples I could share, but suffice it to say that these reflect what most women of my age have endured. Surviving these assaults, becoming successful and not bitter despite them, I believe have earned me the right to call myself a feminist. Despite this history, it is time for me to set the record straight and confess that my life and career have been molded by four men. Although I had a strong, loving mother and have a resilient, successful, and independent daughter, it was these men who nurtured me and gave me the courage to eventually become a department chair, professor in three departments, and founding co-editor-inchief emeritus of this journal and to take on leadership roles in national dermatology organizations. My first mentor and cheerleader was my dad, George Grant (called Daddy with great affection). While my mother advised me to marry well, my father whispered in my ear that I could be and do anything I wanted and that I should reach as high as I pos-