RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 “Stepford doctors”: an allegory JF Medical Humanities JO J Med Humanit FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics SP 57 OP 58 DO 10.1136/jmh.2004.000187 VO 32 IS 1 A1 G M Sayers YR 2006 UL http://mh.bmj.com/content/32/1/57.abstract AB The Stepford Wives, a novel by Ira Levin, provides the theme for this allegory. The men of Stepford belong to the Men’s Association. Their wives are “perfect”, in that they do nothing other than clean, cook, preen, and provide satisfaction without argument for their husbands. They are, furthermore, content with their lot, and believe that their previous interests and freedoms were self indulgent. Levin never informs his readers how the men came to obtain total mastery over their “Stepford wives”, although there is the suggestion that the real wives have been replaced by robotic lookalikes.