Women surgeons have been powerfully recreating this magazine cover to challenge stereotypes of what a surgeon looks like
The April 3rd cover of The New Yorker struck a chord with many women for an amazing reason — the illustration depicted four female surgeons peering through an operating theater. Although the field remains male-dominated, it’s quickly changing, and women surgeons have been recreating The New Yorker cover to challenge stereotypes of what a surgeon looks like.
The first recreation was posted on Twitter by Susan Pitt, an assistant professor of endocrine surgery at the University of Wisconsin.
Pitt spotted the cover while traveling to the annual meeting of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons and got the idea to recreate the art with four real surgeons.
#NYerORCoverChallenge #ILookLikeASurgeon Where's your @NewYorker cover??? Step up! @WomenSurgeons @womeninsurgery pic.twitter.com/DzazM103XG
— Susan Pitt, MD MPHS (@susieQP8) April 6, 2017
Female surgeons quickly began to respond with their own photos, often with the caption “I Look Like A Surgeon,” a phrase that took off in 2015 to celebrate diversity in the field.
Challenge accepted @susieQP8! @NewYorker #ILookLikeASurgeon 😷cover photo 📷 #IRL #LikeALadyDoc #SurgTweeting #TheFutureIsFemale #Residents pic.twitter.com/GD2ERLuzjk
— Marissa Boeck MD MPH (@KickAsana) April 5, 2017
@MGHSurgery @NewYorker OR challenge with @WomenSurgeons founder Dr. Patricia Numann #ILookLikeASurgeon pic.twitter.com/T9ShADcOcp
— Dr. Andrea Merrill (@AndreaLMerrill) April 6, 2017
It started in America, but surgeons all over the world have already joined in the #NYerORCoverChallenge.
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@NewYorker @AoifeMullally @aoife_mcs #wearedelivering in #Coombe hospital Dublin #NYerORCoverChallenge pic.twitter.com/n2qw9Pq0Rz
— Cliona Murphy🇺🇦 (@climurphy) April 11, 2017
The New Yorker and the cover artist Malika Favre are totally here for this, and have been sharing the images in an effort to spread the word. On Tuesday, April 11th, the magazine published a column about the challenge.
Take part in the #NYerORCoverChallenge started by @susieQP8 and send us yours! Overwhelming response so far @NewYorker @WomenSurgeons pic.twitter.com/MB06mycRGx
— malika favre (@malikafavre) April 10, 2017
What @malikafavre's cover looks like in real life: https://t.co/BeU0SwZ9yT pic.twitter.com/WlNGdkl8Ay
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 11, 2017
The challenge has taken off in a major way, and we can’t wait to see more photos from female surgeons all over the world.
