Women Prove That They Can Be Surgeons Or Anything Else They Want Through This Viral Hashtag
"#ILookLikeASurgeon"
We all know it: women can do anything. They can be teachers, lawyers, doctors, and even surgeons. The April 3 edition of the New Yorker magazine featured a cover illustration by French artist Malika Favre, depicting four female surgeons looking down at an operating table. The drawing inspired women surgeons everywhere to recreate the image, to prove to men and women alike that girls can do anything, and be anything, that they set their minds to.
The empowering image was noticed by Susan Pitt, who specializes in endocrine surgery at the University of Wisconsin.
"The New Yorker issue came out right before I went to our annual American Association of Endocrine Surgeons meeting," Pitt told BuzzFeed News.
"The instant I saw it I thought about how cool it would be to replicate in real life." Pitt gathered a group of women at the Orlando conference and they replicated the photo.
Pitt then tweeted out the photo and challenged other surgeons worldwide to do the same.
@NewYorker @TheAAES @WomenSurgeons @womeninsurgery @LoggheMD @KickAsana #ILookLikeASurgeon #AAES2017 pic.twitter.com/dhdGd2HKqs
— Susan Pitt (@susieQP8) April 4, 2017
Challenge accepted.
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
— Andrea Merrill (@anjlm7) April 6, 2017
@susieQP8 @drkarenhorton @NewYorker @KickAsana @utswhpb @LoggheMD @heenastat @DrSabha @gianamontana @nganttmd @KPobgyndoc @DrKathyHughes @pferrada1 @drheatherfurnas @JFreischlag @Lady_Surgeon @scrubbedin Thanks for the challenge! pic.twitter.com/c7dj38vseJ
— Heather Yeo MD (@heatheryeomd) April 6, 2017
Surgeons from @WiscSurgery take on the @NewYorker cover challenge. #ILookLikeASurgeon @WomenSurgeons #NYerORCoverChallenge pic.twitter.com/rWroEoMTW9
— UW Health (@uwhealth) April 6, 2017
. @NewYorker Cover challenge! @KickAsana kicks Where's yours? #ILookLikeASurgeon @susieQP8 @WomenSurgeons all the way from Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/TdZNYqJiio
— Haneen Gomawi (@DrGomawi) April 6, 2017
Very proud of my team of #womensurgeons @incmnszmx #NYerORCoverChallenge in Mexico City! #ILookLikeASurgeon @ADRITOR pic.twitter.com/rOQR4JjKwI
— Mauricio Sierra M.D. (@DrMSierra) April 7, 2017
@NewYorker cover challenge... right from Mexico @incmnszmx #ILookLikeASurgeon #womeninsurgery @JFreischlag pic.twitter.com/6Bv6seZMhW
— Adritorm (@adritorm) April 7, 2017
Check out our @NewYorker #NYerORCoverChallenge!!! With @NjmsR, @scrubbedin, @AnneMosenthalMD, @DrKunac @FhwangMD @JAzizaMD @WomenSurgeons pic.twitter.com/LZVirD2KHn
— Rutgers NJMS,Surgery (@NJMSDeptSurgery) April 7, 2017
Pitt says that it gives her chills every time that she sees another group of women recreate the photo.
"I hope to open people's eyes and minds that women can be surgeons and anything else they want to be," she said. "That there is no such thing as a 'a man's world'."
Pitt is also passionate about pay equality.
"Women deserve and should be paid the same amount for the same job. On the whole, we are all equal and worth the same."
Our #NYerORCoverChallenge @WomenSurgeons @NirajGusani @CassieSonntag @mblinskey @womeninsurgery @AfifKulaylat #ILookLikeASurgeon pic.twitter.com/6DKj7alVjq
— Penn State Surgery (@PSU_Surgery) April 7, 2017
"In surgery, there's been a strong movement in the past couple of years towards equality. In the context of our field, the timing of the Malika Favre cover was perfect for women to rally around."
"It's meant to be inclusive and not just about women surgeons," Pitt added.
"I think we're just a symbol of a greater problem. A lot of people who have responded have mentioned that they want to show the pictures to their daughters so they will learn that they can be anything."
We are loving the #NYerORCoverChallenge tweets! Send us your photos and don't forget to tag @WomenSurgeons so we can retweet! pic.twitter.com/NkP1p0yNwp
— WomenSurgeons (@WomenSurgeons) April 7, 2017
#ILookLikeASurgeon
We hope you love the products we recommend! Before you continue, we’d like you to know that there are affiliate links in this article. This means Women.com may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the following links. Prices are accurate and items are in stock as of time of publication.