Deconstructing with Della: Blowing up stereotypes
April 18, 2017 |
| The New Yorker Cover That's Being Replicated Across the World |
I love seeing stereotypes get imploded. Consciously or not, our world is filled with pigeonholing people into boxes and most are fallacies. The New Yorker magazine cover in April featured four female members of a surgical team from the viewpoint of the patient on the operating table. After the April cover ran, a female surgeon decided to challenge other female surgeons to post similar pictures on line. It has taken off like wild fire. Check out #ILookLikeASurgeon to see the wide array of women posing for similar shots. The idea is to bring visibility to women and minorities in a traditionally white male world. Upon further research, I found an earlier #ILookLikeASurgeon campaign that started in 2015 as a spin off from #ILookLikeAnEngineer.
This concept struck a chord. I have witnessed many scenarios in emergency rooms (I have been in far too many) where a patient rudely asks for a doctor when the female doctor is standing in front of them. I have also heard many racist and sexist slurs from behind the non-soundproof curtains. I admire the medical experts who calmly deal with the ignorance. Would make me want to poke them extra hard with a needle. Good thing I did not choose that profession.
To deconstruct, these types of campaigns only get legs because the people being stereotyped are frustrated. They seize upon a tangible expression of their issue if it is fairly easy to do. Image all these busy surgeons taking time out for the photo. The stories that accompany the photos are just as compelling. How often patients say, "You don't look like a surgeon" or worse.
Moving people away from old stereotypes will take more than a few viral campaigns but it is a start. I understand it may take a few more generations to complete wipe out these antiquated ideas. In the meantime, I am excited to see visual communications tell the story many times over.
It is sad we still need to be blowing up stereotypes in 2017. And, as most of you know, it isn't just about women. What stereotype would you like to blow up?
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