The topic of systems of power and intersectional identities brings me to the idea of how others see me as a female with mixed skin. Some things I notice is when I’m at work the difference between how female surgeons and male surgeons work along with their identities. All of us have different opinions about certain surgeons, I personally work better with the male surgeons because I’m used to them being in power and having that aggressiveness. It’s something that’s common. But with the female surgeons there is a different attitude towards them and how they see themselves. I feel like they have to have a sort of assertiveness and have to be aggressive just because they are female and would be considered to be weak and not as intelligent. All surgeons have that power, but when it comes down to money, their identity can change in the amount they make or how they like to show it off. This is just how I see them. When working with some surgeons or even new ones I would hope they see me as an individual with intelligence, even though I am a female of color. How I see myself is someone that is intelligent, cares for others, and is a protector/ teacher. An example of this would be when I am precepting others during their orientation for surgical training and a certain scary event comes up then I am there to help them out and get them through the situation. You don’t see many black/ biracial surgical techs in the OR because people could see them as not intelligent and disruptive.
This systemic injustice reminded me of Simone de Beauvoir’s the concept of the other and how I can elaborate on that more of why there aren’t as many women in the surgical field from surgical techs to residents to attending surgeons. In the second video that is listed they mentioned that there aren’t as many role models/ mentors for women in that field. The training programs are long and not flexible leaving it more difficult to see family and friends. Another reason is that there continues to be discriminatory behavior and women don’t want to be seen as a problem and don’t report it. Lastly in the second video it describes how to combat this systemic injustice.
This video below explains why there are so few female surgeons and it’s actually very interesting and brings up more questions.