1001 Cuts

1001 Cuts explores the experiences of women in the high-stakes professional world of surgery. These women, the daughters of Title IX legislation passed in 1972 banning gender discrimination in higher education— benefitted from unprecedented access to workplaces historically controlled by men. Dozens of surgeons who are women share their experiences from years of routine gender harassment and discrimination, and offer hope and insights for the creation of a more inclusive future.

Since 2003, half of American medical students have been women. Despite persistent gendered cultural perceptions about what a surgeon looks like, nearly half of the physicians training in surgical fields today are women. Yet surgical culture remains masculine and leadership disproportionately and predominantly male. Stereotypes and gender-based discrimination persist within the workplace due to a top-down environment that often overlooks women's needs. Sexual harassment is treated as the norm, and surgical tools and infrastructure are designed to accommodate male bodies. Despite these challenges, ample evidence demonstrates that women or just as good — if not better — at delivering care. Within surgery, the failure to implement cultural change has wide ranging impacts on the careers of women, some of whom are forced out of their profession, and ultimately harms patients, with less qualified and dedicated medical professionals actively participating in the workforce.

For as many women who shared their stories in this documentary, there were many more who chose anonymity for fear of retaliation in their workplace. The surgeons and medical students featured in 1001 Cuts represent the untold numbers of extraordinarily dedicated physicians who work every day to improve the health and lives of their patients despite innumerable barriers.

FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "As a young physician, I never expected to make the difficult decision to leave surgical practice. I love practicing medicine, caring for patients, and the everyday challenges of surgical decision problem solving. After two decades of providing surgical and medical care for women with cancer, I felt like I had experienced death by a thousand cuts of gender discrimination and harassment. 

I embarked upon the project of making a film about surgeons who are women as an antidote to the shame and stigma that many women in medicine feel from working harder and having better patient care outcomes, yet still feeling as though they do not belong in the profession. Every woman who is a surgeon who came forward to talk to me in the making of this film had some version of the same story. Telling this story became a way to address gender bias in our healthcare system. Ultimately, the film was named 1001 Cuts as a nod toward Scheherazade from "One Thousand and One Nights," because she saved her own life through storytelling."