The Thief of Womanhood

The multi-perspective project “The Thief of Womanhood” takes a personal and intimate look at the lived experience of patients affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its connection to gender roles and the male gaze in gynecology.

Acne, hair loss, beard growth, obesity, no menstruation, and painful cysts. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 10% of all women and non-binary persons of childbearing age and can lead to infertility.

In her recent project “The Thief of Womanhood”, Amelie Sachs takes a personal and intimate look at the syndrome, which is largely ignored in medical research. In collaboration with her participants, she explores their lived experience with PCOS by addressing the mental component of the disease in particular.

As a former patient of PCOS, Amelie Sachs interviews other women and non-binary persons who suffer from the metabolic disorder. She visually takes up the diffuse feeling about one’s own body and the lack of beauty ideals connected with it. At the same time, she interrogates the structurally male-dominated view in gynecology by looking at medical-historical objects that refer to the violent past of gynecology and maternity medicine.

In her Dummy, she combines different strategies, consisting of interviews, dialogical portraits, archival material, informative short texts and medical objects, into a multi-layered experience. Thereby the ambiguous complexity of the syndrome is brought to the viewer’s attention, and existing gender roles in the prevailing patriarchal structures of fertility-related gynecology are questioned. “The Thief of Womanhood” negotiates the question of a respectful and appropriate form of representing illness and the woman as an image. It provides a platform for resistance and empowerment in women’s health and advocates for better autonomous health care.