Object structure
Title:

The Hormone of Growth and Hope. The Case of Turner Syndrome

Subtitle:

Ethnologia Polona 40 (2019)

Creator:

Radkowska-Walkowicz, Magdalena

Publisher:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences

Place of publishing:

Warsaw

Date issued/created:

2019

Description:

ill. ; 24 cm

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Subject and Keywords:

Growth Hormone ; Turner Syndrome ; technology ; materiality

Abstract:

Turner Syndrome (TS) is a condition that affects only girls and women and involves a partial or complete absence of the X chromosome. It is a well recognized medical condition and a multidimensional cultural fact that has appeared in specific historical, social and geographical contexts. TS is characterized by, among others, short stature, and ovarian failure. Girls with TS are put on estrogen replacement therapy and growth hormone treatment, which means a daily injection, starting at around 5 years of age or later and usually continuing until around 15. Without this treatment, girls suffering from it would be on average 20 cms shorter than women unaffected by it. In this text, I intend to look at the biosocial work of the growth hormone. I examine the purpose of it, and describe the work of hope being carried out in reference to hormone treatment. It is a technology, which is adaptable and flexible and from my perspective, hormones are “fluid objects”. I present both the daily regimes and the regular biomedical controls taking place regarding GH treatment, describe the private and public histories of growth hormone therapy, and analyse an experience of the materiality of hormones, focusing on a pen injector device.

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Relation:

Ethnologia Polona

Volume:

40

Start page:

13

End page:

28

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Format:

application/octet-stream

Resource Identifier:

0137-4079 ; doi:10.23858/EthP40.2019.002

Source:

IAiE PAN, call no. P 366 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P 367 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P 368 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY-SA 3.0 PL license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY-SA 3.0 PL] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY-SA 3.0 PL license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Projects co-financed by:

Operational Program Digital Poland, 2014-2020, Measure 2.3: Digital accessibility and usefulness of public sector information; funds from the European Regional Development Fund and national co-financing from the state budget. ; European Union. European Regional Development Fund

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