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Glossary of scientific and technical terms in bioengineering and biological engineering
Published in Megh R. Goyal, Scientific and Technical Terms in Bioengineering and Biological Engineering, 2018
Klinefelter syndrome is an endocrine condition caused by a an extra X-chromosome (47,XXY); characterized by the lack of normal sexual development and testosterone, leading to infertility and adjustment problems if not detected and treated early.
The possibilities of illness narratives in virtual reality for bodies at the margins
Published in Digital Creativity, 2022
Pathologized embodiments may also look gendered. For decades, proponents of the trans community have had to negotiate a loss of agency when accepting a pathologized diagnosis in order to gain access to healthcare services. For example, in some healthcare jurisdictions, a mental disorder called gender dysphoria must be diagnosed before an individual can receive access to certain healthcare procedures, including gender-affirming surgery and/or insurance reimbursement for said procedures (Grinberg 2018). Receiving a mental health label can mean different things for every individual. Gendered embodiment, however, goes much further. Individuals labelled as intersex or diagnosed with specific endocrine disorders such as hyperandrogenism, face similar pressures (Alur-Gupta et al. 2019; Himelein and Thatcher 2006; Perram 2019). Hyperandrogenism is a condition of ‘excess’ male hormones, such as testosterone, which when identified in the ‘female’ body are associated with masculinizing symptoms including increased muscle mass, excess body and facial hair, male-pattern-baldness, and infertility. Beyond hormonal, there are also many distinct classifications for ‘diseases’ which mark the human sex chromosomes – all of which work to call into question the biological sex of a patient. Klinefelter Syndrome is a disorder that causes an extra X chromosome in males (XXY), Trisomy X causes an additional X chromosome in females (XXX), and XYY Syndrome embodies its namesake. Disorders such as these (which include recorded instances that reach as high as an assortment of five X and Y chromosomes) are not wholly unheard of and many times go undiagnosed due to the absence of ‘symptoms’ (Nussbaum 2007, 76). These are just a selection of pathologized embodiments, and the experience of each individual is, of course, unique. Some individuals with these or other illnesses may identify with feelings of subjugation in medical or social encounters, and others may not. It is significant to recognize bodily diversity in ways that expose pervasive institutional and societal desires that insist upon bodily normativity and which understand the ways in which this disenfranchises certain bodies over others.