What does dreger suggest about the relationship between anatomy and identity in our society how does dreger show that anatomy matters (2) in sometimes unexpected ways dreger later suggests that the important problem of the twenty-first century wil

” One of us” by Alice Domurat Dreger What Dreger Suggests about Relationship between Anatomy and Identity in Our Society
Dredger explains how political and social identities relate to anatomy. In this book, Dreger looks into the uncommon forms of conjoined, and the widespread social views that take disability as a loss of physical integrity. This loss constitutes to a loss of freedom, will, and self hood. Dreger looks at the lives of conjoined twins and suggests the use of their lives as a way to improve the social and political relationship among people. Conjoined twins exhibit dual-consciousness; they develop a co-operative personality, whereby, an individual contributes to the life of a collective unit (Dredger 44).
Dreger also keenly observes social stigmas associated with race and disability. She describes how her adopted African American brother appeared disabled based on ethnicity; his skin colour was an anatomical impairment as viewed by the society and consequently limited his outstanding activities (145). Biomedical experts in the 19th century relegated women and blacks to the socially inferior. They claimed that, “ Anatomy and physiology have been interrogated and the response is that, the Ethiopian or Canaanite (the African) is unfitted from his social organisation an” (Dreger, 148).
How Dreger shows that Anatomy Matters
Dreger reminds us that anatomy matters she points out how sometimes we wished to change the appearances and children’s look. She studies how surgeons decide on correcting anomalies through surgery yet what truly mattered was individual perception to the whole situation. Dreger introduces us to 20 or so pairs of conjoined twins who not only live a normal life but also are comfortable with their condition an excellent example the Siamese twins, the Bunkers, who married two sisters and had twelve children. They were successful farmers they died at age of 62.
Another example is the Cady girls, the cephalic twins, they learned to walk, dances, roller-skate. They became popular later in high school and in life. Dreger considers surgery not as a solution to the abnormalities problem rather we should learn to accept these situations as part of the society, and try to avoid fixing everything. She says, “ Physical ability is determined by the interaction of our bodies with the environment and this fact applies for all humanity whether normal or physically challenged” (Dreger 145).
Dredger Mentions that the problem of the 21st century will be along anatomy identity line. What examples do you imagine she is talking about?
Dreger believes values such as individualism, self-improvement, free enterprise and high tech medicine in combination creates an alternative in which people employ medical technology to alter ones anatomy, and make it socially favourable. This idea also applied in reproductive technology enables genetic screening, prenatal testing, selective abortion and pre-implantation embryo selection that already is in use to many prospective parents. These parents go through technological and social encouragement, discouraging them on having children who exhibit social challenging anatomies (Dreger 143).
Dreger, in this case is referring to cosmetic procedures such as breast implants, Botox injections, weight loss programs, cosmetics designed to reduce pores, even the skin tone, the target being to create a favourable identity, to become socially valuable. What consumers do not know is that this medical technology may be more dangerous than helpful (143).
Work Cited
Dreger, Alice Domurat. One of Us: Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004. Print.