Purposefully exposing young people to increased risks of major brain problems - even death - for sport is surely even more ethically complicated than sending young people into this same neurological danger zone as soldiers. Alice Dreger braincomplicatedanger share on social
Using medicine in the service of cosmesis is generally bad for patients, bad for doctors, and bad for democracy. The only exceptions are when we know the intervention will actually reduce suffering, as with a primary cleft lip repair. Alice Dreger badcleavecosmesis share on social
Perhaps it is because I'm a writer trained in history that I've always assumed I would make mistakes in my drafts. Historians know how faulty human memory can be. Alice Dreger assumedraftfaulty Change image and share on social
When all is said and done, science actually takes hard work and a willingness to sometimes find out that your most cherished hypothesis is wrong. Alice Dreger cherishfindhard Change image and share on social
If we have a situation where a man is particularly graceful in a sport that rewards grace - say, for example, figure skating - why is it that we don't say to the man, 'Well, you're too feminine to compete?'... I don't understand why we don't find it offensive also to say to a women who's very strong, 'You're too masculine to compete.' Alice Dreger competefemininefigure share on social
When I talk about intersex, people ask me, 'But what about the locker room?' Yes, what about the locker room? If so many people feel trepidation around it, why don't we fix the locker room? There are ways to signal to children that they are not the problem, and normalization technologies are not the way. Alice Dreger childfeelfix share on social
Having a child is not like taking a spouse; there is no mutual agreement entered into. It is up the parent to make the commitment. Alice Dreger agreementchildcommitment Change image and share on social
I do work half time as a historian of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and I started my career with work in the 19th century. Alice Dreger 19thcareercentury Change image and share on social
Conjoined twins simply may not need sex-romance partners as much as the rest of us do. Throughout time and space, they have described their condition as something like being attached to a soul mate. Alice Dreger attachconditionconjoin Change image and share on social
Many medical students, like most American patients, confuse science and technology. They think that what it means to be a scientific doctor is to bring to bear the maximum amount of technology on any given patient. And this makes them dangerous. Alice Dreger americanamountbear share on social