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Led (astray) by genetic maps: The cartography of the human genome and health care

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  • Lippman, A.

Abstract

Advocates of projects to map the human genome claim that the information produced will illuminate the causes of human disease, improve treatment and, in general, increase our health and well-being. While concerns about the costs of mapping and the possible discriminatory and eugenic applications of the information it will provide have received some attention, assumptions implicit in the biomedical discourse in which its 'benefits' are proposed and which are shaping definitions of illness and health, normality and abnormality, have not yet been adequately analyzed. This paper examines how the genetic stories about mapping and its potential products being told in the biomedical (and popular) literature continue a tradition of reductionism and determinism. This new 'cartography', by adopting the blueprint as a metaphor for genes, leads to restricted conceptions of health and illness, reinforces inequities in the distribution of health and, by privatizing and individualizing responsibility for health, creates and legitimizes a new arena for social control.

Suggested Citation

  • Lippman, A., 1992. "Led (astray) by genetic maps: The cartography of the human genome and health care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 1469-1476, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:35:y:1992:i:12:p:1469-1476
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Schnittker, Jason, 2008. "An uncertain revolution: Why the rise of a genetic model of mental illness has not increased tolerance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1370-1381, November.
    2. Vailly, Joëlle, 2006. "Genetic screening as a technique of government: The case of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis in France," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 3092-3101, December.
    3. Seabrook, Jamie A. & Avison, William R., 2010. "Genotype-environment interaction and sociology: Contributions and complexities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1277-1284, May.
    4. Faure, Marlyn C. & Matshabane, Olivia P. & Marshall, Patricia & Appelbaum, Paul S. & Stein, Dan J. & Engel, Mark E. & de Vries, Jantina, 2019. "Does genetics matter for disease-related stigma? The impact of genetic attribution on stigma associated with rheumatic heart disease in the Western Cape, South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    5. Easter, Michele M., 2012. "“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1408-1416.
    6. Matthew W. Hughey & Devon R. Goss, 2015. "A Level Playing Field? Media Constructions of Athletics, Genetics, and Race," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 661(1), pages 182-211, September.
    7. Green, Sara & Carusi, Annamaria & Hoeyer, Klaus, 2022. "Plastic diagnostics: The remaking of disease and evidence in personalized medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    8. Arribas-Ayllon, Michael, 2016. "After geneticization," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 132-139.
    9. Vincenzo Pavone & Flor Arias, 2010. "Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing in Spain: beyond the geneticization thesis," Working Papers 1012, Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos (IPP), CSIC.

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