Efforts of well-meaning doctors, parents often had tragic results, authors find

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Heidi Benson reviews “Normal at Any Cost: Tall Girls, Short Boys, and the Medical Industry’s Quest to Manipulate Height.”

Authors Susan Cohen and Christine Cosgrove trace the history of height manipulation over the decades, interviewing men and women whose lives were changed by it. They find some dire consequences, including infertility, depression, and even death.

“This book is not an indictment of technology,” the authors write, “but an illustration of how quickly medicine can move from curing disease, to treating disability, to leveling disadvantage, to satisfying desires for perfection.”

“… we end the book with a plea for an acceptance of diversity and an end of conformity,” Cohen said. “Adolescents will always be miserable, but they may be less miserable if people value and understand diversity.”

Cosgrove (at right) was one of thousands of girls who were given synthetic estrogen in the 1950s to limit their growth. She spent five years taking daily doses of diethylstilbestrol (DES), and has been left with lingering questions about the long-term effects of a drug now linked to elevated risks of fertility problems and cancer.

See also: Tall West Michigan women say there’s no need to be afraid of heights — Grand Rapids Press

(San Francisco Chronicle photo)

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 12:12 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, body image, books, medicine, normal, public attitudes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.