Note:

XY-women with conditions such as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) have male sex chromosomes, internal (abdominal) testicular or gonadal streak tissue, and no ovaries or (usually) uterus, but are otherwise female in body form and gender identity/role. Many have no reason to doubt a female sex until they are investigated for failure to menstruate. Using mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) empirical methodology, the study reveals how XY-women discovered their diagnosis, with an in-depth analysis of the medical and societal discourses that shaped the labels/identities to which they have been subjected or they have assumed. Data was collected by questionnaire from 114 women recruited via a peer support group. The study is interdisciplinary, spanning medicine, psychology, sociology and feminist gender theory. It is informed by a range of theories including patriarchy and medicalisation (including terminology issues), sexual dimorphism, sex versus gender, social construction, abjection, self-surveillance and performativity, and sexual difference and corporeality. Many participants had experienced diagnostic secrecy by doctors, particularly in N. America. Younger participants had benefited from a recent move to truth disclosure. Participants had found the androcentric medical discourse/terminology difficult to reconcile with their female appearance, identity and social role; and did not approve of the degree of medicalisation. Infertility was the greatest personal concern but most thought that possession of a vagina was society's main criterion for womanhood. Most seemed secure in their female gender, although some were aware of a degree of performativity. Knowledge of their male biological attributes seemed problematic for many (especially those with Swyer Syndrome1), with expressions of inauthenticity, fraud or freakishness by some. Participants showed little awareness of gender theory and even the idea of a sex versus gender conceptual split seemed confusing for many, but clearer to those in N. America. The majority seemed to construct a totally female sex, although some entertained the idea of an intersexed sex, particularly those in N. America and those with a lesbian or bisexual orientation. The lesbian/bisexual sub-group, and those with a PAIS diagnosis, also showed the greatest awareness of gender performativity. Advocacy is a key aspect of the project, developing the argument that the androcentric focus of intersex medicine and the poor provision of clinical psychology restricts the opportunities for these patients to explore alternative discourses and non-medical meanings of their diagnosis. 1. But needs clarifying using a larger sample.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-173). Also available in print.

Because of its perceived ability to predict future health and its relevance for family members, genetic information challenges the traditional justifications for medical confidentiality. This thesis examines the question whether a health care professional should have the discretion or a duty to breach confidentiality in order to inform a patient's relatives of their increased genetic risk. There is currently no exception to the statutory, common law and ethical duties of confidentiality for the non-consensual disclosure of genetic information to relatives. Precedents developed in the context of threats of harm and communicable diseases are of limited value. The law should not recognise the existence of a duty to warn in the context of genetics. As a last resort, health care professionals should be authorized, but not required, to disclose genetic risk information when there is a serious risk of preventable harm and when the potential harm of non-disclosure outweighs that of disclosure.

This thesis analyzes the rationale, appropriateness and value of the available legal and regulatory means to deal with genetic discrimination in the context of insurance. Insurance is used as a paradigm case for discussing the legal means to address the concerns related to the impact of new medical technologies. A new framework is proposed for evaluating the potential impact of such new technologies on people's ability to participate fully in social life and to have access to important social goods without unfair discrimination based on certain inherited traits. / A "thick" contextual method is used, which involves a detailed description of the medical, social, and legal context of the debate. The approach is based on Michael Walzer's theory of justice, which posits that in assessing the fairness of the distribution of a particular good, one must take into account the nature of the good as determined by the specific socio-historical context in which it obtains its shared meaning. Walzer's theory is used in the thesis to critically analyze the regulatory and legislative means introduced in several countries to curb genetic discrimination. It is further argued that Walzer's contextual analysis resembles the approach taken by the Canadian Supreme Court in the context of anti-discrimination law. Canadian human rights law is analyzed in detail to describe how genetic discrimination could be dealt with under the current provisions and how human rights law can be used to create conditions of substantive equality. The thesis concludes with an analysis of various legal and regulatory options to deal with genetic discrimination and its impact on human rights in the Canadian context. The establishment of a regulatory body is proposed, with the mandate to review the appropriateness of the use of new tests in the context of insurance. I argue that this review process, and the contextual analysis that should be involved in this process, would constitute a useful step towards creating conditions for substantive equality, not only for those who are genetically disabled, but for all those who are affected by real or perceived disabling conditions and stigmatizing traits.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide, 1991. / Typescript (Photocopy). Includes published papers co-authored by the author at the end of volume 2. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-237 of vol. 1).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Graduate School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-122).

Thesis--Copenhagen University. / Summary in Danish. Bibliography: p. 125-129.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliography.