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"ME: The rise and fall of a media sensation" (Patricia de Wolfe, 2009)

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
Free full text: http://www.medicalsociologyonline.org/archives/files/MSoVol04Issue1.pdf
or
http://www.medicalsociologyonline.org/oldsite/archives/issue41/pdwolfe.html

Medical Sociology online volume 4, issue 1 (June 2009)

ME: The rise and fall of a media sensation
Patricia de Wolfe

patricia@dewo.demon.co.uk

ABSTRACT*

ME (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), a medical disorder of unknown aetiology, generated considerable media attention in the late 1980s and during the 1990s.

Patients insisted they suffered from an organic disease, while certain lay and medical commentators construed the condition variously as an effect of female hysteria; as a form of depression manifesting itself in physical form; and most famously, as 'yuppie flu', an affliction of stressed young professionals.

This article documents the origins of the controversy, explores the principal constructions of ME that arose amongst commentators and the assumptions that underlay them, and traces the differing fate of the diverse constructions in subsequent years
.

* I gave each sentence its own paragraph.

------
EDITORIAL FOREWORD

[..]

We have included two papers in this edition: the first is ME: The rise and fall of a media sensation, where Patricia de Wolfe explores the natural history of the controversial and influential media coverage of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). In her analysis, de Wolf draws attention to the different constructions of this illness which delineated and divided medical practitioners and sufferers alike. While many people with ME/CFS favoured an organic explanation of ME/CFS as a disease, and actively sought social recognition as people experiencing a chronic illness, others, usually from bio-medical sciences, including doctors, tended to favour the explanation of ME/CFS as a mental health disorder, manifesting itself as a collection of apparently physical symptoms. By locating the roots of the disease in documented cases of female hysteria, these gendered biomedical explanations were picked up and turned over by the media, leading to new constructions of the illness over time. Similarly the class/ occupation influenced designation of Yuppie Flu reflected contemporary preoccupations with new working practices and upward social mobility.
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
Some people may find this of use if they want a more academic reference for some discussion of media coverage and the like (e.g. some of the psychobabble in the literature).

It doesn't involve numbers or biological theory so for some might be easier to understand than most published articles [and perhaps easier to understand than some sociological material - some writers in the field have seemed to me to concentrate a lot on jargon, big words and phrasings which sound impressive but are not easy to understand (and perhaps even don't make sense but sound good)]. Perhaps because she is a patient she concentrates more on the content.
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
Patricia de Wolfe's PhD is on ME and can be downloaded for free

Her thesis can be downloaded for free from:
http://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do

Its not easy to copy and paste so there may be errors

PATRICIA JEAN DE WOLFE
IM REALLY ILL, IVE GOT M.E

BODILY DISORDER AND THE QUEST FOR DISEASE

THESIS SUBMITTBD FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE
MARCH 1999

ABSTRACT

Im REALLY ILL, IVE GOT M.E: BODILY DISORDER AND THB QUEST FOR DISEASE

This thesis explores the terms of the debate surrounding the nature of myalgic encephalomyelitis M.E.), a condition characterised by profound exhaustion, muscle weakness, and a host of other symptoms, which has generated much controversy since coming to prominence in the late 19805.

Crucially, there 1s no diagnostic test for the purported disease. However, those claiming to be its victims are convinced that they suffer from an incapacitating organic disorder not of their making. warranting social support and medical help. Their claims, heavily dependent on their reports of experienced symptoms, have been contested by critics who have diversely construed M.E. as a psychiatric illness and/or as an effect of personality or behaviour.

Using knowledge derived from participation in an M.E. support group, and analysis of material published in the journals of M.E. charities and in the medical and popular press, the thesis examines what is involved, epistemologically, socially, and morally, in the claims to real disease made by people with M. E., as well as in the counterarguments of sceptics. It proposes a conceptualisation of disease, fundamental to understandings of bodily disorder, and a precondition for (although not a guarantee of) the exculpation of the sufferer. The thesis examines a range of constructions of sick people as guilty of their illness; shows how these stigmatising constructions pervade discourses on M.E.; and evaluates the arguments by means of which people with M.E. attempt to establish their bona fides. The thesis also addresses the question of whether people with M.E. might have pursued aims other than inclusion in a biomedical category, and points to the difficulties of evolving alternative strategies for legitimating bodily disorder.

I haven't read it so can't comment. People might get an idea whether they'd like to read it by reading "ME: The rise and fall of a media sensation".
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Hi Dolphin, you have to register and purchase for zero cost for this document. It is not legally transferable, but anyone can purchase it for nothing. I read the conclusion, though not yet the full 275 pages, this is a philosophical discourse using social approaches, and is generally sympathetic I think, but is going to be a tough read for the average person. Bye, Alex
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
Hi Dolphin, you have to register and purchase for zero cost for this document. It is not legally transferable, but anyone can purchase it for nothing. I read the conclusion, though not yet the full 275 pages, this is a philosophical discourse using social approaches, and is generally sympathetic I think, but is going to be a tough read for the average person. Bye, Alex
Thanks. Of course, you are talking about the PhD thesis, not the main article in the thread which is just 10 pages.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I remember reading this at the time and thinking (just as the XMRV news broke) that she had chosen the wrong moment to declare it as a "fallen" media sensation.