How (Not) to Represent Turner Syndrome in Media

I can think of only one time when a person with Turner Syndrome has ever appeared on television or in a film. That was in "Clock" an episode from season eight of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that aired in 2006. And let me tell you, that appearance was not how the lives of those with Turner Syndrome should be represented in the media. In the episode 17-year-old Janey, who has Turner Syndrome, goes missing. She looks younger than her age, as many with TS do. But the show goes so far as to say that people with TS are trapped in the bodies of children. Last I checked, if a body belongs to someone who's legally an adult then it's an adult's body, whether or not they look like they've gone through puberty. Another problem with the way the characters react when they find out that Janey has been taking medicine to increase her sex drive. Janey's mother is the only one who was fine with her taking the medication, because heaven forbid those with Turner Syndrome be sexual beings and express that in a healthy way on our own terms instead of how society, our loved ones, or some deity thinks we ought to. The only legitimate concern they had was that Janey was involved with a man quite a bit older, and even then that is because she was 17 (which is still past the age of consent) and he was over 18. They claim that only a pedophile would be willing to sleep with her because she looks to be about 12. That really rubbed me the wrong way. Are we not allowed to have people simply b...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news