Coexisting with the Body: Dialogues on the Self and Body in the 21st Century
7th session "What is the 'Hardship of Life' for Individuals with Turner Syndrome and Their Families? - A Syndrome Expressing Solely in Female-Born Individuals, with Gonadal Dysgenesis as the Primary Pathological Condition - I Thought They Wouldn't Struggle if They Were in Remission -"

Starting in July 2025, we will launch a new series titled "Coexisting with the Body: Dialogues on the Self and Body in the 21st Century." This series is co-organized by a JSPS KAKENHI (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research) project (Grant Number 23K12596) and the University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP).

For this series, we will welcome speakers who are engaged in diverse research and activities broadly related to the concept of the "body" across various specialized fields, including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, medicine, psychology, fashion, theater, and music.
Through their lectures and interviews, we aim to explore questions such as "How do we engage with the alterity of our own bodies?" and "What factors define the unique perspectives on the body in contemporary society?" We also hope to foster discussions that can lead to insights for addressing the various conflicts people face regarding their bodies in modern times.

7th session "What is the 'Hardship of Life' for Individuals with Turner Syndrome and Their Families? - A Syndrome Expressing Solely in Female-Born Individuals, with Gonadal Dysgenesis as the Primary Pathological Condition - I Thought They Wouldn't Struggle if They Were in Remission -"

Speaker: Ryotaro Koguchi（Lecturer, Department of Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology）

Technological advancements in modern medicine have allowed patients to live longer as "remissioners." Individuals with Turner Syndrome are one example of the "remissioners", who are the focus of this presentation. According to Arthur Frank's concept of the "remission society," the relationship between illness and health gradually interpenetrates and shifts between foreground and background (Frank 1995). In other words, while people return to their lives, they can never fully go back to the state of health they once had. This suggests that individuals navigate their daily lives while carrying the difficulties brought on by their illness.
Medical professionals primarily address these difficulties by confronting the physical pain and limitations caused by the disease. In most cases, a patient's health status is monitored based on test results and their self-reported symptoms.
However, the hardships that individuals experience are not limited to these physical aspects. The difficulties associated with illness are often a complex mix of challenges, including the inability to navigate daily life and general anxiety about the future smoothly.
Therefore, this presentation uses the experiences of individuals with Turner Syndrome and their families to shed light on a part of the unique difficulties faced by those in remission.

Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location:MIRAIE Nagaoka, 5th Floor, Studio A & Zoom

Biography: Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, he is a lecturer at the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology. He previously served as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellow and an Assistant Professor at Gifu University after completing his doctoral program at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba. His specializations are sociology and psychology.

Organized by:
JSPS KAKENHI "A Study on the Social Problematization of Tattoos and the Categorization of Tattoos as Fashion" (Principal Investigator: Rie Yamada, Grant Number 23K12596)

Co-organized by:
University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP), Uehiro Research Division for Philosophy of Co-existence

Supported by Nagaoka City