Simona Giordano presents the first full philosophical study of ethical issues in the treatment of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Beginning with a comprehensive analysis of these conditions and an exploration of their complex causes, she then proceeds to address legal and ethical dilemmas such as a patient's refusal of life-saving treatment. Illustrated with many case-studies, Understanding Eating Disorders is an essential tool for anyone working with sufferers of these much misunderstood conditions, and for all those ethicists, lawyers, and medical practitioners engaged with the widely...

How should we understand transgenderism, especially as it affects children and adolescents? Psychiatric manuals include transgenderism among mental illnesses (Gender Identity Disorder). Such inclusion is relatively recent, and even the words transsexual and transgender were coined only a few decades ago. Yet stories of children with an in-between gender have always been, albeit symbolically, a part of popular culture. Drawing on fairy tales, as well as from personal narratives and clinical studies, this book explains how "Gender Identity Disorder" manifests in children, critically evaluating...