Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
medical legitimacy
English answer:
authentication of her status by physician
Added to glossary by
Elena Sgarbo (X)
Oct 11, 2004 23:17
19 yrs ago
English term
medical legitimacy
English
Social Sciences
Other
In bestowing on these pseudo-mothers the mantle of a medical diagnosis, the perpetrator is rewarded with that which she has been looking for—official recognition as a suffering person and medical legitimacy.
Could you paraphraase the "medical legitimacy" please, what exactly does it mean in this context.
Could you paraphraase the "medical legitimacy" please, what exactly does it mean in this context.
Responses
| 5 +5 | authentication of her status by physician (whether the problem is real or imposed by the mother) |
Elena Sgarbo (X)
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| 4 +1 | recognition |
RHELLER
|
| 4 | permitted to have access to medication and care |
Anna Maria Augustine (X)
|
Responses
+5
10 mins
Selected
authentication of her status by physician (whether the problem is real or imposed by the mother)
Hi Ewa
From your previous questions these past days I believe the context refers to mothers who inflict illnesses in their children (Munchausen's by proxy, MSP). One main goal of these malignant people (the mother or perpetrator) is to be validated as a "suffering" person, since she's the mother of a sick child-
By "medical legitimacy" I think they mean that once the physician makes a diagnosis on their child, the mother automatically becomes the sick child's mother, someone deserving of help and sympathy -with an "MD's seal".
HTH
Elena
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Note added at 1 hr 51 mins (2004-10-12 01:08:56 GMT)
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Ewa,
Re: your question, I don\'t know Polish, but in your context I believe \"legitimacy\" goes a step beyond \"recognition\". \"Recognition\" to the mother may come from her social environment (relatives, neighbors, friends); the \"legitimacy\" can only come from a medical professional who, by giving the child a diagnosis, is inadvertently making the mother\'s actions (i.e., sickening her child) \"legal\".
See if the Dict. definitions help in your decision for the translation:
- recognition
1. the act of recognizing, or the state of being recognized; acknowledgment; formal avowal; knowledge confessed or avowed; notice.
Thesaurus Terms for: recognition
acceptance, approval, commendation, understanding.
- legitimacy: The quality or fact of being legitimate.
- legitimate: 4. Authentic; genuine: a legitimate complaint.
Thesaurus Terms for: legitimacy
lawfulness, credibility, credibleness, believability
http://www.thesaurus-dictionary.com/files/l/e/g/legitimacy.h...
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Note added at 2 hrs 0 min (2004-10-12 01:17:17 GMT)
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:::::::: I just saw what Rita responded in the \"Ask the Asker\" window, which is similar to what I added here, probably way later than Rita\'s comment ;-)
From your previous questions these past days I believe the context refers to mothers who inflict illnesses in their children (Munchausen's by proxy, MSP). One main goal of these malignant people (the mother or perpetrator) is to be validated as a "suffering" person, since she's the mother of a sick child-
By "medical legitimacy" I think they mean that once the physician makes a diagnosis on their child, the mother automatically becomes the sick child's mother, someone deserving of help and sympathy -with an "MD's seal".
HTH
Elena
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 51 mins (2004-10-12 01:08:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Ewa,
Re: your question, I don\'t know Polish, but in your context I believe \"legitimacy\" goes a step beyond \"recognition\". \"Recognition\" to the mother may come from her social environment (relatives, neighbors, friends); the \"legitimacy\" can only come from a medical professional who, by giving the child a diagnosis, is inadvertently making the mother\'s actions (i.e., sickening her child) \"legal\".
See if the Dict. definitions help in your decision for the translation:
- recognition
1. the act of recognizing, or the state of being recognized; acknowledgment; formal avowal; knowledge confessed or avowed; notice.
Thesaurus Terms for: recognition
acceptance, approval, commendation, understanding.
- legitimacy: The quality or fact of being legitimate.
- legitimate: 4. Authentic; genuine: a legitimate complaint.
Thesaurus Terms for: legitimacy
lawfulness, credibility, credibleness, believability
http://www.thesaurus-dictionary.com/files/l/e/g/legitimacy.h...
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Note added at 2 hrs 0 min (2004-10-12 01:17:17 GMT)
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:::::::: I just saw what Rita responded in the \"Ask the Asker\" window, which is similar to what I added here, probably way later than Rita\'s comment ;-)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Kim Metzger
: Good thing you've been following the line of questions. Nice explanation.
5 mins
|
|
Thank you, Kim!
|
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| disagree |
Anna Maria Augustine (X)
: This refers to recognition and not legitimacy.
26 mins
|
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?
|
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| agree |
conejo
58 mins
|
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Thanks, conejo
|
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| agree |
Jörgen Slet
1 hr
|
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Thanks, Jörgen
|
|
| agree |
humbird
4 hrs
|
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Thanks, Susan
|
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| agree |
nlingua
5 hrs
|
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Thanks, nlingua
|
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| agree |
Refugio
: Actually, I think this refers to the medical diagnosis of MBP given to the mother, rather than the diagnosis of the child.
23 hrs
|
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Could be. Thanks, Ruth
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks"
+1
1 min
recognition
the medical diagnosis makes her feel "official" - now she has a distinct label that she can display and talk about
the sickness has been recognized as a sickness
the sickness has been recognized as a sickness
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
sarahl (X)
: yes social recognition with quite a stamp of approval!
2 hrs
|
33 mins
permitted to have access to medication and care
Not to be ignored and left to suffer without treatment.
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Note added at 13 hrs 13 mins (2004-10-12 12:30:23 GMT)
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Legitimate in this case means the illness is valid and therefore recognized as such.
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Note added at 13 hrs 13 mins (2004-10-12 12:30:23 GMT)
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Legitimate in this case means the illness is valid and therefore recognized as such.
Discussion
I have a problem here... "official recognition as a suffering person" and "medical legitimacy" mean practically the same.
If I did the verbatim translation of "medical legitimacy" it would produce very weird collocation and if I attempted to paraphrase it I would end up with tautology.
Would it be a huge crime to omit "medical legitimacy" in the TL?