Abstract

In this article, I illustrate ways in which the concepts of the norm and normativity, as well as discourses about normality and the good life, are implicated in relations of power that inform individuals’ values. By analyzing the separation of conjoined twins as a paradigmatic example of practices of overmedicalization, I consider the implications of taking the “goodness” of normality for granted. I argue that overmedicalization procedures establish an interpretative framework that does not leave room for recognizing the contingency of societal suppositions about normality and the good life. It is this kind of ethical reflection (or lack thereof) that I problematize as being symptomatic of individuals’ “normalized” ethical reflection.