Help me reach the ITSAN TSW Summit in Atlanta to conduct fieldwork for my dissertation on Topical Steroid Withdrawal! ⭐️🩻

Hello all! My name is Yemisi Oguntimirin and I’m a 2nd year undergraduate at the University of Cambridge studying Human, Social and Political Sciences. I have been going through TSW since February 2024, and have decided to write my Social Anthropology dissertation on the condition.

I want to use this dissertation to challenge hegemonic understandings of science and knowledge in relation to this highly contested condition. What is valid as science? What is valid as knowledge? And what happens when there is a disjuncture between how sufferers and doctors answer those questions?

Centring lived and embodied experience, I want to explore how TSW sufferers personally reconcile with and understand their condition, seeking out information, support and community through spaces physical and digital.

I’m also interested in exploring the remedies proposed for TSW sufferers, such as acupuncture, red light therapy, lymphatic drainage, and dietary changes. The combination of Western science and more alternative and Eastward medicines shows a level of innovation and ingenuity from the TSW community which I think could radically change the way we think about science forever.

The ITSAN TSW Summit would be a great site of knowledge production for me to explore. Bringing together sufferers, carers, doctors and more, I feel the information I could access there would be invaluable in making my dissertation as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible.

However, as a UK student, the cost of this is immense, and I won't be able to afford it without some support. With this said, I ask for your generosity in donating towards getting me to the summit.

This condition has impacted my life severely for the past two and half years, and I'm excited to pour myself into this dissertation exploring and questioning the broader social, cultural and political circumstances and narratives that surround TSW. Not only is this would this strengthen our understanding of bodies, science and medicine - it would also provide me with a great sense of closure and achievement, as a sufferer of the condition.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions, or if you're interested in being interviewed/having a chat with me. My email is: yemisioguntimirin5@gmail.com

Again, all donations of any amount are deeply appreciated!

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