Biopower and the construction of an ethnic disease (based on the example of the Kashubians)

The notion of biopower implies managing populations by regulating and controlling life-related processes. This power medicalizes society, and, in the age of genetics, a unique role is played by genetic research. This has led to the discovery of new diseases such as LCHAD enzyme deficiency, the occurrence of which is relatively more frequent in the Kashubian population. In this case study, I present the process of constructing this rare genetic disease into an ethnic disease. A significant role in this was played by doctors and journalists who, by means of cultural capital, symbolic violence and the power wielded by news media, spread the term the “Kashubian gene,” thereby suggesting that the disease is common in this ethnic-regional group. Despite the adverse effects, the process also had positive consequences: it contributed to the introduction of screening tests for newborns aimed at diagnosing the disease, thereby saving human lives.