Every pedigree tells a story: Ideological influences on pedigree construction and interpretation

This paper undertakes an analysis of the graphical elements and information content of different versions of the pedigree of one historically famous family, the Wedgwood-Darwin-Galton (WDG) family. Over the course of approximately 100 years, different versions of the pedigree were used to tell different stories about the family in the context of eugenics and genetics. A close and detailed reading is undertaken to examine the very subtle ways that information, graphics, and formatting are used to shape the story that a pedigree tells, and how that story is influenced by the training, goals, biases, and ideology of the person constructing the pedigree, as well as the social, historical, and cultural context. Discussion is given to how the format and content of pedigrees continue to be shaped and manipulated in ways that reflect cultural context, ethical principles, and conscious and unconscious biases in the current practice of genetic counseling.