What's in a name?

Cinderella revisited

BMJ 2005; 331 doi: 10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1543 (Published 22 December 2005)
Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:1543

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  1. Stewart M Cameron, associate professor of family medicine (Stewart.Cameron{at}Dal.Ca)1
  1. 1 Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans' Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2E2

    Abstract

    ObjectiveTo examine the references to Cinderella in medical literature.

    DesignAnalysis of papers published in the past 50 years that mention Cinderella.

    ResultsThe trend for use of Cinderella as a metaphor in medical publications is increasing exponentially. Five separate themes emerged: neglect, identity, transformation, exhaustion, and the mixed metaphor.

    ConclusionsThe medical use of the Cinderella fable is growing in popularity

    Footnotes

    • Embedded Image The references for all the Cinderella papers (w1-w34) are on bmj.com

    • Contributors SMC is the sole contributor

    • Funding None to date, but grants happily accepted.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethical approval Pending the review board's return from the ball.

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