After reading Elliot's "A New Way To Be Mad" and discussing apotemnophilia at length in class, I've become very intrigued by the "condition", as well as if it should actually be treated as such. I know that a number of people in the class expressed repulsion at the thought of someone willingly getting a limb cut off, and while it is a strange idea at first glance, the more I consider it's parallels with transsexualism, the more I have to reconsider. Who are we to say what someone else's body should look like? Who has the authority to make these decisions?
Regardless of if the condition is biological in origin or purely environmental (or even a combination of both), the legitimacy of wanting something specific for your body is unchanged. I do believe that if it is your body, it should be your choice.
That being said, if it has neurological origins and can be traced to a defect in the brain which can be treated, then I would think that the treatment would be the better option, since amputation, a drastic measure, can in some ways incapacitate a person for life. However, at present, amputation is the only safe "cure" for the feelings which apotemnophiliacs face every day. Therapy has shown no breakthroughs here, and there simply hasn't been enough research done to know if there is a drug that could fix the issue in the right parietal lobe (which David Brang noted in "Apotemnophilia: A neurological disorder").
I definitely do think that more research like David Brang's should be done, but in the meantime, I think that providing amputations would only be humane. Consider that those suffering with extreme symptoms of the condition suffer enormously because of the limb attached to them, and sometimes even go to great lengths to get rid of it themselves.
In class, it was mentioned that giving apotemnophiliacs amputations would go against evolution and natural selection, but I disagree. We aren't hunter gatherers, and our survival doesn't necessarily depend on how well we can pick up a glass of water. If someone is happier and more successful after they have an amputation, then I see nothing wrong with it.
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I agree a lot a lot a lot with what you're saying here. I believe that people should be able to do what they want with their own bodies, even if it is something others cannot understand, or even consider disgusting. I am kinda surprised that after discussing the issue at length in class, the way a lot of people still seem to see the issue is based in what they find comforting. "It's unnatural" is an argument for why you should not get your leg cut off, but not why another person can't do what they want.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your argument about what should be done (more research but amputations in the meantime). We have been concerned with "getting it right" with transsexuals too, and the three years of therapy (or something like that)as a prerequisite for surgery seem to have caused a lot of pain and difficulty.
aaaaaalso i think you commented on my post and then i totally picked your by accident. Great minds think alike? :)
I agree with your comment of 'if it's your body, it should be your choice'. Even though I personally can't comprehend the idea of cutting off working limb.
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