Saw this on twitter:
twitter.com/AnechoicMedia_/status/1499385493871595522?s=20&t=p0p7BtKcDP0znf6xrEA7_w
Atlantic piece from 2000 on people obsessed with becoming amputees:
- "stuck in the wrong body"
- uses "the language of identity"; "this is who I am"
- socially contagious; exposure to the idea of the condition, spreads the condition
- Internet grooming
theatlantic.com
A New Way to Be Mad
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/12/a-new-way-to-be-mad/304671/
- doctors perform voluntary amputations: "no doubt was doing the correct thing"
- belief that surgery is necessary to avoid self-harm if patient's desires unfulfilled
The article draws the comparison to transsexualism, and notes an overlap between people with both disorders.
The article's content is no longer shocking to us in 2022.
What is surprising is the tone, which is empathetic but regards the subjects as doubtlessly mentally ill. The condition is clearly treated as a social one, rather than a question of being "born that way".
Online I have seen people with both conditions; MtF trans and also obsessed with becoming disabled.
Despite the similar nature and language of these aspirations, polite society now requires you regard one as a clear disorder, but the other as a natural and correct belief.
"the language of identity and selfhood surrounds us"
Extremely accurate observation here too
I started reading this as a time capsule but it actually turned out to be a great article. Comprehensive, well-researched, and completely applicable to understanding identity issues today.
"One answer ... [is] this is an ancient condition ... there have always been people [desiring SRS] ...
But it is possible to imagine ... that once 'transsexual' became common linguistic currency, more people began ... interpreting their experience in these terms."