Re:Body integrity identity disorder patient satisfaction aft...
by JumpCrisscross on Sunday July 24, 2022 @09:26AM
(#32213281)
> we are now creating stable identities from what is essentially a form of mental illness
Defining mental illness is imprecise. We’ve gotten it horribly wrong before, from diagnosing intelligent women as hysterics to gay men and women as deviants. We also have a long, failed history of well-meant prohibition.
If we’re seeing preliminary evidence that a surgery makes miserable people happy, I say we follow the lead without prejudice. Maybe we find these peoples’ bodies are picking up on precancerous signs? (Airball.) Probably, we don’t. But my peers’ botox has visibly reduced their faces’ expressiveness; is that mental illness?
Out of all of our emotions, I trust my sense of social disgust least. The world in which it evolved is no more. If I can’t find reason beyond discomfort to question someone’s decisions about themselves, I broadly tend towards letting them be.
Defining mental illness is imprecise. We’ve gotten it horribly wrong before, from diagnosing intelligent women as hysterics to gay men and women as deviants. We also have a long, failed history of well-meant prohibition.
If we’re seeing preliminary evidence that a surgery makes miserable people happy, I say we follow the lead without prejudice. Maybe we find these peoples’ bodies are picking up on precancerous signs? (Airball.) Probably, we don’t. But my peers’ botox has visibly reduced their faces’ expressiveness; is that mental illness?
Out of all of our emotions, I trust my sense of social disgust least. The world in which it evolved is no more. If I can’t find reason beyond discomfort to question someone’s decisions about themselves, I broadly tend towards letting them be.
(Side note: appreciate the discussion.)