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Jessica Forber - 0613305H
Tutor: Darryl Accone
Body Politics Essay:
The reinvention of oneself has become a popular concept in today's contemporary and proudly modern global society. So much so that a hair cut and make-over go hand in hand with liposuction and a new nose in the fight against aging and the defiance of previously unalterable genetic predispositions. This desire to have complete control over ones physical appearance at the expense of ones natural and unique identity simply in the name of conventional beauty is a feature specific to today's world and has never been seen before our time.
It's surprising then to discover that the most heated debates to arise with regard to corrective surgery are not in response to the countless procedures performed purely for aesthetic purposes but those which could be termed 'medical' or 'life altering'. One procedure that finds itself surrounded by more than its fair share of controversy is Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS), more commonly known as 'The Sex Change.
The "Sex Change" involves the alteration of a person's 'physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics... to resemble that of the other sex' in the treatment of 'Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Dysphoria in transsexual or transgender people'. Physical alterations are not all one undergoes however and the complexities that arise due to such a drastic change in lifestyle affect and alter people's lives entirely. These complexities were recently brought to light in the successful independent film Transamerica in 2005.
Tutor: Darryl Accone
Body Politics Essay:
The reinvention of oneself has become a popular concept in today's contemporary and proudly modern global society. So much so that a hair cut and make-over go hand in hand with liposuction and a new nose in the fight against aging and the defiance of previously unalterable genetic predispositions. This desire to have complete control over ones physical appearance at the expense of ones natural and unique identity simply in the name of conventional beauty is a feature specific to today's world and has never been seen before our time.
It's surprising then to discover that the most heated debates to arise with regard to corrective surgery are not in response to the countless procedures performed purely for aesthetic purposes but those which could be termed 'medical' or 'life altering'. One procedure that finds itself surrounded by more than its fair share of controversy is Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS), more commonly known as 'The Sex Change.
The "Sex Change" involves the alteration of a person's 'physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics... to resemble that of the other sex' in the treatment of 'Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Dysphoria in transsexual or transgender people'. Physical alterations are not all one undergoes however and the complexities that arise due to such a drastic change in lifestyle affect and alter people's lives entirely. These complexities were recently brought to light in the successful independent film Transamerica in 2005.