BIID - Body Integrity Identity Disorder

Jesse Ellison defined BIID as "an exceedingly rare condition characterized by an overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs or become paraplegic" in her article "Cutting Desire."  Individuals that suffer from this feel that their lives would be much better if they did not have a certain limb that was bothering them.  Take "Josh" for example who said, "Its a tremendous relief.  I feel like my body is right" after he amputated his own left hand.  Another example was the 60 year old, named "Alex."  "Alex" had wanted to amputate his leg for thirty years before he finally found a surgeon that would do it for him, who was located in Asia.  Alex jumped at the opportunity and spent over $10,000 in total for the amputation.

The fact that someone would go through this much, and be willing to spend as much money as Alex did just to have their limb removed, leads me to believe that the only form of treatment for people that suffer from BIID is an actual amputation.  Sean O'Connor who runs the websites transabled.org -and biid-info.org even says that, "Nothing touches it, other than surgery."  He also pointed out that he suffers from BIID and has tried to seek help from medical professionals as well as going through years of therapy that did not help him.  Also from the article, Dr. Michael First performed a study with fifty-two wannabe-amputees in which he found that, "They are completely in touch with reality."  This shows how it is not cannot be defined as a true mental illness, making therapy not suitable for a treatment method.

According to the article, there have been instances when people have gone to extremes in order to remove their limbs.  One man in particular blew off his leg with a shotgun, another man freezing off his leg with dry ice.  If this is the case for some people, it shows that more attention needs to be brought to BIID.  Coming again from Alex, "There isn't a single one of us that enjoys having this, we're all trying to figure out how we got it and how to get rid of it.  It's a mental torture."  The article also mentions how BIID is most often found in white middle-aged males.  I'm really not sure as to why it is found to be more common among this population.  

Although I don't completely understand this illness, it is clear to me that people who suffer from BIID really do need help.  I don't believe they are truly choosing to become disabled but they feel like they can't be happy without having an amputation.  The last quote of the article from a user of transabled.org says it all: "Living a lie is the worst human punishment." I can see however how people, especially those who are disabled, may find this to be insensitive because there are many people who have lost a limb or even more that would do anything to get it back.
  

What is Health? Rough Draft

Nick Dunn

Greenlee Brown

ENG 201

8 February 2016

What is “Health?”

Health is a term that is usually defined the same way by most people.  “To be free of illness” is what the typical answer would be.  However, it is much more than that.  In today’s world, it isn’t very common to find people who are in “perfect” health.  Someone who is free of all illness and disease, in great shape, is mentally focused, and has an incredible social life is hard to find.  There are two main types of health; physical and mental with other types such as social and emotional that work hand in hand with mental.  Being in good health, is when the two main components, mental and physical, or the mind and the body are in unison and working together.  In other words, if a person is capable of using their brain and mind to make rational decisions that lead to having the energy to perform their life tasks and offers a sense of vitality, they are considered to be of good health.  Bodybuilding in many regards, is considered to be healthy.  These athletes are constantly consuming nutrients that are key to a healthy mind and body as well as the natural effects of exercise in itself has on the body as a whole.  Based on the evidence I have found in “Roxanne Edwards is Superhuman,” an interview of Roxanne Edwards done by S. Adrian Massey, and “Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body,” written by Kathy Acker it is clear to see that these examples align with the true meaning of health.  

Everyone who works out has a goal of what they eventually want their body to become or look like.  For Roxanne Edwards, that look is “peeled.”  In her interview with S. Adrian Massey, Edwards made it clear that she “came out the womb an athlete,” which was originally asserted by her mother (Massey).  Roxanne, who is a professional bodybuilder, knows a thing or two about eating healthy, working her body most efficiently, as well as keeping a straight mindset.  As a female, Roxanne recognizes that bodybuilding is not as common among those of her gender compared to the male.  Many people have even questioned her femininity.  Nonetheless, she has never let this affect her in any negative way.  Instead she accepts the fact that other women might have different versions of femininity, but as Edwards says, “I see myself as me...I am a human being that sees the world from a different vantage point” (Massey).  She recognizes what it is that she wants to achieve and by having a clear and healthy mind, she is allowing herself to achieve what it is she wants which in her case is a “peeled physique.”  

Roxanne Edwards openly admitted that she is a steroid user.  Although normally the use of steroids or performance enhancing drug is frowned upon and condoned as being unhealthy, it does not make Roxanne an unhealthy person.  From the interview it was very easy to see that Edwards is very knowledgable about her body, and that what she puts into her body effects her output in her workouts.  She noted that her use of steroids was only for stage, and that the side effects that everyone hears about only happen if the use of steroids is continuous and extreme (Massey).  In her case, Roxanne does not fit the “extreme, continuous” user profile for she is aware of what is good and what is bad for her body.  Edwards has a strong connection between her mind and her body which is hard to find, but is what also makes her fit into the category of “health.”

Kathy Acker, author of “Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body” was also one to point out how the body cannot be “controlled or known” meaning that there are other parts that make up one’s overall health.  “A bodybuilder is always working around failure,” Acker says.  The term “failure” in this context can be interpreted in different ways.  Whether it be the fact that bodybuilders and weightlifters in general work their muscles until they can’t work them anymore (failure), or that they are always striving to become someone better; to have bigger muscles, to have a better body, to be able to lift more weight, etc.  This sense of constant failure, is the driving force that the mind plays on them which is what makes bodybuilding a mental game (Acker).  When the failure point is reached, there becomes a greater push to overcome that failure leading to more hard work both mentally and physically.  Acker states, “Bodybuilding offers a method for understanding and controlling the physical.”  This “understanding” is the unison between the mind and body which are the two main components of “health.”

The term “health” is so loosely defined in today’s world.  Models, actors/actresses, athletes, musicians, etc. are all the face of what the regular person sees as being healthy.  Because of this, it is common to see that many of these people strive to be like these “models” that are constantly being advertised through the media.  However, this does not necessarily make someone healthy.  The idea of health is that one’s mind and body are working together, hand in hand, enabling us to live our lives to the fullest.  Someone that has a body that looks good, but doesn’t have the best social skills or someone who has great social skills and abilities to build lasting relationships, but has a history of illness aren’t exactly the best to define health either.  Health is a puzzle built up of pieces led by our mental and physical states of being.  When these pieces are working together, hand-in-hand, that is how “health” is defined, just as we see through Roxanne Edwards and Kathy Acker.

Works Cited Page:

Acker, Kathy. “Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body.” UBU Mexico.  

    Print

Massey, S. Adrian “Roxanne Edwards is Superhuman.”  Dis Magazine. 2012. Web.

Roxanne Edwards Interview

Roxanne Edwards is a very interesting human being.  She said that her mother said that Edwards, "Came out of the womb an athlete."  As a body builder, she seems to approach her body a little differently than most women would or do.  However, according to her just because she is a bodybuilder does not mean that she does not possess the same feminine qualities at any other woman.  Edwards says that, "Femininity is found in your character, not just your breasts."  This is an example of Kathy Acker’s idea from “Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body,” which was centered on the thought that bodybuilding is a form of a language and self-expression.  Edwards said, “I wear my strength out” she expresses herself through bodybuilding.  Acker also wrote how bodybuilding is like learning a new language, and it is not understood by everyone necessarily, which is what Roxanne Edwards is trying to get across in her interview.  “Show up and be you,” she said.  Not only does this just apply to the bodybuilding world, but everywhere in the world.

            In today’s world so many people are worried about the way they appear to other people.  There seems to be a perception of how a person is supposed to look in today’s world, so many people try too hard to become someone that they are obviously not.  I saw this a lot when I was in high school.  Over and over again, a new trend in either clothing or language would pop up and suddenly, like an epidemic it would spread throughout the entire school.  People are constantly changing who they really are just to fit in with “the crowd” and become socially acceptable. 

            Roxanne Edwards is unlike this crowd.  She recognizes the fact that she may not be like everyone else, and she embraces it.  Bodybuilding, especially among women, is not what we define the average person or body as.  She recognizes that although she may be different in the way she approaches her femininity, but she embraces it because as she said, “Accept who you are as being beautiful.”  Being “beautiful” should be different for everyone, but in today’s world there are a lot of people that think there is a universal image, or the perfect body that they have to achieve in order to feel secure about themselves.  Everyone has their own insecurities about themselves, some share the same as other people and others do not.  Edwards stated that she is a “Human being that sees the world from a different vantage point.”  In other words, she understands the usual insecurities of women, but at the same time she has different ones than them.  Insecurities are all a mind game when it comes down to it.  When there is a lack of connection between the mind and body, we develop insecurities.  Learning to accept ourselves for who we truly are is an important part in getting rid of insecurities and stereotypes for the “perfect body” as well.  As Acker put it, “The body cannot be controlled,” but our mind can help us to understand it.