Transsexuals, Extreme Plastic Surgery, and What We Can Learn from Both
by Jennifer Fulwiler Wednesday, June 13, 2012 4:41 AM
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jennifer-fulwiler/transsexuals-extreme-plastic-surgery-and-what-we-can-learn-from-bothOver the past couple of years I've been watching two related themes play out in popular culture: The increasing acceptance of gender-reassignment surgery, and the increasing rejection of extreme cosmetic plastic surgery.
A father who lives as a woman after having his male organs removed through surgery is highlighted as having done something necessary and even admirable; but a woman who undergoes extensive surgery because she believes that she was meant to look like a "Human Barbie" is scorned, and even kicked off of a popular television show while being called "dreadful" by the host.
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I think we should also consider our unease with non-gential extreme plastic surgery, and ask ourselves if the same principles perhaps apply to gender-reassignment surgery. It is now taken for granted, at least by popular media, that it is possible to change your gender through surgery. I worry that this misconception is as dangerous as if it were to be accepted as true that it is possible to change your ethnicity through surgery: More people might be tempted to make irreversible changes that wouldn't accomplish their goal, and that they may one day regret. A post-op transsexual who was born male wrote in a forum for those wish they had not had sex-change operations:
