Our Bodies. Part 2

Hello everyone, welcome back to “Our Bodies. Part 2”!

In the previous post, we discussed body dysmorphia and its relevance to our connectedness with nature. Though some people may find nature enough to help with their BDD, others may not find such solutions adequate. Instead, some prefer to help themselves by changing their physical appearance be it with makeup or surgery.

While makeup is temporary, most surgeries are permanent and can change people’s lives for the better by providing them with their ideal appearance and helping them overcome their BDD. However, BDD is not only experienced by cis-gendered people!

It turns out that BDD is a “fundamental condition for subjects with gender dysphoria“.

What gender dysphoria is, is basically when people feel a disconnect between their assigned gender at birth and their actual gender identity. As a result of this disconnect, it is common for people with gender dysphoria to experience BDD, and thus have the urge to go through the transition of their gender via gender affirmation surgery and hormone replacement therapies (HRT), and sometimes it is the only way to treat their dysphoria. I believe that both cosmetic surgeries and gender affirmation surgeries are beneficial for these people to truly express and feel comfortable with themselves. But… there are indeed environmental impacts to these surgeries as well as parts of society that frown upon such practices:(

To briefly explain, with each general surgery that happens, a certain amount of medical waste gets disposed of, some of which are shown in the picture on the left. In a study of the waste composition of a surgery, plastics followed by SMS (spunbond- meltblown- spunbond) Plastics (used for medical gowns and drapes, etc.), paper for packaging, and then cotton make up a huge percentage of waste produced after surgeries. Most of these materials are thrown and not recycled because of hygiene purposes and have large footprints! Moreover, anesthesia is used to ensure the safety and comfort of a patient during surgeries. Even though it is helpful, anesthetics are usually made of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that after exhaled by patients are released into the atmosphere as part of medical waste.

If we were to look specifically at cosmetic surgeries, gender affirmation surgeries, and hormone therapies, we would have to take into account the additional materials needed like cartilage and bone grafts, silicone implants, and human tissue (usually from the patient themselves).

Despite these environmental impacts, it is undeniable that surgery is useful, especially when it comes to helping people come to terms with their bodies and gender. But while cosmetic procedures have become more popular and accepted by society in recent years, gender affirmation surgeries still face lots of social stigmas.

Now, this brings up the problem of inequity in treatment based on one’s gender identity. There are a few levels to this gender-based discrimination and it usually presents itself as shown in the image on the right with the bottom two levels representing the more marginalized.

To conclude, BDD and gender dysphoria can be treated with surgeries disregarding the waste produced. How can we as a society deprive a group of people of their right over their own bodies and happiness, especially when we don’t go through the same pains they do?