Posted by Editormum on 12 July 2003 in
News Commentary |
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I first became aware of this very unusual disorder some years ago, after scanning through a medical journal looking for information on a completely different topic. I was both fascinated and horrified.
What would make an otherwise normal and healthy person want to have a healthy and functioning part of his body removed? Apotemnophilia, you see, is the clinical term for a person who is attracted by amputation and would like to be an amputee. The disorder is also known as “Body Integrity Identity Disorder.” It is gaining widespread attention after the LA Film Festival release of a documentary on the disorder.
Now, I can understand a person who has a sexual identity crisis, although I do believe that transvestitism and gender-changing procedures are wrong. But I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to alter his body by chopping off a limb. And I cannot understand why anyone would find an amputee an object of sexual desire, unless the person was in love with a particular amputee. But to turn amputees in general into another type of fetish is definitely a 1 on my Bizarre Scale.
Here is an article about this disorder that is a very interesting read.
Tags: medical issues, news
Apotemnophilia—Now That’s Bizarre
I first became aware of this very unusual disorder some years ago, after scanning through a medical journal looking for information on a completely different topic. I was both fascinated and horrified.
What would make an otherwise normal and healthy person want to have a healthy and functioning part of his body removed? Apotemnophilia, you see, is the clinical term for a person who is attracted by amputation and would like to be an amputee. The disorder is also known as “Body Integrity Identity Disorder.” It is gaining widespread attention after the LA Film Festival release of a documentary on the disorder.
Now, I can understand a person who has a sexual identity crisis, although I do believe that transvestitism and gender-changing procedures are wrong. But I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to alter his body by chopping off a limb. And I cannot understand why anyone would find an amputee an object of sexual desire, unless the person was in love with a particular amputee. But to turn amputees in general into another type of fetish is definitely a 1 on my Bizarre Scale.
Here is an article about this disorder that is a very interesting read.
Tags: medical issues, news