Katie Cordrey
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Aimee Mullins, an athlete, speaker, actress and model has written an extremely thought-provoking article for Gizmodo titled, Racing on Carbon Fiber Legs: How Abled Should We Be?. The article is about challenging our assumptions about the nature of athletic competition in the context of prosthetic devices, body-altering surgery, and what is considered cheating or gaining an ‘unfair’ sports advantage. Mullins points out that while LASIK surgery to improve eyesight is not considered an athletic ‘advantage,’ prosthetic implants that merely restore normal function are. Mullins includes some historical insights that, in an age of increasing medical technology, make this a ‘must-read’ for athletes and those who admire them.  One Olympic swimmer has a D-cup breast size. From a physiological standpoint, she's at a disadvantage to a swimmer who's an A-cup. If she amputated her breasts to become more streamlined, would we consider her crazy, or worse, a cheater?
The Amazons, after all, amputated their left breast so it wouldn't impede their skill in archery. Though athletes have taken some truly crazy stuff to have an advantage, nobody's gone so far as elective amputation.
(gizmodo)References: ted, gizmodo Filed In: |
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