Body Reconfiguration

Michael Cook | 24 Jan 2021 |. . . BIID is a rare psychiatric condition in which people know that their leg (for instance) is normal and healthy, but still feel that it is not part of their identity; they want it cut off, even though they realise that they will become disabled. . . . Richard Gibson, of the University of Manchester Law School, in the UK, asks whether ultimately there would be anything wrong with BIID if a prosthesis provided equal or better functionality. . .continue reading

Michael Cook | 16 Jan 2021 | United Kingdom | After a legal battle The Mail on Sunday has published what it called "shocking evidence" about transgender medicine which led a High Court judge to ban a government gender clinic from prescribing puberty-blockers. . . continue reading

Colin Wright | 23 Dec 2020 | Two years ago, "Titania McGrath," whose satirical Twitter account regularly skewers the ideological excesses of social-justice culture, suggested that "we should remove biological sex from birth certificates altogether to prevent any more mistakes." . . .But the line between satire and sincerity has become blurry on this issue. Last Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), widely considered to be the world's most prestigious medical journal, published an article . . .arguing that (in the words of the abstract) "sex designations on birth certificates offer no clinical utility, and they can be harmful for intersex and transgender people." continue reading

Michael Cook | 6 Dec 2020 |Cosmetic leg-lengthening is an orthopaedic procedure which is not for the faint of heart. Although it is well-established, it is very painful and has up to a 100% rate of minor complications.. . .continue reading

Michael Cook | 3 Nov 2019 | Critics of transgender treatment for children have been making heavy weather of persuading people that it could be medically dangerous. However, a well-documented feature in The Australian warns that transgender doctors could face class action suits if they continue to ignore research which claims that children are being harmed. . .continue reading

Michael Cook | 27 Oct 2019 | USA | A bitter divorce case in Texas involving the custody of seven-year-old twin boys has turned toxic after the parents began disputing whether one of them is transgender. It has become a test case for the legitimacy of transgender medicine for children.  . .continue reading

Michael Cook | 28 Jul 2019 | More and more young people believe they were born in the wrong body. . . .However, there are no long-term studies which support medical interventions for children, which can include “top” and “bottom” surgery for children over 16.   What are the ethics of treating children with untrialled treatment? Surprisingly little has been written about this. . . continue reading

Michael Cook | 2 Mar 2019 | A well-known British cosmetic surgeon says that transgender women (ie, natal males) should be entitled to womb transplants when the technique becomes safe and feasible. Children have already been born after womb transplants from live and deceased donors. .  .continue reading

Michael Cook | 16 Feb 2019 | United Kingdom | Dr. Evil, a British body modification artist, has been found guilty of three counts of grievous bodily harm for tongue-splitting and nipple removal despite the fact that his clients consented to the procedures. The argument put forward in court by Dr Evil, aka Brendan McCarthy, was strongly supported in the community. A petition with 13,400 signatures argued "for the right to express ourselves in whatever modified manner we wish in a safe environment". . .continue reading

Michael Cook | 18 Feb 2017 | Sex reassignment surgery requires the intervention of doctors. But what kind of treatment is it? Is it a therapy for a disease which should be offered only after psychiatric authorization? Or is it a biomedical enhancement which anyone can freely choose?. . .continue reading