Bodily autonomy is the fundamental human right from which all others are derived.
I believe we should have the right to safely modify our bodies, however we wish, even in ways that do not have broad societal acceptance.
Many body modifications are medically necessary for life, like the removal of my gallbladder when it became riddled with stones. My double lung transplant when my immune system decided to attack my healthy lungs, filling them with scarring and fibrosis. Other medically necessary modifications exist such as replacing joints that have failed with artificial ones, or repairing bone fractures with plates and pins. An amputation of a limb due to injury or cancer. But if I wanted to lop off a finger or ear for aesthetic reasons, that should be my right to do so, and not only if necessitated to treat an illness or disorder.
I have a MedPort in my chest to receive intravenous medical treatments more easily. This is an enhancement via technology. Some silicon and titanium that has a function. My body records the scars I have from injuries and my handful of surgeries. I have a tattoo on my sternum incorporating my largest surgery scar, my ear is pierced, and I paint my nails. These are all permanent and temporary bodily modifications for pure aesthetics. Pretty tame and somewhat accepted widely (though certainly not universally), but if I or anyone wanted to add scars, pigment, or implants to our body just because we would like how it looks, or it gives us additional function, nothing should prevent us from doing so.
My body is mine. Any choices to alter it should belong to me. If I want to microdose estrogen as a treat, absent of any dysphoria, I should be able to do so just because I desire to do so. The fact that trans people have to be medicalized or pathologized and made to jump through bureaucratic hoops to be “allowed” to transition is ridiculous. It’s just medical oppression. People should be allowed to transition just because they want to. For decades past, and until this very day and age, trans patients have to follow a specific script and have a specific presentation to get prescribed HRT. This knowledge circulates within the trans community as a way for those who have gone before to help those who come after get past the guardians at the gates. This is why #TransRights are human rights and will benefit everyone if they are protected. Whenever we protect the rights of marginalized people, those rights still apply to everyone else who doesn’t necessarily share their marginalization. It all comes down to bodily autonomy. If you are transgender, transhuman, a hobbyist biohacker, or just want a piercing or body art, the right to hack or alter ourselves should be inviolate, and this right should extend to everyone.
Our bodies belong to ourselves, and we should have control to hack, modify, or alter ourselves physically, chemically, or technologically without interference or hindrance.
This essay was adapted from a Bluesky thread.