Or, more appropriately, the modernized apprentices of the fabled Greek doctor.
At A Glance Author cynicism_becomes Contact [email protected] IAM cynicism_becomes When N/A
Metaphorically falling in line and adding my voice to the ongoing howl of ranting predecessors has never been my strong suit, but recent occurrences have led me to dignify my frustrations (towards the health system and doctors themselves in relation to body modification) in writing.
I can safely state that in terms of anatomical knowledge and familiarity of medical terminology, facts, applications and diagnosis, I know more off the top of my head than a would-be med student - and I'm 16 years old.
The reasoning behind this reality is simple enough: I have four parents (mother/father, step-mother/father), all of which work in hospitals and three of which are registered doctors - two cardiologists and one anesthetist. Conversations over the dinner table might be the epitome of strange to most - discussions of emergency cases involving unsuccessful suicides, infarctions and viral endocarditis are common fodder. Accordingly, a good deal of medical know-how and synthesis/decomposition of actual situations has embedded itself into my brain as common knowledge.
Here are my related problems:
1.) Despite solid foundations in hygiene, safety and medical fact, body modification is generally cast in an immediately negative light when addressed.
1- B.) Though considering themselves to be very informed in medically-related fields, doctors do not know even half the extent of the modified community and the dramatic modifications that have already become common.
2.) It is believed by the general public that the title of M.D. immediately casts the bearer into the light and under the label of "Grand Connoisseur of All Bodily Facts" to such absurd lengths that the doctors begin to believe it themselves, delivering uneducated and (relating to Problem 1- B) sometimes completely misinformed verdicts on modifications.
..On the flip side...
All other people, regardless of any capacity of knowledge in the field they may possess, that are not holding such a title are deemed lesser and less informed, with a significantly lesser weighting given to their raised voices.
So, very plainly, the health and body-related aspect of mainstream society is held at the reins by doctors given the power of veto over subjects they probably have never heard of. This is a very large problem - one that will probably not be resolved and will continue to segregate the "factions" of the population.
Elaboration:
Re: #1 - The "negative light" that perpetually seems to follow the subject or practice of body modification is a mystery unto itself, but I'd be fairly safe to attribute it to the causes of A) a mildly transformed sense of xenophobic tendencies that are typical of the 'human nature' and B) the outside fear of the pain/harm some modifications might enforce upon the body.
All right. Well, sadly, the traditional 'fear of what seems utterly foreign and beyond comprehension' characterized of society is something that truly cannot be changed - idealists be damned. Despite the greatest efforts of some active members of the body modification community, "outside people" generally remain consciously resistant to recognition and understanding of the practices. Reasons are variable and entirely subjective, but the final conclusion is that in most cases, people cannot grasp the justification and rational reasoning behind why a person might want to modify their body, nor do they really want to.
As to the fear of pain or impeding harm - caution regarding one's health and wellbeing is a sign of rationalism. Great - and nobody should ever be denied of the proper settings and standards for hygiene when undergoing the procedures for their mods. What isn't recognized by doctors is that relatively all who are comprised amid the bod-mod community are accordingly cautious and are quite careful in taking the necessary steps to achieve that level of comfort. It's the wannabe posers that float around the fringes of every group amid society that defy this sense of logic to gratify their own rampant needs of 'rebellion'.
Re: #1 - B - I'm going to appeal to my knowledge and vast amount of discussions with my own parents-as-doctors to prove my point here.
Taking a virtual 'tour' merely around the publicly accessible areas of BME already shows promise of hinting at areas of body modification that are definitely not publicized. Tongue-splitting among discussions here has rarely caused any raised eyebrows for a while now, but only recently have "outside people" begun to hear of such a procedure's existence. Even so, the mod is referred to within the media in such detestable and unthinkable verbosity that the "negative light" is impossible to avoid.
Doctors -taking my own family as an example- think of themselves almost as oracles on anatomical issues. It seems as though my parents would have me believe that shades of grey in such instances are utterly impossible, and that through their quickly decided and rendered verdict, I can know if one thing is 'good' or 'bad' for my body.
However, these same doctors would also be the first to acknowledge that no proper decision can be reached without the proper weighing of both sides of a matter in a [hopefully] objective view, especially when in reference to something as essential as one health.
Then the question becomes: why does body modification not deserve such recognition as well? My parents condemned all piercings aside ear lobe and basic small gauge cartilage piercings as 'dangerous' and "just not right". My legendary discussion with them in attempts to unveil another possible side to the contrary are (sans hyperbole) less than five minutes long simply because of their sheer unwillingness to listen to what might be said. This means that possible learning and forward, evolving thinking has been willingly sacrificed for their own lack of interest and/or disgust on the subject.
Are these the people we can trust with the welfare of our lives? Doctors who do not wish to educate themselves on the course of their own society of patients?
Re: #2 - I'm going to use the exact situation which prompted me to write this commentary as the means of elaborating on this point.
I was having a discussion with a student who had been taking med school for years now, and was studying for their oral and written Royal College exams, to be written in Ottawa. I'm very familiar with some of the material used in the oral exams (as my mother -the anesthetist- is an examiner) and was having some fairly interesting discussions with one soon-to-be doctor. My piercings came up.
Despite the youth of this student (I bring this up because sometimes body modification is likened as a generational community, though not really), this person immediately launched into all the reasons based in medical fact that decreed why the extent he knew of bod-mod was 'bad'. While some points were valid, his foundation was based upon the dangerous nature of some of the procedures (acknowledged) and all the possible ways they might go wrong - which are all incidentally preventable when the proper precautions are taken in seriousness.
Although I justifiably refuted all of his points, this person was obviously convinced that his words were worth more than mine because of his medical education, personified by the statements, "Listen, I've gone to medical school for many years now..." or "There are complications that you wouldn't understand because of your lack of education...". I decided that we were at a stalemate simply because of his lack of acknowledgement of my points.
I turned the subject away from it, and spontaneously asked him a question that my mother had told me about from the oral exams last year. It related to a disease known as Marfans in a hypothetical pregnant woman about to go into labor, and what precautions and actions that he, as the anesthetist, might take.
Here's the irony: I've known the details of Marfans for years, and could almost deliver a basic terminology lecture on it. This would-be doctor, who believed himself higher up on the medical hierarchy because of his education than I, um-ed and uh-ed and er-ed for a few minutes before hesitantly venturing that Marfans is a disease specifically afflicting the lungs and respiratory capacity. He mentioned that those afflicted bruise easily. That was about the extent of his knowledge on the subject.
Truly, Marfans is a syndrome that significantly weakens coronary circulation and arterial walls to the point where threats of explosion of the aorta valve and so on might occur during point of high blood pressure (like pregnancy). I knew this. He didn't.
But how is it that his opinion of body modification is more valid than mine? I realize that this is pertaining to a singular subject in medicine, but on principle - how can this be justified?
The answer? It can't. Body modification is one of the unfortunate victims of an aspect of medical hypocrisy - and perhaps that's one of the reasons why I'm more comfortable with my piercer than with my actual doctor.