and my point where i said it’s called body integrity identity disorder was that you called it “body integration identification disorder”, which isn’t what it’s called.

and i’d still like to point out that BIID doesn’t necessarily need to be mentioned along with apotemnophilia and devotees, because BIID is not a sexual fetish. there are several people with BIID who also fit into the other two categories, but in general i believe there should be a distinction made between them so that if or when a reader might encounter a transabled individual in real life or online, they hopefully don’t automatically assume that the individual is just someone with a “sick fetish” since there’s a very good chance it isn’t sexual at all.

however, i do accept your apology. i just hope that you think about the consequences your writing may have on other people. you don’t have to deal with these things on a first hand basis every day of your life, so please try to consider those of us who do.

It’s fairly evident from your response that you found my column offensive and for that, I apologize. It’s never my goal to hurt people’s feelings, especially those whose voice is not usually represented.

But somehow you managed to miss the part where I did identify BIID. And my assertion that some disabled and trans folks find BIID to be offensive comes not from my own opinion, but from reading articles by disabled and transgender authors who said just that.

I’m supremely glad that your transgender friends are accepting of you as you are. That’s what friends are about: people we can understand, who love and support us.

It does not change the fact, though, that BIID is not understood and accepted by everyone.

Again, I apologize for the tone of the piece. It was originally intended for an audience that found topics as basic as pegging to be outrageously controversial. And in my attempt to make it reach them, I wrote it in a way that could be hurtful.

now, there may be people out there who are turned on by the idea of having a disability, but that is not BIID. they are different things.

had you actually done any research on the disorder, you will find that it isn’t about attention, self-harm, or even the notion of having a disability. it’s about wanting one’s body to match one’s mind. the impairment desired isn’t necessarily an amputation, either, there are people with BIID who need to be blind, deaf, or even paralyzed (such as myself).

had you actually read sean’s blog, rather than merely linking to it and making fun of it, you would have discovered that many of us with BIID are otherwise disabled already. if it was a desire to be special, or get attention, most of us already have it. there used to be a blogger on transabled.org who was paraplegic but needed to be deaf. there is also one with crippling chronic pain in her arms who needs to be paralyzed. we understand what it is like to be disabled, yet we still need to be ourselves. whenever i am able to get a wheelchair, i’d really rather people just left me alone about it. i don’t want attention. i just want to live my life in the way that makes me happiest.

and as for transgender people not liking BIID? well, you’d have to ask my friends about that. a lot of my friends are transgender and are some of the most supportive when it comes to my BIID, because they KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.

that’s just my two cents. i hope you understand a bit better now.