Legs vs. Arms? Is one more important than the other?

            Prosthetic Impulse was an enjoyable and interesting read that addressed the concept of prosthetics and there use in society. The book contained numerous articles that looked at different aspects associated with prosthetics however I believed that the overall theme from the book was how prosthetics were used to create a sense of normalcy for the individual that is missing a limb. While living out in California and training at the Olympic Training Center I was fortunate enough to get to know some of our Paralympic athletes. Some of these athletes are missing their limbs and use prosthetic's to run and compete. These athletes do not view themselves as abnormal and their prosthetic have made them become normal. I agree with the argument that prosthetic's allow an individual to live a normal day to day life by giving an individual the ability to walk or run. Additionally, I do not believe that these prosthetic make the individual any less human or un-natural they simply aid an individual in maintaining a normal life style.

            Out of all of the chapters, I found chapter 1 to be interesting because the author went through her own experience of having a prosthetic leg. Sobchack stated that within the world of arms and hands have been granted agency compared to legs. I found this to be very interesting observation because how our entertainment world grants agency one could state that it is just as normal to have a prosthetic arm or hand instead of a leg. The importance of agency has been created based on what society finds and values as more interesting and appealing. Does this mean that as a society we value our arms over our legs? I have difficulty understanding why we have placed value on a part of our body however we didn’t carry it over to another section of the body.  I feel that how we socially construct the thought of being disabled it what allows us to place value and agency on one part of the body over another. Does it come back to some level of sexual attraction/fetish that is associated with the prosthetic?

            Referencing back to my friends that live in California and are Paralympic athletes, these individuals felt that prosthetics had a negative connotation when our society places a negative connotation on them via through language. When we use phrases such as disabled or handicap, many individuals feel that they are not handicapped they are simply just missing a limb and the prosthetic is there in place for what naturally should be there. Unfortunately, I had difficulties relating the book to my article of clothing but none the less I found the book to be very interesting.