Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

From "I have one of the most advanced prosthetic arms in the world - and I hate it" by Britt H Young, Input magazine, 2021-03-04:

[...]

Prosthetic arm technology is still so limited that I become more disabled when I wear one. There are very few, special tasks I can do better with it (case in point: using a potato ricer). But mostly what it does is helps me mimic two-handed people. I realized that my excitement about my new hand was mostly about being able to be something other than disabled - a cyborg.

[...]

Angel says her multi-articulating, LED-lit, carbon fiber-coated hand is an extension of herself. She wears it outside of her house so that she knows she can do anything "the way" she wants to do it.

Often, that's the way that allows her to be left alone. "If I'm at a restaurant and want to cut a steak, and I go to do it with my little arm, everyone's gonna stare at me or offer to help," she tells Input. "But if I do it with my prosthesis, nobody. Says. Anything." Or, she adds, people will think it's cool. Angel loves her customized bionic hand and what it enables her to do socially, even if she is able to do most tasks without it.

[...]

No matter what, being cyborgs isn't saving us. The most disabling thing about missing my left arm is the way the world treats me, regardless of whether I put on a prosthesis for the day. "People have such rigid ideas about the human body," says Sara Hendren, Professor at Olin College of Engineering and author of What Can a Body Do? "People wouldn't make such a huge deal out of disability if they saw their own bodies as getting and receiving help when they need it."

In other words, none of us is utterly independent; we are constantly receiving help from other people or from some tool or piece of technology. If more people saw this clearly, then prosthetic limbs wouldn't be turned into "savior" devices by the media. My choice over whether to be a cyborg or not wouldn't be so high stakes.

[...]

[The author also points out class disparities in who gets prothetics (and who gets high-tech ones), groups of people who can benefit more (functionally) from fancy prosthetics, and that more people missing limbs or parts of limbs should get a chance to find out whether hi-tech prothetics make their lives easier or not.]