If I ain't broke, don't fix me

Caught this article on CNN about a new TV movie exploring the controversy in the deaf community surrounding cochlear implants. Normally, I can't be bothered with TV movies, but this caught my eye because of the underlying "don't fix me" issue. While many deaf people see cochlear implants - an in-ear device that helps hearing - as a welcome opportunity and a joy, many others, especially those who were born deaf, see them as a rejection of deaf culture, and an insulting statement that they are broken and not normal and need fixing.

I've cruised a few deaf bloggers commenting on this film, but none of them have answered my main questions. First, I wonder what people who reject cochlear implants think of people born with missing or underdeveloped limbs who get prosthetics - are those people being unethical and untrue to themselves? Should they be told to reject the opportunities prosthetic limbs provide?

And what about transsexuals? It's been quite some time since gender identity disorders were removed from the DSM-IV. Now, our culture affirms people who believe they were born in the wrong body. We are told to confirm to them that they are freaks of nature, that they are mistakes, but that with surgery we can fix them and make them the way they were meant to be. I think this affirmation is one of the most tragic consequences of tolerance.

As neither deaf nor and amputee nor having had a gender identity disorder, I can't speak for either group, or pass judgment on how they view the ethics of treatment. But I can be confused, and a little depressed. I'd love to hear from someone with an intimate knowledge of these lives, and where they stand on the issue of "fixing".