The Right to Respect ... the Physical Body

 Respect for the soul was expressed in the former post, Right to Respect.

There is also respect for the body.

I declare the Right to Respect of the Physical Body.
I intend here the body of oneself and the bodies of others.

We will always want to choose what we do with our bodies.
We want that choice.
Each person should have the right to decide and define
what is disrespectful of their own body.

But societies should strive to promote and support
more appreciation for the natural physical body.
Many cultural habits and social norms do not support respect for our bodies.
 (Examples from the past:  footbinding (China) and tight corsets.) 

The questions to ask may be,
what practices and which intentions lead to choices
that actually harm the physical body or soul,
ultimately having consequences, even some that endanger rather than enhance life?
And, do we have true compassion for ourselves and others?

This right will certainly be controversial,
as its complexity leads to thinking and reflecting about our current practices of

non-reconstructive 'cosmetic' surgeries and injections,

alcohol/drug/chemical ingestion,

 sharing intimacy with multiple strangers,

and other unhealthy habits/rituals,

including eating disorders and some sports.
Varied decisive attitudes about these practices create a strong, controversial debate.

For clarification purposes, this right does not refer to
the external, non-invasive, body decorations that change with fashion trends.

In the future, more questions and debate
will ultimately come with genetic modification.

This right is supported by the Right to Care of the Physical Body,
the Right to Compassion, and the Right to Age.


Revision: thanks to commenters GIM, AFF, MLV, CJJ, LCM, RR, *TP*, KP