Alice in Wonderland, through parody, suggests the constant
fluctuation of identity, and the precariousness of our systems
of language to describe it. Andy Clark claims that our selves
are composed of the tools and methods we use to understand and
function in the world. As Anne pointed out, our tools and
processes can only be judged "faulty" by mutually agreed-upon
standards that are as precarious as the word meanings Alice
plays with. Culture as Disability highlights this as well--
even, for example, the importance of the ability to speak and
eat as "ordinary" humans do (which makes the "correction" of a
cleft lip or palate so ordinary) is based on a culture that
prioritizes these abilities. These norms, like the meanings of
words, shift over time response to pressures from within and
without the system they create. Bernice L. Hausman, in her book
Changing Sex, explores the relationship between plastic surgery
and changing standards of appearance. Plastic surgery is a more
recent development in a long history