From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Definition
Tribrachiality is a condition where a third arm sprouts on
the upper portion of an individual’s back.
Development
The third arm is not visible at birth. It typically begins
to form around adolescence, although initial growth has been noted both earlier
and later in life.
Cause
Nobody knows why some people grow third arms and others do
not. Some argue that the condition is genetic but many others believe that the
third arm begins to grow as a direct result of a person's upbringing. Still
others believe that there is an element of choice involved in the matter. They espouse the belief that those who develop a third arm should be able to prohibit
its growth through a careful and concerted effort.
Groups dedicated to the eradication of third arms have
sprung up across the nation, but are generally viewed as having very low success
rates. Despite this fact, some tribrachial individuals enroll in eradication programs,
hoping to learn techniques that will result in the withering of the third arm,
or at the very least, how to live in such a manner that the third arm will become an
unused and atrophied appendage.
History
Scholars argue over the history of tribrachiality. Some
prominent anthropologists point to depictions of ancient people in which a protuberance
can be deciphered around the upper portion of their back. Such
anthropologists believe that tribrachiality is as old as civilization, but
other scholars reject such interpretations of the ancient art, attributing the
bulge to a special decorative adornment ancients wore under their clothing during celebratory rituals.
Up until 1950, most tribrachials attempted to hide their
condition. They did so by curling their third arm between their shoulder blades
and wearing bulky clothing; however, many tribrachials report that doing this
caused a great deal of both physical and emotional pain.
Wilhema E. Foster was the first tribrachial to cut a hole in her clothing, thus allowing her third arm to hang out. Foster was subsequently imprisoned
for this act, which was deemed a “grotesque display”, but she became a role model for other
tribrachials and is largely regarded as the founder of the Tribrachial Rights
Movement.
Though Foster pioneered the practice of displaying the third
arm, remarkably, it was not until 1995 that the first three armed shirt was
manufactured in America. Tribrachials everywhere celebrated this as a major
triumph and sign of a shifting cultural perspective, but those opposed to
tribrachialism deemed it yet another sign of the moral erosion of modern society.
Mating
Sexual intermingling between bi and tribrachials is widely scorned in much of society;
however, it is estimated that anywhere from three to seven percent of the
population engages in such intermingling. Those who oppose such pairings do so
widely on a moral basis, claiming that each arm needs a companion during sexual
intercourse. According to this contingent, it is unnatural and immoral for an
arm to be idle during intercourse. They stake much of their claim on references found in the
Book of Civilization, which they widely regard as the touchstone for all rules
regarding morality
Proponents of intermingling believe that love, rather than anatomical
differences or similarities, should be the determining factor for what draws
two individuals together.
