A prosthetic can be considered an artificial body part, or purely an extension of the body. Technology functions as a prosthetic. Whether it is a medical augmentation for a specific purpose, or intended to extend the abilities of the mind and body, when in use, technology becomes indistinguishable from the body. 

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Gender is a prosthetic because it is worn and performed by a body. Beyond gender performance as prosthetic,  medical and hormonal transition expand on the physical properties of the body. “Hormones hack into gender systems possessing political scope extending beyond the aesthetic calibration of individual bodies” 1 The act of modifying one’s gender signifiers has political ramifications to the rigid nature of the gender binary. After a few months of taking sex hormones, physical changes already become visible. One’s hair, skin, and muscles begin to change. Some changes are permanent, others reversible. Regardless of one’s ultimate goal with hormone replacement therapy, contamination is used in order to become more than what one was previously.