Yes, I realise I have a tattoo. Yes, I realise it's forever...

WARNING!!!

This blog contains pictures and videos containing graphic body modifications - especially the video links!!!

Body Modification: Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, aesthetic reasons, denoting affiliation, trust and loyalty, religious reasons, shock value, and self-expression.

Body modification is a topic which raises many questions. While many people love the thought of basic body mods such as tattoos and piercings, many people feel disgusted at the thought that people would get deliberately branded, or have dermal implants placed into their skull. The truth is, that even the simplest body modification can change how people see us, and indeed how we see ourselves.

Some of the more commonly practised and well known body modification techniques include

• Ear, facial and body piercing - includes many parts of the ear, nose, lip, nipple and genital... to name a few
• Tattoos
• Male circumcision
• Breast surgery - implants, augmentation, nipple removal etc.
• Bodybuilding - although bodybuilding requires little/no surgery, it is often considered a type of body modification due to the extremity of which it changes the natural body shape
• Hair dying - colouring the hair unnatural colours is a modification. Obviously.
  

Commonly practised but less well known body modification types;

• Piercing Stretching - a piercing (most commonly the ear) is stretched to a variety of sizes to form a hole in the flesh. After the elasticity of the skin is passed, the hole will never completely heal.
• Microdermal and transdermal implants - a metal anchor is placed under the skin and a hole is made in the skin to allow a stud attached to the anchor to sit above the skin surface. Most commonly used on the forearm with a small stud or spike sitting on the skin.
• Subdermal implants - A piece of 3D metal placed fully under the skin. Several of these implants to cause a row of spikes/bumps is a common form of this implant.
• Surface piercings - A piercing which enters and exits a flat area of skin, often the nape of the neck.
• Branding - the burning of the skin and underlying tissue to cause permanent scarring.
• Scarrification- the cutting and removal of sections of skin to cause permanent scarring.
• Tongue Splitting - ... self explanatory really.
• Ear Shaping - The tops of the ears are re-shaped to resemble the ears of an elf/cat/lizard?...etc.
• Corsetry - binding of the waist to make the waist smaller - taken to EXTREME lengths... also known as tightlacing
  

Other types of body modification follow. Many of these are now extremely rare due to the extreme danger they cause. They have all existed at some point though...

• Pearling and anal stretching - Pearling is also known as anal beading... please don't make me explain that...
• Extraocular implant - This type of body mod is relativiely new. It involves a small poclet being cut into the outer layer of the eyeball and having a piece of dermal jewellery (I'm told the heart shape is very popular for this) inserted into that pocket.
• Nullification/amputation - the removal of body parts
• Cranial binding - the binding of a babys head to change the shape of it. Nice parenting, huh?
• Foot binding - common in Asia - small feet are a sign of beauty. And corns.
• Breast Ironing - The application of heat to a pre-pubescent girl to stop her breats growing.
• Trepanation - Drilling a hole in the skull. Although this was used to 'release the devil' pre-Victorian times, people also believed drilling a hole would 'air their brain' and make them more intelligent.
  

Currently, I have a total of 9 piercings, 2 ear piercings stretched to 12mm each, 8 tattoos covering my arms, back, leg, ribs and colar bone, the majority of my hair is pink and I'm seriously considering transdermal implants. It has not yet affected my ability to get a job, dettered people from talking to me or resulted in my family, none of which have any tattoos at all, disowning me. Perhaps I'm lucky, or perhaps the reason body mods haven't affected my life is because I didn't get them in order to do so. Unlike many people I know, my first tattoo wasn't simply a sign of rebellion. It wasn't to prove I was 'hard' because I could withstand pain. My first tattoo, and indeed the ones that did and will follow, was simply an expression of me.

One of the main concerns with body modification is the pain that it inflicts. People often say they've become 'addicted' to tattoos or piercings, and so it's understandablt that people would question why you would want to endure pain for... well, pleasure. It could be argued that the small amount of pain, if any is experienced, is worth the result. While I agree with this in terms of piercings, etc, I can't say that I'd be happy to sit for several hours while someone cuts sections of my skin off, just to be left with a pretty mean scar for the rest of my life. But some people honestly like this, and I suppose it's quite hard to just make a cut off point when it comes to body mods. If you're modified at all, is it not hypocritical to say that certain types of it are too extreme?

Through body modification, many people do hinder their chances of getting jobs. It's often the case that incredibly intelligent, able people get turned down for jobs because they have some modification which a company frowns upon. In many places, workers are asked to cover up their tattoos and take out their piercings, despite, in the majority of cases, them having no affect on the worker or their ability to do a good job.

On the other hand, having extreme body mods is almost a requirement for the job; Tattooists and piercers, especially. People can work in jobs for months before anyone notices they have a tattoo if it is in a place where it can be easily covered. Places such as The Planet nightclub or The Giffard Arms Pub in Wolverhampton seem to imploy only people with tattoos, piercings and incredibly crazy hair. Again, it can be argued that if the body mod isn't to an extent where it harms the ability to do a job properly, why shouldn't body mods be accepted in the workplace?

I asked my boss what the difference would be between hiring me for a job and hiring Jim, shown in the picture.

The jist of her reply was that tattoos and piercings, within reason, are generally accepted now by society. So many people have them that coming to get served a pint by a girl with tattoos isn't going to put them off and make them run a mile. However, if they were to be served by someone who bears a similar resemblance to the devil, they might not be so comfortable in ordering. Although I'm all for the expression of character, Jim here would of been an idiot to think that after undergoing such drastic procedures people wouldn't be shocked by his appearence, and it's likely that that was his intention. It's likely that Jim gets his fair share of pointing and shouting when he goes on his weekly shop, but he obviously likes the way he looks.





People are often a lot more shocked when they see people with body mods such as Jim than they are to see people like Katie Price, who has practically nothing natural left about her. Body Modification, most of the time, isn't about changing the features you have, it's about enhancing the way you look and expressing yourself. Plastic surgery procedures aren't about expression or individuality, it's simply about making yourself look, and feel, better. While people who undergo plastic surgery to become better socially accepted, people who undergo body mods do so to feel comfortable in themselves. To try new things and be a little 'out there'. In all fairness I would rather be covered in tattoos, piercings, scars and microdermal implants than feel like I had to change the way I look, in regards to physical features.