When does body modification go too far? Is there such a thing as going too far? What drives people to perform these acts of “extreme” body modification? Are people that are doing this type of extreme body mods just to be different? Or is this just a form of self expression that should be encouraged and treated as art?
Tattoos and piercing are starting to become more mainstream, in our office it is encouraged to have at least one piercing. My boss has been trying to get me to stretch my ears for years now. Our society still frowns on people with piercings and tattoos though.
I would like to believe that this comes from people in power not understanding the appeal of piercings and tattoos. As they are slowly phased out I think we will see a drastic change in how body modification is accepted in our society. I am interested in the more extreme behavior. I am wondering about scarification, extreme stretching, facial implants, and extreme body modification.
You can look at tribes and consider some of their behavior freakish. Yet these types of traditions are not only acceptable but are promoted inside of their cultures. Why is it any different from a person who wants to look like a cat? The Yakuza have been getting extreme tattoos for centuries to prove how bad-ass they are and no one would tell a Yakuza that he was freak. So why is that different from these people? You might not agree with the style but that is pretty hardcore.
People that get plastic surgery, Botox, and all other types of cosmetic surgery aren’t treated differently. All they are trying to do is make the outside match what they feel is on the inside, no one says anything to the girl that gets a nose job but wearing a 3 inch nose plug is something completely different. Isn’t that what body art is all about though? Taking how you want to look and shaping your body to match it.
This isn’t an easy question to answer but we would love to hear what you have to say. Are you into extreme mods? Let us know what drives you to do it. Think the whole thing is stupid and disgusting? Let us know why.
