Me and my body modification

Introduction to body modification

“Body modification/alternation is the deliberate altering of the human body”

.Wikipedia.

RELGIONAESTHETIC EXPRESSION

RITES OF PASSAGEPRESSURE FROM SOCIETY

SELF-EXPRESSION

WHY?

My reason?

Body Modification affects how I feel about myself, Rogers 1961 concentric circle model’ theory claims that the gap between the ideal-self and self-

image is a measure of self-esteem. A strong part of my ideal-self is

somebody who fits in with a certain crowd, covered in piercings and

tattoos.Gate keeping is the term for when we filter out information that could cause negative perceptions and sometimes

this is what I have to do around certain people when I have to remove

my piercings. This is sometimes upsetting as I feel as if, around these people I can’t be myself, because it is

not acceptable.

My Piercings?

7 EAR PIERCINGS2 LIP PIERCINGS2 NOSE PIERCINGSTONGUE PIERCINGSMILEY PIERCING

NAVELWRIST

LOTS MORE EAR

PIERCINGS!

History of Body Modification

Body modification is nothing new, tattoos were originated over 10,000 years ago with the oldest documented tattoo on ‘Otzi the Iceman’ who’s death occurred in 3300BC. However,

when Christianity began to become popular tattooing was increasingly associated with criminals. In the eighteenth

century they were no longer prohibited and became popular amongst sailors and seamen. However, in the nineteenth

century King George V was tattooed and this led to tattoos becoming insanely popular amongst royalty.

Tattoos were not only used as a form of self expression, but also a way of identification. During the Holocaust, the Nazis

tattooed numbers on the arms of the Jews. Also in the Roman times, they would tattoo slaves and criminals. Despite this, in

today's day and age tattoos are often use for expression. There has been many a time that tattoos have been cast off

as taboos, but they are becoming increasingly more mainstream daily.

Misunderstanding & Assumptions

.Unintelligent. .Low Self-esteem.

.Mean..Lonely..Hostile..Stupid.

.Irresponsible.

My view?I see bodymod as;

.Expressive. .Powerful..Intriguing.

.Art..Limitless.

And most of all.BEAUTIFUL.

“An ideal beauty is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely

attributed to beauty in a particular culture for perfection”

With tattoos, piercings and other forms of body modification clearly becoming more of an everyday thing, they are becoming more

valuable. As prices for these modifications are not cheap and tattoos are often exclusive and

can never be done exactly the same twice. Comparing a tattoo to a piece of art is

reasonable in my eyes. Imagine the difficulties to create a true masterpiece on a piece of

paper that can be disposed of. Now, try and create a true masterpiece that is there for life; that somebody would want on them for life –

that’s talent.Or is it also down to taste? Some people just

clearly find body modification distasteful, but I believe our body’s are canvas’ and we are the

artists – destined to express what’s inside.

[SEE VIDEO FILE]

This is a video of another lover of body modification, however his is more extreme

than mine. In this video he talks about things that I have, his reasons for altering

his body and his view on how people in society feel about it. He discusses

society’s assumptions and supports/praises people who indulge in

body modification.

In this way he proves that body modification is a way that people alter

aspects of their identity, in order to project the image into the world of their ideal-self.

Like me, he is interested in body modification as both a creative art form and also an important way to alter the

way he is seen by the world.