Body Modification

Before I did this blog my image of body modification was mostly of strange people who thought it was somehow art.

I did some research on body modification and I've found that there are lots more ways to modify the human body than I first thought. For example, there's scarification, piercings, branding, tattooing, sub-dermal implants, stretching skin, filing of teeth and even animal imitators (one of the most well known is probably Cat Man, who is in the picture).

After watching documentaries on YouTube I've learnt that there are many reasons for people to want to change their body in some kind of way. In many African tribes it is because of beauty, lip plates and scaring make the women appear more attractive, scaring can also indicates a right of passage that a person has entered into, such as childhood and adulthood. Scarification on women shows that the are strong enough to endure the pain of childbirth. Other body modifications show what tribe the person belongs to.

I have found that many animal imitators feel that they were born to be that animal or that (like the 'Lizard Man') it enhances their career. Most of the modifications for animal imitators is tattooing however some have had substances inserted into the skin to make them look more like their particular animal. It is against the law in America for cosmetic surgeons to do this type of procedures, so if they want metal pins to hold whiskers in their forehead then they have to have it done without anesthetic and without a doctor.

Some psychologists think that extreme body modification indicates some kind of abnormality and the, extreme, religious view is that you should love and honour what God gave you and how he made you. I don't have a very strong opinion on body modification, but I have learnt more about why people do these things to their body and that actually quite often it's more of a need than a want. I think some of the African tribal customs are very extreme, I have attached a link to a video about it but it is not for the faint hearted, but there are people from western cultures who are trying to educate them. For many people body modification is their form of income and others do it because they are very artistic and just love tattooing, the body is a blank canvas to them.

A video on African Tribal body modification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwOXmjTsvs

A video on Cat Man: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIFAU9iBQ10

A video on Animal Imitators: www.youtube.com/watch?v=woupH5cyPI0