My Findings on Body Art and Modification

I recently joined twitter and have found some good accounts to follow for body mods piercings and tattoos.

• BodyMod_
  • I think this is a general piercing/tattoo/extreme mod thing      
• Face_Tattoos
  • Basically good facial tats like the name suggests
• vegantattoos
  • for those wanting a more natural harmless tattoo experience
• TattooGallery
  • Just a bunch of different tattoo stuff but all very good and updated often
• TattooBuzz
  • About the same as tattoo gallery but with other cool stuff posted as well. Also, updated often
• tattoohelp
  • name says it all but not updated to often it seems

(To follow my twitter look up crazy0122003 in people find, click the follow me link on the About Ashley page or click on the twitter widget to the right)

Church and Tattoos where something that have never been thought to mix well. Just imagine getting a tattoo in church, right at up at the altar; ha no way you say, but wait you are wrong.

This past Sunday (November 22, 2009) at a community church in Mill Creek, Washington in a recently added feature to the sermon titled “Permanent Ink”, live tattoos being given at the altar at the end of the sermon.  This church also boasts twenty-minute rock sessions before each sermon begins.

Several of the 150 parishioners in attendance were tattooed that day. The previous Sunday the church watched a video of one of its attendants getting a tattoo removed. (Tattoo removal equipment was too cumbersome to bring into the church).

The church does not advocate for or against tattoos it says. Tattoos are up to a person to decide on. They say are giving the same sermons as before but just finding new ways to tell it. According to the pastor, permanent markings are in the bible. The most popular symbol being 666, sign of the devil. Allegedly, there where even markings on Jesus.

For more details read this article.

Piercings, while fun, are a bit too permanent for some people. Especially the more outrageous things like piercings arranged to make a design. It is perfectly natural to want to just try something different but not have it all the time. For these daring times I suggest play piercing.

Play piercing is when a piercing that only stays in for a little while. It can be done for a number of purposes. Such as rituals, sexual pleasure, self discovery, entertainment, or just when you are so bored you just need to pierce something. Usually long needles with plastic looking tips are inserted for the piecing.

Anyone who has seen the MTV Jackass shows and movies will know the Jackass tar Steve-O. Steve-0 once got a play piercing on camera for entertainment purpose. He had his but cheeks pierced together. He had it pierced for all of a few minutes.

Ritual play piercing could be a number of things. Such as ritual lip and or eye lid sewing. These play piercings will be done for a short period of time. It is said to help people clear their minds. The lack of sight and not being able to talk allows them to focus on other things such as current problems in their lives. Another ritual piercing is suspension hook piercings. People get this done for a number of reasons, such as enjoyment and personal discovery, or to reach a spiritual enlightenment

Some “extreme” BSDM lovers will get piercing for an erotic bit of fun. They find the piercing to be a turn on. I can only guess they enjoy the pain, or they like the look of the jewelry in the hole. Some people are also said to get aroused by the endorphin high they get from a piercing whether the piercing be permanent or just in for a little while. This endorphin high can even bring on a climax for some people.

Play piercing is done at home by many people. There are even kits that can be bought online that include all materials to make sure piercings are done safe and clean.

Click here to buy a play piercing kit.

A few weeks ago I wrote about ritual lip sewing. Now I think it’s time I write about this ritual counterpart, ritual eye sewing.

Eye sewing is about the same as lip sewing. However, it is just a bit more risky due to the fact that it is on your eye lid right over your eyes. This of course is why any interested candidates should seek a professional for this procedure.

Reasons for doing this are about the same as getting ones lips sewn together. It can be relaxing. It can help someone focus on problems they have without worrying about what is in front of them. Also, if someone is upset with how they see things this could help make them relax as well.

I was not able to find much on this ritual so I cannot pinpoint when it first came about in history. I can only guess it has been around for a while but it was never a mainstream thing.

Today, November 16, is International Tolerance day. First celebrated in 1996 and made n holiday but the United Nations, this day seems to go quite unrecognized. I myself with admit I had not heard of it until recently.

I think the purpose of the event is best summed up in this quote by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. “World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor — it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.” This quote makes a lot of sense. Many people think they are expected to go out and befriend the people who are different from them. But, the main goal of tolerance is just to respect those who are different from us; to consider them a human being of equal important in this world as yourself.

While the United Nations was hoping for people to mostly be tolerant of other religions and races on this day, the same tolerance can also be expected towards people with tattoos, piercings, and extreme body modifications. While one person may think their weirdo neighbor looks even funnier than before with his new subdermal implants he should respect that neighbor either way.

for more info on tolerance day

When getting a tattoo and you have decided on a design, there is the decision to make of where to put it on your body. There are so many places it could go depending on the size. Some people also want something that can be concealed for work and visible in their off time. There are many places god for that, such as arms, legs, backs, and arm pits. Wait armpits?

Arm pit tattoos are nothing new. People have been getting them for ages. Many people even make their arm pits a joke with their tattoos. But keep in mind this area could be painful and have healing issues. I can only imagine how sensitive the under arm skin is to needles. Especially, when I consider how much it hurt my armpits just having a rash from bad deodorant. Also, you’d have to shave a lot unless the hair would compliment that tattoo.

But, if you can go through the pain of an armpit tattoo you must be tough. To all those who dare to get this done I salute you.

all images are from oddee. com

Imagine this scenario; you are going to get a serious piercing, not just an ear or nose stud. You don’t know where good and bad places to go are. You hear this guy’s great but the place is sketchy, then you hear someone say don’t go anywhere near the same guy someone just told you is great. They each have good and bad stories about this piercer. You don’t know who to believe. Or, you are getting a more private piercing and want someone of your own sex to do it. Or, you just want someone who you know is legit. Where do you turn, why none other than the A.P.P.

The A.P.P., or Association of Professional Piercers, is a an international non profit organization that that exists for the purposes of helping people get the best, safest, and cleanest piercings they can. Also, to inform people about piercings, whether they are looking for a piercing, a healthcare professional, piercer, legislators, or just a curious individual.

While based in California, their website is very helpful to viewers worldwide. On the site you can find lists of piercers in the organization categorized by area. They also have aftercare information and piercing health information, things to consider, FAQ’s, the rights of a person getting pierced, and information on jewelry used in piercings.

They also have information from the legal standpoint, merchandise, brochures and other helpful literature, and information about their annual conference held in Las Vegas during the first week of May. If you are looking for a job in the industry they also have a page listing job openings.

Many people like to wear cat head bands or elf ear headbands for fun. But what if there was a more permanent way to have pointed ears. Of course there is movie make up techniques one could use to achieve the pointed ear look, but this can be annoying and time consuming to apply. There are fake ears you can put over your own ears, but these could alter your hearing and be very uncomfortable. Then we come to the best way to get pointed ears, having your own ears modified with an ear point procedure.

Ear pointing is a somewhat simple body modification. It basically is just removing tissue from the tip of the ear and connecting the two edges with sutures. Some people attempt the procedure on their own but it is best to seek a professional. A bad ear pointing could lead to ear collapse. And, as with any botched job, infections.

Pointed ears are nothing new. Dennis Avner, most commonly known as “Stalking Cat,” has had his ears modified to look like that of a cat for some time now.

Fans of Star Trek will recognize this look from the Vulcans and Romulans. But, for the Vulcan and Romulan actors I’m quite sure it was just clever make up.

Here is a recent editorial I wrote for my college newspaper where I am the editor. I thought it would be great to post here.

Tattoos are not just for sailors and criminals anymore; we are seeing them everywhere these days. People of all ages can be seen getting tattoos, from the elderly to the younger generations who are expected to have them.

Tattoos have become more than just a gang sign or to show that someone served in the military. For most people it is a work of art they can carry with them forever, a way to forever capture a memory of something or someone important to them. Or a person could even have tattoos representing their culture. But there is still the question of tattoos being acceptable in the work place.

Some companies still do not approve of tattoos, see them as unprofessional, and assume that whoever has one is unprofessional, which of course is far from the truth. Chances are, if a company does not want its employees to have tattoos, they have a set tattoo policy. If an interviewer sees a potential employee with a visual tattoo, they could allow that to be a deciding factor in whether or not they offer that person a job.

A potential argument to this would be that people should be allowed self-expression, even in the workplace. But companies can limit personal expression as long as they do not limit ones civil liberties. According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers are allowed to impose appearance policies as long as they do not discriminate against a person’s race, color, religion, age, national origin, or gender.

Other companies are able to look past a persons tattoo and look more at what that person can do for them and the rest of the company. According to Diane Ruksnaitis, Associate Vice President of Human Resources, at Mount Wachusett Community College(my college) there is no policy regarding tattoos for faculty or staff members here.

Some employers have gone as far as allowing “tasteful” tattoos to be visible in the workplace but complications can easily arise with what is the line of tasteful and what is not. Most companies with tattoo policies just prohibit visible tattoos so there is no issue with what is and what is not acceptable.

Employers need to realize that while a person’s tattoo may give hints to their interests and beliefs it does not exactly pinpoint who they are as a worker. It would be very surprising to see a person have their work tendencies tattooed on their body.

In a study conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology in 2006, 24% of Americans ages 18 to 50 years old reported having at least one tattoo. That is quite a large amount of people compared to what it may have been even ten or twenty years ago.

Since the percentage of individuals with tattoos is not going to decrease but probably only increase, the workforce is going to have to continue to become more tolerant of employees with tattoos as time goes on. If not they could easily lose the true, best person for the job.

Prayer and piercings have never been something one would think would be combined. Unless one is praying for a piercing to turn out good and not reject or get infected. But oh just you wait there is the prayer piercing.

The payer piercing is a piercing on the outer edge of the hand and usually done as a surface piercing. Seen best when someone would be praying, hence the name prayer piercing. It looks best when done on both hands. But symmetry may not be for everyone. I am guessing that it could be done horizontal or vertical.

The arguments against this piercing would be that it is a surface piercing which have been known to have a very high rejection rate. That makes me think that someone could easily just get this done as microdermals. There would be a much, much lower risk of rejection. Of course there is still is the risk of the piercing snagging on things, or getting rubbed on things,  due to the area of the hand it is on. When you think about it, that area rubs against a lot of stuff.