My Findings on Body Art and Modification

With any modification to one’s body there are risks involved. But besides the physical ones such as infection or rejection there are others which we usually overlook, such as divorce, bra straps, and psychiatric commitment, among others. The BME encyclopedia risks site has information on almost all of them.

For divorce one man talks about losing a custody battle for a few mod related reasons. The judge deemed him unfit for full custody  after hearing about his voluntary castration thinking that his wife had made him do it and that made him weak. Also, his wife had a shrink tell the court he forced her to get body piercings. Just another thing to keep in mind during a divorce.

Some people may think of you as certifiably insane after an extreme body modification. Then they just may have you hauled in for psych evals up the ying  yang. But chances are they won’t find anything and you’ll be free in 72 hours.

In the bra strap category they warn people about bra straps snagging on new tattoos or piercing and suggest going braless or wearing some sort of padding or cushion under the strap until healing is complete. They also advise to be careful of children around any modifications they can pull on or grab at such as stretched ears or transdermal implants.

For more risks click here

Interesting redo the classic Love Kills Slowly design by the infamous Sailor Jerry

I read today in a list of things a person should never do without first talking over with their significant other is getting a tattoo of the other’s name. I can understand that very well, that could create a very awkward situation. However, what about getting a tattoo in general, does a person need to talk it over with their lover first? What if they say no, what happens next?

I mean unless it’s a spontaneous decision to get a tattoo it might be good to mention to the person you’re  with that you are getting a tattoo, but do you have to ask their opinion, and then act upon what they say, even if they disagree.

I have never been in a relationship around the time of any of my tattoos and I am not sure how well I could comprehend someone saying, “No, you shouldn’t get another tattoo, I don’t want you to,” or trying to just steer me away from it indirectly. I already get that from my mother. No one but my mom can try to steer me away from tattoos, and it doesn’t work for her, so why would I let it fly with a person I choose to be with. I do not think I could choose between tattoos and a boyfriend, even a husband if I had one.

Getting a tattoo is something that shouldn’t be done on a whim. While I can speak from experience and say I decided to get my last tattoo the day I got it, I was attending a tattoo convention that day and had been toying with the idea of getting inked while there and pulled an idea from my stockpiled tattoo ideas I have kicking around my head. (Yes, I do in fact have a stockpile of tattoo ideas in my head that I want. Think of it as a bucket list of tattoos.) I do not regret getting a somewhat spontaneous tattoo one bit.

I can maybe see taking their opinion on the details of the tattoo though. For instance, the placement or the design.  But I would not, in my right state of mind, let someone I was in a relationship with stop me from getting a tattoo entirely.

There are people in this world who have heavily modified themselves and usually are known to the public for just that, such as Cat Man or as he calls himself Stalking Cat. But he is not alone in being heavily modified. The Enigma, whose real name is Paul Lawrence, does more than just make appearances as a modified person. He is also a musician and actor.

He is fully tattooed with puzzle pieces and has multiple body piercings, reshaped ears, and subdermal horn implants. He has been involved with music since his childhood in Seattle, WA.  He composes, sings and plays many instruments including piano, guitar, and flute. He is also a sword swallower, author, producer and director among other things.

Enigma has also made appearances on the X Files, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and many other things. He was a founding member of the Lollapalooza sideshow. His music can be found on soundtracks for movies like Firecrackers and PUNKS.

The Enigma performs at the Electric Acid Theater and can be found at his website.

Hearing aids are usually seen as devices for those with hearing impairments and are not one bit fashionable for people. As technology advances they are becoming less and less visible. But also, instead of making hearing aids less noticeable there are also ideas for combining them with other things. As the young become old, hearing aids are adapting to have the potential to be more than just something that you rely on to correctly hear sound.

This new idea puts a hearing aid in an ear stretching plug and has a tiny wire running into the wearer’s ear. Some people might think this is crazy, why would someone with hearing complications, someone who is most likely older, want to stretch their ears? But as younger generations who practice ear stretching get older and develop hearing issues they are not going to want to seem so old. Modern technology is allowing them to hold on to their youth and their ability to hear. Besides 40 is the 20 and hearing complications will be more likely to develop then. Also, for young people with hearing impairments, this will be something fun for them and they will feel more included than ever and can be called freaks like everyone else by those who disagree with ear stretching.

For more information check it out here at Design Studios

Hindu Festival of Thaipusam is more than just a music and prayer festival. Ritual body piercing also occurs during the festival that takes place under a full moon to pray to Lord Murugan for a year of good health and peace. Thaipusam is celebrated in Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and other various parts of the world sometime in January or February.

While piercing is not mandatory, more extreme worshippers will get pierced while in a trance like state.  Hooks and skewers will normally be used for jewelry. One of the main events is said to be over the top worshippers pulling chariots or other heavy objects with their piercings. Most people will just pierce cheeks or tongues to affect their speech so they can concentrate on worshipping.

Body Modifications are always surprising. There does not seem to be a limit to what people will try to do. If you can think it, someone, somewhere will probably be willing to try to find a way to make it possible.

Eyebrow removal is nothing new, even the complete  brow removal,  like that seen on actress Whoopi Goldberg, is nothing really new. But what about a removal of the brow so the hair will not grow back, and I am not talking about electrolysis.

A free hand piercer in California had their entire eyebrow, including the skin underneath removed. It was done by his boss who was nervous at first and would not agree to the procedure until talking with the founder of all that is modern modification of the body, Steve Haworth.

The man who had it done is planning to remove his other eyebrow as well.

Would any of you have this done?

Has anyone seen anything like this. It is called a gum piercing, it is a piercing of the tissue between the gums and the inner lips. I wasn’t able to find much on it. If anyone knows more let me know.

I found this list (below) recently of what someone considers to be the 10 most bizarre body mods. I think this person is a bit sheltered, or maybe I’ve been writing about this stuff to long.

Here is the original list from Listverse

I will rewrite it here so there is no copyright infringement, and also give my thoughts.

10. Branding,

I guess it is a bit out of the ordinary, but people get laser heat treatments all the time, a hot iron or laser to the skin to leave a mark is no different from getting laser removal.

9. Subdermal Implants,

Ok, this I can understand how some people might consider it to be a little odd because it is not seen as often, but its pretty much the same as breast implants, the same materials are used.

8. Ear Lobe Stretching

Now this surprises me, they consider earlobe stretching which I see in public all the time to be more bizarre than subdermal implants or branding. It is a common practice that can be seen almost anywhere.

7.Tongue Splitting

Now this I consider list worthy. It is not something seen every day.

6.  Teeth Filing

This is something I have seen around a bit, mostly with television characters, especially on the show Bones.

5. Tight Lacing, better known as Corseting

They refer to the practice of wearing a corset, not the corset piercings. It has been around for ages and in my opinion, is much less bizarre than tongue splitting or teeth filing.

4. Pearling (A genital beading that increases sexual pleasure for a partner)

Ok, now that is not something you see everyday and is actually bizarre

3. Corneal tattooing (tattoo on the white of the eye)

I would call this sort of bizarre, but I would not consider it top ten worthy.

2. Anal Stretching

Ok now that is bizarre, but I do not agree with the rating, maybe it would be better at 9 or 10.

1. Extra Ocular implants (a tiny silver implant in a certain shape that goes on the white of the eye.

Now this, while weird, is definitely not worthy of the number one spot.  Genital beading or tongue splitting should be number one. But I did not make this list.

Tattoos are always thought as something we see. This has excluded blind people from experiencing tattoos as we do. But things have changed. Now more than just the visual sense can be used to experience a tattoo.

Braille tattoos are not so much tattoos in the definition that normally comes to mind. Instead of ink being used tiny metal implants  under the skin to raise it up and is spaced just right to be understood byanyone that can understand braille letters. There are also inked braille tattoos but they are not functional, and only mean something for those who understand braille but are able to see the dots.

Since it is a series of implants it is not technically a tattoo but that is not the point. I have always thought the worst part of being blind would be losing the ability to see my tattoos. I think of them as the one thing people can’t take from me. These implants give someone who cannot see

the chance to have something they can understand on their skin, even if the rest of us don’t know what it means it is still spectacular for that person.  The tattoo  experience is indescribable.

The implants are said not to last long and have to be fixed over time due to migration. But all tattoos fade at some point and could use a touch up. Like the tattoos people get on the inside of the lip that only last a few years at best unless they are redone  multiple times.

Most body piercings came into popularity in the 1970’s and 80’s, but Monroe piercings have only been around since the 1990’s.

A Monroe piercing is an oral/facial piercing that is above the side of the upper lip. It is named for its resemblance to beauty marks, such as the mark that was on the face of Marilyn Monroe. It can also be called the Madonna. It is traditionally a female piercing but it is not out of the ordinary for men to have it done. However, men are said to have a slightly more painful experience due to more frequent shaving of the upper lip.

The piercing heals in just a few weeks usually and is done in 14mm-18mm gauges. It is not out of the ordinary to see a person with double Monroe piercings; this is normally called Angel Bites. While healing the piercing should be treated with facial and oral piercing care.  Infection and mouth damage are common with a Monroe piercing.