My Findings on Body Art and Modification

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.

Birthdays are awesome days for getting new tattoos. I, like many young people do, celebrated my eighteenth birthday with a tattoo a few years ago. I also celebrated my last day of high school with a second tattoo a few months later, but that isn’t the point.

What is the point? That birthdays are one of the best days to get tattoos. I am hoping to receive enough money for a new tattoo or something cool like that, but tattoos cost money and I do not want to get my hopes up. But I have rounded up some spectacular tattoo, piercing, and body mod pics for you all.

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Is this picture of a pierced fish an example of animal cruelty? Is it really obscene and horrible to the animal, because they cannot speak up and refuse to be pierced from their owner?

Is piercing a fish any different from when a farm animal has a tag pierced through their ear, like this cow? Also, is it worse than cropping pet’ ears, removing its dew claw, or neutering it?

Piercing a fish seems just about the same, if not better than, some of those animal modifications.

People are always looking for that new tattoo that people will be wowed by. Something people don’t see everyday. For those people looking for a unique tattoo, I suggest not to think so much about a unique design, instead try a unique placement, like your tooth.

Tooth tattoos are small custom designs put on a crown by a dental lab with a staining process and then said crown is put in place by your dentist for a cost of $75 – $300. Designs while small are chosen by you 100 percent. Along with the size you also choose tattoo placement, what side of the tooth and what tooth it goes on.

Tooth tattoos can last for many years. Some dentists have said that they can cause plaque build up and lead to tooth decay but this is not certain. If you want the tattoo removed it is much easier than removing a tattoo on skin. With just a few minutes of filing it will come right off.

The modern hardcore body modification scene did not just start by itself. It took dedicated people trying new ideas and techniques until they got things to where they are now. Steve Haworth is said to be responsible for most modern, hardcore body modifications.

Steve Haworth is the founder of subdermal implants, transdermal implants, laser branding, and many other things. He is a former piercer but according to his website his current occupation is 3D Body Modification and Human Evolution Artist. He has also done wonderful work with things like suspension, surface bars, and ear shaping.

Haworth owns Haworth Tech Companies (HTC Studios), Kaos Software (silicone body jewelry manufacturing), and New Hole (piercing products). He is the Co- Founder of Horns and Halos (they put on the Phoenix Fetish Ball), and Life Suspended (a group that performs Suspensions).

Steve lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his partner, Cookie