Body modification practices and cultural significance

Body Modification: A Tool for Self Decoration, Mutilation and Entertainment

Body Modification

Body modification includes any tool, method or manner in which an individual changes the natural "landscape" of their body. This paper provides an overview of body modification, including a discussion of the history of body modification, and the side-effects of certain forms of body modification including scarring.

Body modification has existed for centuries, and has been described in various ways by various people. Some refer to body modification as a form of art, whereas others see it as a form of body "mutilation" that is "pathologically unhealthy... Or deviant" (Hewitt 2). Body modification involves the use of parts of the body as a form of expression, and may involve altering the body. Some examples of body modification or "bod mod" as referred to in Slang include tattoos, body piercing, plastic surgery including breast augmentation and more (Hewitt 2).

Body modification is not something new; since the time of the Ancient Egyptians human beings have elaborately colored their hair, tattooed their bodies and pierced their bodies as a form of expression, status or culture (Bendle 193). There are still many cultures throughout the world that accept body modification, including the process of scarring ones body purposefully, as acceptable, as a sign of the change between youth to adulthood, or to represent ones inclusion or exclusion from a group (Bendle 193). There are many other reasons for body modification, as described below.

Why Modify the Body?

There are two schools of thought regarding body modification; some believe it is a form of mutilation meant to inflict pain; this portion of the population comprises less than half of the people that undergo body modification (Hewitt 3). There are others that believe body modification provides a unique way to express oneself, or is a tool to enhance one's self-appearance and self-confidence or esteem.

Body modification is also used as a form of entertainment, as in cases of suspension, where individuals pierce their bodies with fish hooks, wire or other objects and then hang or elevate their body much like a "circus" trick (Leo 1).

Side Effects

There are many side effects of body modification, often contingent on the amount of or intensity of body modification a person is involved with. For example, ear piercing might leave few side effects other than some scar tissue in the ear; the same is true of piercing in other locations. Any form of body modification involving piercing the skin or cutting into the body introduces the risk of infections (Bendle 193).

Modern plastic surgery may leave scarring, especially when invasive procedures including tummy tucks or breast augmentation are performed; despite this many people are advocates of body modification, which has in its own right created a culture of its own (Bendle 193).