Sunday, July 1, 2012

Body Modification In the Name of Fashion


Body modification has been around as long as humans have lived, and with its rich and fascinating history, the practice is unlikely to die out anytime soon. Body modification or "body art" used for decoration and/or ritual predates recorded history. Ritual body modification behaviors are traditional and reflect the history, spiritualism, and beliefs of a society. Body Modification has been practiced since the dawn of mankind. Some great examples of the flexibility of the body are the Neck Coils of the Kayan of Mayanmar. Body modification was commonly practiced by all levels of society from slaves to Emperors. Body modification is piercings in the ears, nose, eyebrow, lip, tongue, belly button, etc. It can also mean scarification, a process where the skin is scarred, in a specific design. Body modification by means of tattooing and body piercing has been around for centuries. Body modification practices from all over the world, past and present, are being introduced into the cultures of the West. As body modification practices grow in popularity across the Western world, we find ourselves turning more and more to the tribal world for inspiration.

Body Modification has exploded into a new generation, and with it comes many controversies. Body modification, a growing practice and subculture that now spans the world, has made extensive gains in merging the body with technology. While body modification for women may reject the broader culture's beauty norms, it allows women to gain subcultural capital, especially in subcultures in which male participation is valued over female participation. Body modification is just a way for people to look how they wish to look.

Any body modification you have completed needs to be looked after to avoid the threat of infection and aid the healing process. Some body modification practices may result to scarring and creation of permanent marks on the human body. Today, body modification is much less done for religious or cultural purposes and done more for pleasure, decoration, and expression. Body modification is the deliberate alteration of the human body for aesthetic and non-medical purposes. Also, body modification isn't limited tattoos or piercing, though that's what's most frequently thought of. Certain body modification practices, such as neck elongation or tooth filing, may strike Americans as strange and exotic, we must realize that we modify our own bodies in countless ways. Whereas body modification includes some very common procedures such as everyday piercings and tattoos, it is the extreme body modification that gets all the attention. Extreme body modification, while seeming unnecessary, painful and dangerous, appeals to a surpising number of people. Hardcore body modification to them would be splitting the head of your penis, suspending yourself from a single hook in your chest, or doing what's known as skin peeling (where long strips or shapes of skin are sliced off).

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