On thing I have been very passionate about ever since I was a child is self expression. I have always been very blunt and I express myself openly, whether it's in words, art, or body language e.c.t. I believe that everyone should have the right to express themselves in any way they choose. This goes back to my post about Slaughtered Vomit Dolls, and The Human Centipede. Although some people find these films to be extremely offensive and grotesque, but this is just two director's way of expressing themselves to the world.
Another way of self expression in presented in everyday life. This is the self expression known as "Body Modification". When someone thinks of "body modification", they think of people pushing it to the extremes, and this just isn't the case. Body modification could be something as small as dying your hair or painting your nails, two things that women do on a day to day basis.
Body modification is defined as: any modification done to the body.
I grew up in a home on traditional Lutheran: Missouri Synod values. My parents were very in to their beliefs and often times pushed them on me. I was always told that you aren't supposed to change your body because it is "displeasing to God". Yet, I watched as my mom and I would get our hair and nails done every other week. She let me get my ears pierced when I was six. This all falls in the category of body modification.
I used to watch shows such as "Miami Ink" watching people get tattoos, and I think that may be where my obsession began. My mom went with me to get my first tattoo when I was seventeen. Her and my father didn't want me to get anymore ink done, but once you're under the needle once, it kind of becomes an addiction, and I find it pretty hard to stop. This is my way of self expression. I'd try my best to hide it from my parents but they'd always find out and be "disappointed". They just don't see it they way i do. Since I was fifteen, I've had twelve piercings and thirteen tattoos.
One question that plagues mankind is "Why do people modify themselves?" I actually did a project on this my sophomore year in college. I learned that people do this for one of four reasons:
1. Aesthetic Value
2. Sexual Enhancement
3. Religious Aspect
4. Shock Value
I am an example of modifying myself for aesthetic value. My piercings, which include:
1, 2 Industrial- two piercings that run from the helix of the ear to the cartilage
3,4,5, 6. Four standard lobe piercings
7, 8. Two cartilage piercings
9. Nose piercing
10. Monroe- which is a lip piercing which is supposed to simulate the mole that Marilyn Monroe had
11.Tongue Piercing
12. Belly button piercing
I find that having these make me more aesthetically pleasing to myself. I do fully intend on getting the dimples on my cheeks done, basically because I think they're cute and I have a round face, so I can pull them off. I did have a microdermal piercing in my hip, which recently rejected and I had to remove, so I intend on getting this put back in, most likely in my wrist.
For those of you who don't know what a mircrodermal piercing is, it's a piercing that can go basically anywhere. There is a small footing that is inserted under the skin, and normally a gem which protrudes out of the skin. the head on this piercing screws in and out and can be changed after the piercing is healed. It's much easier to Google the piercing to get a better feel for what they are.
The insertion process for these is a little more complicated than that of a piercing. Instead of just inserting a needle and jewelry straight through the skin, either a dermal punch (which is like a very tiny cookie cutter) or a 12 gauge needle is used to core out a small section of skin, and then the jewelry is inserted under the skin. They do have YouTube videos depicting this process if you have any interest in watching.
My tattoos all have a meaning to them. My first as i said, I got done when I was seventeen years old. It is a memorial for my grandfather who was a WWII veteran. My second on got on my eighteenth birthday, and it says "I Alone" it stands for my independence. The third is the Kanji symbol for daughter. Fourth I got after going through three months of abuse and trying to recover. It says "I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday, and I love today" and there is a yellow ribbon next to it symbolizing new beginnings. Fifth is a honey bee which I got because my name means honey bee. Sixth is a logo for my favorite band, Mindless Self Indulgence. Seventh is a ring tattoo of the claddaugh. Eighth is a line of Hibiscus down my ribs with the saying "who I am is quite enough. Ninth, a black light tattoo for my father of the Fire department logo with his badge number in it. Tenth another black light tattoo that says "fuckin classy", basically because that's what I stand for, class. Eleventh, a Gaelic saying I got on my back for my family with shamrocks. Since I was adopted I found the perfect quote that says "it is not in flesh and blood, but in the heart that we are fathers and sons." Twelfth is a brutal cupcake that my artist drew right on me freehand in the studio. I've always had an obsession with cupcakes but I'm not real girly so I figured a brutal cupcake would just scream "Melissa-J." Lastly was a saying that an old friend of mine and I decided to get in each other's writing saying "you are perfect". After him and I stopped talking I covered it up with brass knuckles, blood splatter and the saying "Beauty Killer underneath it.
People who get modified for sexual enhancement are mostly the people who get modifications done to their genetials, such as shown in the documentaries "Modify" and "Flesh & Blood." even my tongue piercing could be looked as at a modification for sexual enhancement.
In some religions such as Hinduism, modification is required. There are also some tribes that modify the body for different ceremonies and such. Some ceremonies of body modification are performed to show a boy transitioning to a man or a girl transitioning to a woman. Many of these ceremonies have been shown on the television show "Taboo" on the "National Geographic Channel". Dennis Avner is a great example of someone being modified for their religion. His story is told in both "Modify" and "Flesh & Blood.
Then, there are people who are modified for shock value. These are the people who participate in flesh suspensions, or who modify themselves just to make people look. The Lizard Man, or Eric Sprague is a good example of this. Many of the people on the internet who have been modified to the extreme are also great examples of this.
In conclusion, body modification is something that really inspires me. To me it's a very beautiful form of self expression.
I'd love to hear your opinions and comments
<3
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