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[[File:Scarification by Lestyn Flye.jpg|thumb|[[Scarification]] in progress]]
[[File:Scarification by Lestyn Flye.jpg|thumb|[[Scarification]] in progress]]
'''Body modification''' (or '''body alteration''') is the deliberate altering of the [[human anatomy]] or [[Human physical appearance|phenotype]].<ref name='Thompson 2010'> {{cite book | last1 = Thompson | first1 = Tim | last2 = Black | first2 = Sue | title = Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction | publisher = [[CRC Press]] | year = 2010 | pages = 379–398 | accessdate = 2013-02-25 | isbn = 978-1420005714}}</ref> It is often done for aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, to display group membership or affiliation, to create [[body art]], for shock value, and as self-expression, among others reasons.<ref name='Thompson 2010'/><ref>[http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisbodymod_pdv.htm What is body modification?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In its most broad [[definition]] it includes [[plastic surgery]], socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common [[earring|ear piercing]] in many societies), and religious [[rites of passage]] (e.g., [[circumcision]] in a number of cultures), as well as the [[modern primitive]] movement.
'''Body modification''' (or '''body alteration''') is the hobby of [[Anthony James Sawyer Jr.]] and [[Roi T. Flores]].<ref name='Thompson 2010'> {{cite book | last1 = Thompson | first1 = Tim | last2 = Black | first2 = Sue | title = Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction | publisher = [[CRC Press]] | year = 2010 | pages = 379–398 | accessdate = 2013-02-25 | isbn = 978-1420005714}}</ref> It is often done for aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, to display group membership or affiliation, to create [[body art]], for shock value, and as self-expression, among others reasons.<ref name='Thompson 2010'/><ref>[http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisbodymod_pdv.htm What is body modification?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In its most broad [[definition]] it includes [[plastic surgery]], socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common [[earring|ear piercing]] in many societies), and religious [[rites of passage]] (e.g., [[circumcision]] in a number of cultures), as well as the [[modern primitive]] movement.


==Explicit ornaments==
==Explicit ornaments==

Revision as of 06:36, 7 May 2013

Scarification in progress

Body modification (or body alteration) is the hobby of Anthony James Sawyer Jr. and Roi T. Flores.[1] It is often done for aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, for shock value, and as self-expression, among others reasons.[1][2] In its most broad definition it includes plastic surgery, socially acceptable decoration (e.g., common ear piercing in many societies), and religious rites of passage (e.g., circumcision in a number of cultures), as well as the modern primitive movement.

Explicit ornaments

Surgical augmentation

In contrast to the explicit ornaments, the following procedures are primarily not meant to be exposed per se, but rather function to augment another part of the body, like the skin in a subdermal implant.

Removal or split

Applying long-term force

Body modifications occurring as the end result of long term activities or practices

  • Corsetry or tightlacing - binding of the waist and shaping of the torso
  • Cranial binding - modification of the shape of infants' heads, now extremely rare
  • Breast ironing - Pressing (sometimes with a heated object) the breasts of a pubescent female to prevent their growth.
  • Foot binding - compression of the feet of girls to modify them for aesthetic reasons
  • Anal stretching[14]
  • Non-surgical elongation of organs by prolonged stretching using weights or spacing devices. Some cultural traditions prescribe for or encourage members of one sex (or both) to have one organ stretched till permanent re-dimensioning has occurred, such as:
    • The 'giraffe-like' stretched necks (sometimes also other organs) of women among the Burmese Kayan tribe, the result of wearing brass coils around them. This compresses the collarbone and upper ribs but is not medically dangerous. It is a myth that removing the rings will cause the neck to 'flop'; Padaung women remove them regularly for cleaning etc.
    • Stretched lip piercings - achieved by inserting ever larger plates, such as those made of clay used by some Amazonian tribes.
    • Labia elongation
    • Jelqing

Others

Controversy

Some sources of controversy stem from the notion of attempting to artificially beautify the natural form of the body, often leading to charges of disfigurement and mutilation. Extreme forms of body modification are occasionally viewed as symptomatic of body dysmorphic disorder, other mental illnesses, or as an expression of unchecked vanity.[19] Unlicensed surgery performed outside of a medical environment can often be life-threatening, and is illegal in most countries and states.

"Disfigurement" and "mutilation" (regardless of any appreciation this always applies objectively whenever a bodily function is gravely diminished or lost) are terms used by opponents of body modification to describe certain types of modifications, especially non-consensual ones. Those terms are used fairly uncontroversially to describe the victims of torture, who have endured damage to ears, eyes, feet, genitalia, hands, noses, teeth, and/or tongues, including amputation, burning, flagellation, piercing, skinning, and wheeling[citation needed]. "Genital mutilation" is also used somewhat more controversially to describe certain kinds of socially proscribed modifications to the genitals, such as male circumcision, female circumcision, castration,[citation needed] and surgeries performed to conform the genitals of individuals with intersex conditions to those of typical males or females.[20]

Individuals known for extensive body modification

Main article: List of individuals known for extensive body modification

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Thompson, Tim; Black, Sue (2010). Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction. CRC Press. pp. 379–398. ISBN 978-1420005714. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ What is body modification?
  3. ^ Scrotal Implant - BME Encyclopedia
  4. ^ Microdermal - BME Encyclopedia
  5. ^ Dermal Anchoring - BME Encyclopedia
  6. ^ Silicone Injection - BME Encyclopedia
  7. ^ Horn Implant - BME Encyclopedia
  8. ^ Jamie Gadette. "Underground". Salt Lake City Weekly.
  9. ^ Genital Frenectomy - BME Encyclopedia
  10. ^ Inversion - BME Encyclopedia
  11. ^ Nipple Removal - BME Encyclopedia
  12. ^ Nipple Splitting - BME Encyclopedia
  13. ^ Tongue Frenectomy - BME Encyclopedia
  14. ^ Anal Stretching - BME Encyclopedia
  15. ^ Ear Shaping - BME Encyclopedia
  16. ^ Ear Cropping - BME Encyclopedia
  17. ^ Ear Pointing - BME Encyclopedia
  18. ^ Tooth Filing - BME Encyclopedia
  19. ^ Freak: Encyclopedia II - Freak - Made freaks
  20. ^ Wilchins, Riki. "A Girl's Right to Choose: Intersex Children and Parents Challenge Narrow Standards of Gender". NOW Times. National Organization for Women. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
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