Body modification is the
deliberate alteration of one's physical appearance. It is the wilful
action that produces a permanent or semi-permanent modification to the
body that is not normally found in nature.
In the last 30 years, body
modifications have experienced a resurgence and increase in popularity,
spanning a wider range of social classes and including a long list of
practices. From the simple haircut and earrings to the piercing of lips,
nipples and genitals, from eyeball bleaching to subdermal horns or
bars, or implantation of bio-polymers to augment the size of breast and
buttocks; from anabolic steroid injections for bodybuilding, to extreme
fasting- all are examples of altering one's appearance over time [1].
Importantly, many of these practices are no longer related to cultural
traditions and have become commercialized and legitimized by society.
They are especially influenced by media that dictates the current ideals
of beauty and fashion. The perception of beauty and morphing the body
to obtain it, however, has evolved over time; and with it have also
evolved the techniques and tastes for how to modify the body [2].
A Brief History of Body Modifications
History
abounds with examples of body modification. Culturally imposed body
alterations have been performed for centuries with strong religious or
socio-economical belief. The aristocratic class of Mayan civilisation
used to compress the skulls of new born babies. Their cranium would be
elongated into a shape believed to resemble that of the gods. In China,
the feet of young girls were bound together tightly to reshape them into
petit stubs to mimic a lotus flower. These women could hardly walk or
work, and as such belonged to the privileged high-classes. Many other
cultures, from Japan to the islands of Samoa, have empowered their sense
of tribal community by tattooing their bodies and faces with symbols of
affiliation. While many of these practices were supposed to enhance
beauty or infuse power to the beholder, other alteration included the
forceful branding, tattooing or scarification of slaves and war
prisoners to symbolise their diminished identity or their status as
objectified property [3].
While
many of these practices have disappeared, other dehumanising and
disfiguring operations, such as female genital mutilation, are still
conducted to date. Although all the above examples can be considered
forms of body modifications, today the term encompasses a different and
largely less harmful set of transformative practices.
 |
| A collection of bodymodifications, source: Wikimedia Commons |
What Drives Body Modification Today?
The
definition of body modification today is based firstly on the concept
of voluntarism. It is a practice undertaken by active subjects, often
after long consideration of the results and side effects. A second
distinction must also be made between voluntary body modification and
that due to medical purposes. These include all operations that are
required and performed by the medical establishment. Prosthetic
fittings, gender reassignment and cosmetic surgery, therefore, while
broadly falling under the idea of a physical modification, should not be
considered as such [4].
Tattoos and piercings: a style statement
Body
modification, according to the community that endorses and promotes it
today, means piercing, tattooing and cutting - in its extreme forms.
Simply piercing one's ears is considered ornamental rather than
transformative. Bearers of body modifications sit through hours of
excruciatingly painful procedures to obtain what they want. The reasons
behind extensive remodelling of the self have been the subject of much
investigation - and are, indeed, most fascinating to understand from a
psychological point of view. A sense of belonging to subcultural or
religious groups or a demonstration of resistance against society are
strong motivations driving body alteration. However, the primary force
driving the desire to modify some part of the body is embellishment. The
transformation is seen as a work of art, a novel quality that renders
one more beautiful. Through this piece, the bearer also establishes
their identity. They are special and exhibit their distinctive and
unique trait to prove it. Reshaping some part of the body may also
involve an act of catharsis: either to forget something or to never
forget it, and it becomes part of one´s personal narrative of life. The
pain felt during the actual operations is another common reason to
undergo transformative operations. Testing one's limit, enduring the
hardness, feeling the endorphins rush: all generate a sense of pleasure
and reward alongside the physical pain, and a potential sense of
atonement. Finally, reckless impulsivity also often leads to body
modification [5]. But would you not regret waking up with the Chinese
symbol for ‘soup’ tattooed on your arm?
Body Modification of the Future?
Body
modification today is enjoying a rise in popularity, promoted by tattoo
conferences and websites dedicated exclusively to body alteration (for
those adventurous, check out BME.com).
But what could be the body modifications of the future? Some college
students are experimenting with subdermal implants of magnets to
perceive the energy fields of metal objects - a sort of sixth sense [6].
But while the power to feel when a mobile phone is charged might be
more useful than attractive, will the body modification community accept
other forms of aesthetic transformation or enhancement? For example
those that could be moulded by genetic modification? It's a brave new
world.
by Maria Lucia Pigazzini, PhD Student AG Kirstein
[1] Featherstone, Body and Society, 1999
[2] Adams, Sociologial Prespectives, 2009
[3] Rubin, Marks of civilization, 1988
[4] Lane, Sociology Compass, 2017
[5] Wohlrab et al., Body Image, 2007
[6] Wired Gear http://bit.ly/2soFHnh, 2006
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