Body modification…. an art? or treating nature without respect?

[Streetcar]

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Good point Streetcar!

I guess for the people who are doing that, it's not disrespecting. It's art, an expression of one's self, they would say. Why is it okay to pierce the ears but not any other part of the body? Well, that's the norm - ears only. But who makes the norm. Surely, the first time ear-piercing was invented, it was also considered taboo or even "disrespectful". But as more and more "not-so-very-normal-minded" people of that time did it, it gradually became a common thing. And so these days we no longer consider that as taboo.

It's also a cultural thing. Just watch Taboo in National Geo.

I'm not for it but im also not against it.

Yeah, different strokes for different folks. If that is part of their own personal expression so be it but i'm not buying it

[fingolfin]

.. it depends on where you stand. Other cultures modify their bodies to stomp their authority, some to prove their manhood, some to signify their of high stature.

.. but in our common society, body modifications is the product of too much tv. People nowadays wants to be like their idols . Mostly discontented people tend to go for body modifications.

[chemae]

If you felt happy about it? GO..
If you think it could boost up your self-esteem? okay GO...


My advise, no regrets lang please..


This is not an art or disrespect... but satisfy oneself..of gaining confidence...beauty and self-esteem.

[--Makoy--]

its a personal discretion.. as long as it wont affect others in a bad way, then its ok.

[yami]

if the reason is to feel good about yourself then that's more like it!

but if the reason is for the feeling of superiority for having this and that, then that's just pathetic

[IceInHeLL]

It's totally an expression of oneself and I believe it is expressing one's artistic inclination. Maybe it be subtle or total. i don't think they step on anybody's foot with it. Piercing could be totally bias to some. I mean, why is it appreciated with women and not with men? Total sexist. Its a discrimination. If people do it in an extreme, so be it. If they feel good with it, then there is no problem. As long as (especially with tattoo), they do it safely. You don't want to get a tattoo and a disease to go with it for free because you might get to pass it to the people you love (like your wife/husband). Responsibility to one's action. That is all I'm saying.

[rockart9]

Before everything What does one mean by art? the answer actually depends on ones definition of art.

so true :mrgreen:

[gareb]

let us just say that the line between what can be regarded as "art" or something that is "expressed" and what can be regarded as "sick" can be very thin.

Body Dismorphic Disorder is a condition wherein a person might not see his/her natural appearance as an exact reflection of what he/she is inside. and this isn't just your regular "i-cannot-go-to-a-party-without-make-up" syndrome. it's something that is so severe that functional capacity is clearly reduced in the individual. it should also cause considerable amount of distress to be called a full-fledged disorder.

some individuals are clearly convinced that they are something other than human, hence the split tongue, horns, tails, etc. they believe that the procedures that they undergo fulfills their being what they think of inside. there is a certain degree of incompleteness is what they see when they wake up each morning to find someone else not themselves in their mirrors.

however, on a much milder note, body modifications such as tatoos, piercings, scarring, etc, or a variation of it, have been closely practiced by each and every culture here on earth. what differs though is the motivation for such practices. some ancient cultures see it as a glorification or worship of a diety, others see it as a status symbol of social ranking and class. still others see it in its aesthetic value, meaning, that if you have a small lip plate like what they have in Sudan, you are not beautiful.

the advent of Individualism hearkened a new ideology; the worship of the self. attached to this development was the sense of value to the self as well as avenues for self expression. it is along this avenue that the motivation for body modification became an outlet of self expression. along with the age-old art of eyeliners and blush, the more radical practice of attaching body jewelry as well as putting tatoos became a means of expression; something very much far removed from the motivations that were behind it a few centuries back.

what we should remember however is that the idea of what is 'sacred' is fluid and not necessarily static nor absolute. the ancient cultures have a more profound and intensely strict idea of what is sacred, but it was from them that we derived the art of mody modification, compared to a more pluralistic generation whose ideas of sacred and what is profane can sometimes interchange. as can be observed with the motivations behind the practice of body modifications, ideas behind the practice can also change depending on the socio-cultural, and sometimes socio-economic context that a certain cultural phenomenon occurs.

[baruto]

for some cultures, it's an art...

for some people, they are treating their bodies as canvass! which is, i think, is a disgrace!

[TinkeR]

What about Circumcision?! It is a body modification right? Would that be considered mutilation?

In Judaism there is this religious ritual called Brit Milah where Jewish infants (male) are circumcised when they are eight days old.

In some African cultures, it's a passage to manhood kind of thing.

Here in the Phils. it is a routine surgical procedure. Nothing religious.