Body Modification

[Knoxville]

This may not seem the right place for a thread like this but i thought it slightly more serious than something for general disscusion, as anyone who goes into gd regularly will have noticed i've got my fair share of tatoo's and piercings but after looking around some of the websites i frequent i got to wondering what other peoples opinions on both tatoo's and piercings and more extreme body modification such as scarification , branding and suspension were.

Where do you guys draw the line between something thats seen as an improvment and something that you see as self abuse?

I'm personally quite open minded about itand am of the opinion that its your body and aslong as you don't hurt anyone in the process should be allowed to do what you want to it. I know though that people of older generations see things very differently. I ended up chatting to a guy in the pub a few weeks back after he noticed the piercings i used to have in my forearm, he saw it as me destroying myself for no real reason. The government obviously leans towards this stance aswell having made things such as genital piercing and branding and even the use of ethyl chloride and other anaesthetics used during body piercing dodgy legal area's to overcome.

[spikegifted]

Right now, I'm not going to offer any opinion... I've some thoughts on extreme forms of 'body modification' but all my arguments haven't been thought through, so I'll keep my mouth shut for the time being...

Just in case you're wondering, I'm not against a few tattoos and piercing of a few places... I myself had my ears pierced back in my college days - two on my left ear and one on my right. I wore ear rings for a few years after that. However, due to the kind of jobs I wanted to into, I stopped wearing them soon after leaving college. I've considered getting a tattoo, but never had the balls to go and do it. That was also back in my college days... Since then a succession of girlfriends told me that they don't like tattoos, so I haven't considered it again...

[Theo]

I'll post my views on BM, EBM and HBM when I'm sober tomorrow (drunk now ), but just to fill out my post a little - I completely disagree with the usage of anaesthetics during body modification of any type. Be it lidocaine, benzocaine or xylocaine based anaesthesias, my opinion is that anaesthetics are a subject which require medical practitioners, ie a Doctor, or qualified anaesthetist in order to apply them.

Of course, things such as EMLA cream or patch, or other surface and topical anaesthetics are seriously easy to apply and get away with safely. I just disagree with the usage of them for ethical and possibly ritualistic reasons.

I once had a piercing where "freeze spray" was used to numb the piercing before it was performed. I wasn't aware that I had the choice of being able to choose whether I wanted anaesthesia to be applied or whether I could just say "Nope, sorry.. I'm okay, ta". Putting it in basic terms, compared to other modifications I've had, I felt robbed of that particular piercings experience.

I shall discuss a few arguments tomorrow when I can see straight, methinks. I'm off fer a fag and off to bed, now :>

[TeePee]

Personally, I don't have any, but mainly because I would be fired from my job.

[Elmo]

As most of you already know, i have 14 piercings in various places
I've also got a design for a tattoo and am waiting for my pennies to accumulate in my purse so i can get it done.
I have many friends in the world of body mods be them piercings, tattoos, scarification, suspention etc. When i first heard about these practices, especially suspentions, i thought "why in GODS NAME would you want to hang urself up by butchers hooks?!?!" well that was then, but i was interested to find out people's reasons for taking part in such activities. It seems most people do it for the feeling, the freedom, the euphoria from the endorphines produced. It's a very social practice but can also be very intimate and private. It comes from ancient rituals, which, ok, isnt the reason they're practiced by many people today, but the ritual has been around for many hundreds of years.

Piercings, i dont see the problem with, as long as you have them done for your own reasons and not just as a fashion accessory. Quite a number of my piercings cannot be seen by walking past me in the street, apart from those in my ears (all 9 of them) All of them (ecept the first ones done in my lobes - which are currently being stretched) have a reason behind them. I've thought about the placing and the reason for having them done for a long time, i dont just go in to my piercers on a whim and have the first thing i can think of pierced.

The relationship between a piercer/tattooist and their client is a unique one i feel. A lot of trust is put into the competence of the piercer, which is one reason you MUST find a reputable one before going ahead with any sort of body mod. I have 2 piercers, and i have a very good and relaxed relationship with both. One offers anaesthetic (in the form of freeze spray), and the other doesnt. The one who does offer it knows i dont agree with it as i like to enjoy the experience of it (except when i had my nipples pierced cos i had to make them cold first )

If anyone has any doubts or wants to find anymore additional information for safety, or about particular mody modification practices, go to BME

[Skii]

I guess my view is that I've got nothing against tattoos, piercings etc, In fact I rather like them - however I am of the opinion that less is more

With jewellery, I prefer subtlety and moderation, small is beautiful and sexy, and when overdone looks cheap and trashy - the same applies to piecings and tattoos, too many just makes someone stick out for all the wrong reasons, often to the extent of looking intimidating.

Of course this is just my personal taste

[Allen]

Piercings. If you wanna do it, then do it. I don't have any problems with people wanting to get them done. I had my tongue pierced a few years ago, but took it out shortly after. I would never get a tattoo done as they are expensive to get removed and I don't know if it can definately be done without scaring of some sort. I actually find piercings on females extremely sexy, but not if they're over the top.

As for the other more extreme stuff, it scares me TBH! I couldn't take part in those activities myself, but then again I'm not gonna think less of someone if they want to.

[Knoxville]

I think Skii's got a good line on this really, too many can look wrong and intimidating, i've noticed this about myself even though i've only got 7 visible facial piercings when getting to know some people you get stuff like "your not like i thought you'd be" or "you only look scary when people don't know you". I think too many small tatoo's dotted round peoples arms or stuff like kanji/chinese symbols look tacky, the latter being something i really don't like unless your chinese or can read it you have no idea what you've just paid £25 to have a postage stamp sized tatoo of put on your arm and don't even get me started on my opinions of madonna piercings..........

[Rave]

I have one piercing, in my belly button, which I did myself with a safety pin when I was 18. TBH, I don't think you should use anaesthetics when doing piercings, if it hurts that much you're probably doing too much permanent damage IMO.

Rich :¬)

[Proplus]

I have no objections to tattoos and piercings, and we live in a society today which gives the individual the right to choose...if they are happy with it, thats their own opinion, and one should not force their own opinion onto us as we have no right to.

[Knoxville]

I have one piercing, in my belly button, which I did myself with a safety pin when I was 18. TBH, I don't think you should use anaesthetics when doing piercings, if it hurts that much you're probably doing too much permanent damage IMO.

Rich :¬)

I don't think its doing any real damage tbh it just hurts, i've had anaesthetic used on some of mine because to start with i didn't know i had a choice and then it was just convinience really, i know i could have it done without but when i want proper pain thats what tatoo's are for

If they didn't offer an anaesthetic i imagine alot of people wouldn't have things pierced, especially not if it was just for trend/style reasons.

[Auran]

I think that I will go along with the sentiment that less is more. Personally don't want any piercings as I can't see the point, but understand that they may appeal to others. Currently have one large (10 x 10cm) tatoo on my left arm which I designed, it's more personal that way, rather than just going in and ordering a number 13 out of the book.

[Elmo]

I have one piercing, in my belly button, which I did myself with a safety pin when I was 18.

Rich :¬)

I think i should point out that this is NOT a wise thing to do and if anyone reading this suddenly thinks it'd be a good idea to do, DONT. Go to a professional, reputable piercer to have any piercings done. I know a couple of people on here are experienced with body mods and know the ins and outs of it all, and could probably safely perform such proceedures on themselves, but we dont want people who dont know what's needed and the safety aspects of it all, going out and performing piercings using safety pins and getting septicaemia then blaming hexus.

thankyou

[Knoxville]

Aye i'll echo what elmos said there, it ain't a good idea to do your own based on the fact that someone else has and them blame the forums. I've done my own with no problems tbh but i'd still recomend you go to a proffesional

[Rave]

Hehe, maybe I should have added that disclaimer. I'm not sure a professional would have done mine, I have an outy belly button and I did the bottom rather than the top because I think it looks better- it certainly feels better to me, anyway. I wiped the safety pin very carefully with TCP (or dettol, can't remember now) and kept it clean afterwards, had no probs at all (apart from the fact that it's a bit wonky, safety pins aren't that sharp and you have to push pretty hard ).

[Elmo]

Hehe, maybe I should have added that disclaimer. I'm not sure a professional would have done mine, I have an outy belly button and I did the bottom rather than the top because I think it looks better- it certainly feels better to me, anyway. I wiped the safety pin very carefully with TCP (or dettol, can't remember now) and kept it clean afterwards, had no probs at all (apart from the fact that it's a bit wonky, safety pins aren't that sharp and you have to push pretty hard ).

The fact you used a safety pin/sewing needle whatever, causes ur skin tissue a lot of trauma. Hence why ear pearcing guns are frowned upon in body mod circles. Dermal needles are very sharp and hollow and remove a small cylinder of skin. Piercers will pierce wherever it is safe to pierce if you want it done. It's their job. If they wont do it, it's for a safety reason, so you shouldnt attempt to do it urself. I have my belly button pierced at the bottom too as i think it looks better and less common than at the top, so piercers will perform that, and the fact ur belly button is an inny or an outy has no effect on it.

As i said before, if you're looking for a particular piercing, GO TO A PROFESSIONAL, if it's safe, they WILL perform it, if they say they dont want to, i.e if you're wanting a genital piercing or such, a lot of places wont do them, so shop around, but DO go to a REPUTABLE, EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL.