Body piecing? Booooring, now it's "body modification"

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Friday, May 4 2001 Yahoo

"Body Modification" takes wild step beyond piercing, tattooing

NEW YORK, May 4 (AFP) -

In dark corners of cities around the United States, tattooing and piercing have evolved into more radical ways to change the body, dubbed "Body Modification."

The East Village in New York is a hot spot for body modification, which mixes tattoos, mutilation, branding, scarification and implants under the skin.

"People are over this whole piercing craze," said Keith Alexander, a member of the Association of Professional Piercers. "Body Modification is a new trend towards experimentation with the one thing you truly own, your body."

Under-skin implants are used to create a variety looks, from the more discreet balls on the chest, to devil's horns poking out of the forehead.

For a price of 300 to 600 dollars, a professional will place objects under the skin on the trunk, arms or face, even the genitals.

It is actually an ancient form of body art, practiced in different parts of the world using pearls and semi-precious stones.

Today, technicians use surgical materials such as stainless steel or teflon.

The procedure is simple but sometimes risky. The steel balls -- or hearts, stars or other shapes -- are placed under the skin through a shallow cut that is quickly sewn shut, if all goes according to plan.

"Body modification can be very dangerous," Alexander said. "Because body modification involves breaching one of the body's main protective barriers, the skin."

Doctor John Ward, an orthopedist at Louisiana State University said body modification "brings with it a high risk of infection if done improperly."

"Risks include hepatitis, tetanus, and HIV," which causes AIDS, he said. "Less serious local infections can cause illness, deformity and scarring."

Body modification can also include ritual scarification, practiced for centuries in many African countries. Using a scalpel, the body piercer cuts the skin on the face or body in order to leave a scar.

Others are branded like animals, having characters, letters or words burned into their skin.

In the extreme, some people opt to transform their bodies as a form of artistic expression, hoping to resemble animals.

Eric Sprague, 28, took his desire to look like a lizard so far -- including tattoos across his face and fingernails filed into claw-like points -- that he is known as "the Lizard Man."

"I have decided to undertake a number of procedures and methods to modify my body," he said, adding that it was for "self-fulfillment and satisfaction."

Sprague has five implants over each eye for a "horned ridge effect," teeth filed to sharp points and a split tongue.

"I have two tongues," he said. "My split tongue is the culmination of childhood daydreams and fantasies."

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), May 04, 2001

Answers

Hmmmm, a forked tongue. Ladies?

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), May 04, 2001.

Lars,

I think the ladies will miss the point ; )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), May 04, 2001.


I've seen that lizard guy before. Let's just say he's a little more than scarey.

The forked tongue he sports 'bout freaked me out!

Deano - who prefers to stay just the mom'n'dad made'em.

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 04, 2001.


I'm getting balls on my chest. Haven't figured out where to put my dick yet.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), May 04, 2001.

Find more here.

-- (grossed@out.gag), May 04, 2001.



Wow, Forked tongue and dick too! I used to think that nothing could surprise me; I was wrong.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), May 04, 2001.

If you have the Discovery Channel, Lars, there was a pretty interesting documentary on recently about self-mutilation. I was really only catching it when the movie I was watching went to commercial, but it seems that some find mutilation an indicator of strength, and some cultures find various things attractive that other cultures might not. Some of the things I saw were: folks who had one full side of their body tatooed, the culture wherein women wear lip plates to extend the size of their lips, the culture wherein women wear golden neck bands [both the lip plate and number of neck bands grew or were expanded as a young girl aged so that at full growth a woman had a lower lip that hung down as far as possible and a woman had a very long neck [I think they were called the "giraffe- necked" women.] Also included was the foot-binding encouraged for so long in some Asian countries. This part was fascinating, as it seems that the foot binder actually pulled all toes except the big one UNDER the foot and sewed the toes to the bottom of the foot until the whole thing grew together. One of the shoes they showed was no bigger than that of a small doll, and pictures were shown of a fully grown together foot with only the one toe. Considered so attractive to Asian males, the documentary went into how men would caress and even suck these little feet.

The last I saw was an American woman who desired fuller lips. Actually, I think it was her husband that desired fuller lips on her. She had an incision made both in her upper and lower lip and a piece of body fat inserted to make the lips fuller. It was a quick procedure, and the husband seemed to like the results. Oh...there was also a young man in an Asian country who had little plastic beads inserted into his penis. These beads [which looked like styrofoam to me] would harden and presumably give great pleasure to a potential mate. In addition, the documentary said that he would be the envy of his male friends.

At the end, an offer was extended wherein one could receive a six- volume set of Desmond Morris books on the extent to which humans go in the mating ritual. If you've ever read any of his books, he tends to discuss even little modifications like wearing lipstick as a simulation of the red-butt of a monkey in heat, all done in an attempt to attract a mate and in so doing ensure the continuation of the human species.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 04, 2001.


"This part was fascinating, as it seems that the foot binder actually pulled all toes except the big one UNDER the foot and sewed the toes to the bottom of the foot until the whole thing grew together........Considered so attractive to Asian males, the documentary went into how men would caress and even suck these little feet."

Alrighty there Anita. Methinks you are quickly becoming the gross- out Queen of the forum.......;-)

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 04, 2001.


LOL, Deano. I guess I found it "fascinating", because all these years I'd thought that the feet were simply BOUND [as in not allowing them somehow to grow any bigger.] This whole concept of twisting the toes under the foot and sewing the skin together until it grew together was totally new to me. I guess it should have occurred to me much earlier [as when my gym-shoes got too small, my feet poked out the front], but I guess I'd just thought they used steel-toed shoes or something that normal toe-growth couldn't break through.

I DO know that I'm grateful I live in a culture that doesn't seem to mind big feet, seeing that I've worn an 8 or 9 shoe since I was about 13.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 04, 2001.


Link to split penis picture

-- (oh@yeah.baby!), May 04, 2001.


Anita

I also thought they always bound the feet to prohibit growth.

The manner described above sounds horribly painful. I've always had fairly long toes and I'm sure they would just snap if bent under and folded against the bottom of my feet.

I'm in excrutiating pain just thinking about it.......

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 04, 2001.


OK.

What the fuck is that thing??!!

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 04, 2001.


Another gross picture Deano's new beer holder for ball games... both hands are free to catch fly balls.

-- (hardcore@baseball.nut), May 04, 2001.

Anita- I have read Desmond Morris. The bit about the lipstick which you described was in the book "The Naked Ape". I remember reading it in high school. The book had been "banned" in a lot of places, so naturally I had to hunt it down and read it so I could see what all the fuss was about. Pretty interesting book.

I also saw the discovery channel show about body modification. Pretty strange indeed. Particularly the story about the guy who was transforming himself into a big cat of some sort. (Tiger? Lion?)

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), May 04, 2001.


Cin,

Don't let antone tell you that your nose ring and tattoos are not beutiful.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), May 04, 2001.



Who is antone?

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 04, 2001.

I just want to thank the thoughtful posters who provided links to the gross pictures instead of pasting the pictures here.

-- helen's kids are in the room (ulp@glurp.gag), May 04, 2001.

'Nita - the males used to more than caress & suck on those lil feet. And about the lipstick thing - I'm not so sure about 'the continuation of the species' interpretation {maybe that's the Disney version}. I thought it's first use was by prostitutes in the ancient Middle East; used as a 'marketing device' to signfy the fact that they would perform fellatio.

{somehow this is beginning to remind me of our old 'footwear & beastiality' thread}

-- flora (***@__._), May 04, 2001.


I know a woman who was raised in China in the 30's. She had her feet bound as a child (can you say child abuse?). Today, in her seventies, she can barely walk, and it isn't from her age. It is from the pain she has continually felt from trying to balance on feet that no longer fit her frame (and she weighs about 90# at 4'10"). I have known her nearly 20 years, and when I was first getting to know her, she told me about the binding-very inhumane and painful at the time, as well as later in life. While some of these "traditions" are "culturally acceptable" when they are done to children, it amounts to mutilation. Multilation for life. Where is the outrage?

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), May 04, 2001.

"I just want to thank the thoughtful posters who provided links to the gross pictures instead of pasting the pictures here."

Funny, you didn't complain about the dicks that Cherri posted on the "Human size" thread, nor did Unc change the links.

-- (double standard @ okie. dokie), May 04, 2001.


Well tough fucking shit. I changed the links here because I, ME, MYSELF decided to, if you don't like it, bite me. At least I didn't delete them, which is something I, with my Godlike power, could have done much faster and with less effort than changing them to links.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 04, 2001.

Yes, CD. Naked Ape was the name. I was discussing the show [and this thread] with SO and he immediately popped up with the name. The book was banned? Jeez...I seem to remember it being required reading. Flora, I defer to your knowledge in perversities. [Heh.] I hadn't realized there was once a thread on footwear and bestiality.

Desmond Morris was/is [If the guy's still alive, he must be older than dirt] an anthropologist who specifically studied mating rituals of more species than humans. I've always found the study interesting, myself. I, particularly, enjoyed the Biological Diversity, Evolution and Ecology class I took last semester. SO has always been interested in this study, as well, and we enjoyed one documentary on the mating habits of the [jeez...memory failure here...those crabs who have the ONE long claw]. Anyway, when these crabs want to mate, they extend that one long claw out to the side and then pull it in to their chest, repeating this gesture until the mate responds. Sometimes [just for fun], I'll stand in a doorway, extend my arm and pull it in to my chest, repeating the gesture until I hear a chuckle and "You betcha, woman."

We have a friend who teaches Anthropology at UTA. He's coming for dinner tomorrow night. I think it takes a certain type of disposition to spend one's life studying cultures of some pretty weird ancient worlds. One can't be of the type who would say, "Did I REALLY want to know that?" I met his daughter at a dinner party at his house. I asked what she did for a living and she said, "Exotic dancer." [She's actually an educational administrator at a University in New York.] She was as much fun as her dad. She said, "Our entire family is crass." On a recent trip to Japan, she sent her dad some noodles shaped like dildos. I think he served them at a dinner to which he'd invited a fundamental Christian couple.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 04, 2001.


"I hadn't realized there was once a thread on footwear and bestiality. "

You were there - remember, about April of last year - I forget the thread title, but it was concerning a shoe ad {possibly Ungaro in Vanity Fair, etc} that had female models, bondage wear, shoes & critters {shot by Helmut Newton?}...& OTFR became uncomfortable with the topic...

-- flora (***@__._), May 04, 2001.


Yeah, Flora...NOW I remember. You thought you had a friend with the shoe ad in question. Did anything ever come of that?

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 05, 2001.

Oooooooh, Unk! You talk so tough! You are such a macho hunk o'man, I must confess, you're turning me on!

-- bending over and quivering (my sphincter awaits @ the. almighty Unk), May 05, 2001.

Join the line.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 05, 2001.

Hey Double Standard! I posted my thanks on the other threads BECAUSE I opened the thread where Cherri posted pics of dicks. Fortunately the kids weren't around. So instead of jumping Cherri's shit, I thought I would say something positive on the other thread by thanking folks for making links to pictures. I was hoping that positive encouragement would work better than shitting on somebody who maybe didn't mean to cause a problem. Can you follow that?

-- helen (oh@please.ds), May 05, 2001.

A males (not fetishist) point of view I have not seen that report on foot binding. I have seen other reports ...BUT one thing I would like to say is that all the women on the world SHOULD bind their feet like the chinese did once. Women would then have their real position in the society (where they belong to) instead of trying to liberate themselves and step into males roles! Women are not made to run around... even in ancient times, the hunter was the male, the female just picked up some fruits around the living place (or cave).

That's it from me!!!

-- Eric (I@I.com), October 15, 2001.


I would like to have my asscheeks removed and attached to my face so that I can look like my hero Dumbya.

-- Glinda a.k.a. "Gary" (gcphelps@yahoo.com), October 15, 2001.

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