Body Modification : Beauty or Freak Show?

[I watched a documentary on self modification and it inspired this. ENJOY:) ]

•Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, aesthetic reasons, denoting affiliation, trust and loyalty, religious reasons, shock value, and self-expression.

Body modification. We all do it. we cut our hair, we dye our hair, we shave, we put on makeup. Body modifications come in all forms. whether it be small things or tattoos from head to toe. piercings, tattoos and plastic surgery are extremely common. however beauty is in the eye of the beholder and  some people think beauty is flawless skin, fake boobs and collagen plumped lips. others may think that beauty is ink all over your skin and piercings from head to toe. who's to say which one is "right"? One is certainly more acceptable than the other.

modification and mutilation are similar. but there is a line between the two, where is the line and when does someone cross it? Mutilation is something that cannot be reversed or something that is just too excessive. tattoos are permanent (removal is a long, painful process that doesn't always work) and so are piercings. sure you can take them out, but what about the scars they leave? you have them removed by a plastic surgeon. Plastic surgeons clean up the messes that tattoo artists and piercers cause every day.

You can knock plastic surgery all you want. you say that people who pay for cosmetic surgery are fake, plastic, and vain but know that there is a difference between vanity and confidence. vanity is being so consumed with yourself that you devote all of your time and effort to yourself. vanity is not being able to care about another person because your so enthralled by yourself. extreme narcissism if you will. we're all vain in the sense that we care about our appearance. confidence on the other hand is a rather rare quality. being comfortable in one's skin is a feeling we all desire to have but only few acquire.

the use of plastic surgery to feel comfortable with yourself is rather commonplace. at the other end of the spectrum, people feel comfortable with their ink covered skin and metal encrusted faces. if that's what it takes for you to feel great instead of a botox filled syringe, more power to you. keep it reasonable though. people who cover themselves with ink will never be looked at as a normal person. they will be seen as that freak with all the tattoos. sorry if that offends you, but you know its true.

I'm not saying those with tattoos and piercings are the only ones who hit extremes. there are those that go overboard with plastic surgery. sorry, but you do not need a face lift or micro-lypo once a month. once you've reached the point where you've had so many rhinoplasties that your nose will collapse if you have one more procedure, i think its time to say goodbye to the scalpel.

self alteration has been around for thousands of years and i don't see the end of these industries in sight any time soon. as long as there are ways to change yourself, there will be people taking them to extremes in order to "make a statement"

Plastic surgery, tattooing and piercing are all ways for us to modify our appearances but like i said before, excess is mutilation. And mutilation is SO not cute.