Body Modding or what the hell is wrong with people?!

[Soxafloppin]

How the hell does that hole-y guy eat or drink? His face is full of holes :| Is he tube feed?

I think all this jazz is crazy :| I understand people want to be unique but personally i think this is too far.

 

[magnuslion]

I want someone to explain body modding to me.

{{snip}}
What the hell drives people to do this to themselves? Do they think it looks good or cool? Do they realize that shit like this will forever fuck up their lives, that they will never have decent employment, and that things done to this extreme cannot by undone?

I mean hell, I've seen a picture of a guy who tattooed his entire penis, and then cut it in half lengthwise so that it forked. WHY?! Why would someone do this?

Is there anyone here who can help me understand why anyone could possibly think that this is a good idea?

ahem,
Just so you know, most of the people who do these kinds of these kinds of things already have decent employment. these types of body mods are very expensive. most of what showed in the article you cited require surgery.

I am not certain as to why people go to the extremes they do with this kind of body mods. I have a few tattoos and a pierced ear, but would not ever consider mods to this extreme. it borderlines on masochism or mania with some people.

however, tattoos are not going to stop anyone from getting good jobs, neither are reasonable piercings. those days are long gone.

People are all different. These people must feel very strongly about what they are doing in order to change themselves this drastically. Don't judge. :/

It is human nature to judge everyone and everything. I judge them just the same as they would judge me.

That sir, is a bloody cop out, and a thinking error. you should see a counselor about that line of thought.

 

[CommanderKirov]

I would pay good money to see the first guy eat soup.

 

[lacktheknack]

Because they thought it was a good idea. I cannot for the life of me tell you WHY they thought this, but that's why they did it.

 

[geier]

Well, i'm heavely tatooed myself and i have 4 piercings (as a guy, and none of them is on my head, think about it) and even i think they look retarded.

But:

It is there life and they live it like they whant, and for that, i respect them.

 

[Kingsnake661]

I only have one problem with SOME body modders.

My problem is this.. when you do something like THAT to yourself... and we stare... you are no longer allowed to be offended by our gawking. I'm sorry. It's not the same as staring at someone with a naturel deformaity, or a disfigureing condition or injery. You CHOOSE to do this to yourself, you HAD to know people would stare, in fact, i think that has to be one of the reasons people do it, for attation. If you don't like the attation your getting, well.. eh, if you can undo the damage, do so. If not... geeh.. i don't know what to tell you...

other then that, i could honestly care less what people do to there bodies. Have at it. Just don't give me gref when i shake my head at you. I'm not judging, i'm just baffled.

 

[funguy2121]

snip

I think the 2nd and 3rd pic might be photoshopped but I wouldn't be shocked to find out I'm wrong. I presume your problem with tats and piercings is when they're taken to excess. If so, I agree.

Did you know that some people surgically alter their ears to become elves? Pretty sad, huh?

When I lived in Denton, TX, I knew this woman who was one of what we called "fry rats." Mostly young adults and teens who could afford JNCOs and manic panic but who were always hanging out on Fry Street begging for change and cigarettes. She had a Chinese character on her forehead that she said was the symbol for joy. We always joked that it was the Chinese symbol for "I don't want to work, ever."

 

[FamoFunk]

The first picture freaked me out, seeing his teeth throught the stretched lobe.
And I have 30 piercings myself, none of them are stretched or non-"normal" ones and I have 5 tattoo's.

I could never go to the extreme these people do, damn :/

 

[zehydra]

I know where you got those pictures from, I just saw them yesterday.

Usually people who do this 1) Have no fucking clue how badly this will destroy their lives. 2) Are already established is their community on what they do for a living, therefore they can do whatever they want to their bodies and get away with it. 3) They are already so far removed from 'normal' society mentally/socially, they just went the next step, and have enough confidence to pull it off on a daily basis.

Gross? Disturbing? Dumb? Perhaps. But if you are willing to live with the ramifications of your actions for the rest of your life without regret, then go for broke.

Personally myself, I have been working on half-sleeves (elbow to wrist) on both arms for about six years now. I'm only a 1/3 of the way there, because it is very time-consuming and expensive and I'm always talking with my tattoo artist on what step we are going to do next. I'm very proud of my tattoos, but I made sure I was well-established with my company before I started work on my arms, and I also made sure we NEVER tattoo across the wrist and onto the back of the hand. I do have to interact with some pretty important people from time to time, so its in my best interest to be able to cover up with a long sleeve shirt.

I find the piercing/skin stretching stuff overdone myself, and just see no point in it. It was all cool and edgy in the seventies, but now that counter-culture has become mainstream, its just more or less hackeneyed with no true meaning now.

Why are you proud of your tattoos? Seems like a silly thing to be proud of

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Their body is theirs. They can do what they want with it. As to why... well, I'm sure they have their reasons. Most see it as art, self expression, or just to be different.

I could smear myself in the excrement of animals and parade naked through the town. I would be different. Id also be a naked idiot covered in crap. Who on earth equated different and good. This man should be slapped. Then asked to forfill the afformentioned task.

 

[00slash00]

Probably to get this exact reaction out of people?

Anyway, i fully endorse and encourage alternative visions of the "body beautiful".

Conformity is bad mmmmkay?

im all for that, but when i just cant look at people who have gauged ears so stretched out i could fit half my hand through. also thinking about people who split their tongue or hang their body from hooks, for fun, just kinda makes my skin crawl. people are free to look however they want, but as long as i dont try to restrict them in any way, im free to not be attracted to certain changes to their appearance that they might make.

also, if your changing your body, purely for the sake of being non-conformist, thats just another kind of conformity. i knew a guy in high school who has a great quote, "not having a tattoo, is the new tattoo"

I agree with you totally on the first part, while i like body art in so far as tattoos go, the extreme piercings are f-ing weird. But if it makes you happy, do it.

As for the second part, well there is conforming to the social norm and there is conforming to a social minority, there is a distinction. I think.

what im saying is that if you get something done because you like the way it looks, thats one thing, but if you do it so other people will think you look cool or because you want to be nonconformist and most nonconformists look a certain way, then youre just conforming to their standards, not your own. aside from just being stupid, its also like spitting in the face of nonconformity, in general.

 

[Drakane]

I personally haven't gone as far as these people because I am just not a big fan of discs or sub-dermal modding (the dudes horns). I also keep most of my stuff hidden in an attempt to get my foot in the door of an accounting firm.. after that my ink might expand.

You can be released if you continue and dont have a professional look about yourself. Just cause you're there doesnt mean that once you are, you're there forever. It can also keep you down in promotional times because you wouldnt look profession when big wigs or other employees from different places come and get together.

Just takes a few people to say they dont feel comfortable working with someone like that, or customers to not want to work with you (and to a further extent the company) to get you let go because "its just not working out".

And its perfectly Legal too.

I have no plan of like one day just showing up w/ tons of new ink or anything... but as a slow process bring back my goatee, let my hair get a little longer, maybe get a little ink that partially shows sometimes... cause yea I know what your saying, and for some reason I don't think many people want their accountant to have chin length blue hair w/ a goatee to the middle of their chest and sleaved in ink.... because somehow that makes my intellect, education, and previous body of work null and void.... but thats a rant for another time

 

[Illesdan]

Why are you proud of your tattoos? Seems like a silly thing to be proud of

Troll much? Already explained it in my post. Try reading the ENTIRE post next time.

 

[Subbies]

What the hell drives people to do this to themselves? Do they think it looks good or cool? Do they realize that shit like this will forever fuck up their lives, that they will never have decent employment, and that things done to this extreme cannot by undone?

I mean hell, I've seen a picture of a guy who tattooed his entire penis, and then cut it in half lengthwise so that it forked. WHY?! Why would someone do this?

Is there anyone here who can help me understand why anyone could possibly think that this is a good idea?

I don't know about the other two but the guy on the first picture actually does have a decent employment. His name is Etienne Dumont and he works as a society/culture journalist in an important newspaper and is also a philosopher (I know cause he lives in Geneva). So just saying, you have done irreversible "damage" to yourself but may still find a good job.

 

[BanthaFodder]

"NOTICE MEEEEEEEE!!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NOTICE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I'M SO NON-CONFORMIST AND DEEP AND STUFF, I DON'T CARE, JUST NOTICE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

People have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies and evidently there are people who enjoy modifying themselves in unconventional ways. Why? It's something that I'd be interested to understand the psychology behind, because I don't know really.

 

[zehydra]

Why are you proud of your tattoos? Seems like a silly thing to be proud of

Troll much? Already explained it in my post. Try reading the ENTIRE post next time.

Ok fair enough, I understand that the tattoos are something you've worked on for years yourself so that makes sense to me. I apologize for not reading your post as thoroughly as I should have, though I am not a troll. A troll is trying to purposely make somebody mad.

 

[Arizona Kyle]

People are all different. These people must feel very strongly about what they are doing in order to change themselves this drastically. Don't judge. :/

thumbs up my friend

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Eh, it's there body, they can do what they want with it. While some of that stuff is a bit weird and I wouldn't be surprised that some of them do it to feel special or get attention; I've got no problem with it and don't think their total freaks. I think body modding is pretty interesting to be honest. Tattoos and piercings are body modifications, these just take it to a more extreme level. The main reason why I wouldn't do something like this willy nilly is that it's permanent, so you better be goddamn sure you can live with it the rest of your life.

So go ahead an do what you want with your body. Don't let yourself be limited by society's view of what's "beautiful" or "pretty". You want horns growing out of your head, go for it. In fact I wouldn't be surprised that with the march of technology, body modification will become even more and more interesting and perhaps even more common.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Each to his own.

I'm getting plugs/gauges/whatever they're called nowadays, but I'll only being going as large as 0's so I'll have a chance of them healing up haha.