Discovering Three Main Reasons for Body Modification Practices

Body Modification

Body modifications have been around for thousands of year. The oldest documented tattoo is from Otzi the iceman from 3300 BC ,states fragrancex.com. Since then, many more body modifications have evolved, such as; scarification, skin stretching, forked tongue. “Body modification is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance,” says wikipedia.com. Many people think body modification is a way to enhance beauty, but that’s not the only opinion on the topic.The three main reasons for body modification are to enhance attractiveness, for religious beliefs, and for self expression.

One of the main reasons for body modification is to enhance attractiveness. For example facial piercings, tattoos, and plastic surgery. “Adults with tattoos have been shown to be more sexually active than controls without tattoos,” Huffiontonpost.com states. Many people do not like the way they look and body modifications give them the option to change that. Also, it may be for social reasons. A certain body modification may be popular at the time and the person is getting it to fit in. The reason could be social or psychological depending on the person. If someone does not like what their nose or breasts look like a plastic surgeon can change that for them. “Both men and women had higher body appreciation, higher self esteem and lower anxiety right after getting new tattoos. Surprisingly, three weeks later men continued to have less anxiety but women had a sharp increase in anxiety that may be associated with concerns about body image,” Huffiontonpost.com says. There are many different ways to modify your body. Some could be as simply as completing it in one day, but others have a longer process that could take years. Piercings are simple and only take a matter of minutes. Things such as scarifications could take years to finish. “Scarifying involves scratching, etching, burning, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification,” states wikipedia.com. Where someone go depends on what they’re getting. If someone is getting a tattoo, the best place to go is a tattoo parlor. Many can be done at home, but risk for infection is higher and it would not have the same quality. Most piercings are done at kiosks or even done at home. When getting plastic surgery, appointments are booked months or sometimes years in advanced. “A poll of over 1,000 undergraduate students in 2001 and 2006 found that approximately 22% of women and men sported at least one tattoo, while 61% of women and 39% of men had at least one body piercing,” states valleylandalliance.org. In addition to people feeling more beautiful after body modifications, religion is another reason why it is done.

Another reason for body modification is for a religious belief. “Practicing and engaging in body modification is a way of bonding between the mind, body, and spiritual soul,” states the blog sites google.com on religion. There are many different religious body modifications, but some of the most common ones are piercings, tattoos, scarification, and stretching of limbs. “It is believed that ear piercing helps in maintaining the regularity in the menstrual cycle of a girl. It is also believed to help in getting rid of hysteria and other diseases,” states sanskritimagazine.com on Hindiusm. Stretching earlobes is done with a gauging kit that slowly stretches the earlobes over time. Other body modifications like piercings and tattoos are usually be done at a piercing or tattoo parlor, but those can be done at home. “Human branding or stigmatizing is the process which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron,” says wikipedia.com. Religion is all over the world and many religions do this, so there is not a certain place where this happens. It happens all over the world. Religion is one of the most common reasons for body modifications, but self expression is another reason.

The last main reason for body modification is for self expression. People feel as this makes them stand out as different. “Some engage in these practices in an attempt to fit into a particular group or to express individuality,” states advanceweb.com. It can show love for something, show what someone stands for, or it could be for someone. Many people get tattoos to show love for something or someone. “Body embellishment is on display by numerous celebrities on TV and in the movies. Many adolescents are eager to assume adult mannerisms and emulate their role models in an attempt to conform to a particular social clique or peer group,” states advanceweb.com. Piercings, stretched limbs, or even plastic surgery can be used to help a person express themselves. Piercings can be done on arrival at a piercing shop. Depending on the tattoo parlor some take walk ins, but other take appointments that have to be booked months in advance. With plastic surgery, appointments must be booked months or even years in advanced. This would be done at a hospital and would require surgery.

Body modification is any changing the human body. To enhance attractiveness, for religious beliefs, and self expression are the three reasons for body modifications. A simple earlobe piercing to changing a human body into an animal is body modification. These have been around for thousands of years. “Body modification includes anything from piercings and tattoos all the way to surgical augmentations such as implants and injections,” states huffingtonpost.com. Body modification started with religions and has evolved with the culture to what is it today.