Body Modification

[Ysh]

^^ Well if that's what you're in to ...

Humans have been painting their bodies and sticking things in and through it since the day we arrived and every time you cut/shave hair off your body, apply make-up, put bands/braids in your hair, paint your nails, pick your jewellery and chose an outfit, you are still doing it.

I could go into a long-winded post on this... let me see if I can sum it up in a couple of sentences....

Yeah. One could argue that by being human and having an intellect, we should be able to decide on our appearance. After all, only animals don't decide what they look like. If we're unhappy with our appearance, just change it.

On the other hand, appearance is whimsical. Attempting to alter our looks is fleeting and can take us away from deeper meanings. Religion would say being close to the gods. At least philosophically, it's safe to say deeper emotional and intellectual experiences and interactions with each other.

I think that's a fair summary of the views on it.

I don't disagree, it doesn't change the fact however that we have still always done it, will always continue to do it and all of us do it to some extent on a daily basis.
There are always going to be those who want to push the boundaries in any field, w/e their personal reasons, in any case one scenario doesn't have to negate the other.

I think there is clear different of the thing like cut hair and wear jewellery and thing like cut flesh and wear ink. Hair will grow back. Jewel can be remove. Flesh does not regrow well and ink is permanent picture.

[dageir]

Any sources that back up the claims that "we always have done it"?

[Kaios]

Any sources that back up the claims that "we always have done it"?

I don't know much on the subject but I'm pretty sure you could trace piercings and tattoos all the way back to ancient Rome and ancient Africa and I'm sure there are still tribes in Africa performing these practices. Things like the septum piercing I think are a bit ridiculous but if it's been part of your culture since ages ago that's fine, if you're just an edgy teen in a punk phase and you dig the septum piercing well that's a little more questionable.

[Amanda44]

I think there is clear different of the thing like cut hair and wear jewellery and thing like cut flesh and wear ink. Hair will grow back. Jewel can be remove. Flesh does not regrow well and ink is permanent picture.

Ofc,

There are always going to be those who want to push the boundaries - all of us do it to some extent

though I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make ....

[Ysh]

I think there is clear different of the thing like cut hair and wear jewellery and thing like cut flesh and wear ink. Hair will grow back. Jewel can be remove. Flesh does not regrow well and ink is permanent picture.

Ofc,

There are always going to be those who want to push the boundaries - all of us do it to some extent

though I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make ....

You arguing ''we all do body modification like haircut so this is no different than tattoo.'' But I argue that this tattoo is different class of body modification than the example you give, so we do not all do this kind of body modification.

[Amanda44]

^^ I'm not exactly arguing that, sorry if I'm not being clear ... yes, the two are different forms of modification, they are both however still ways of modifying ourselves. I'm saying the act of modifying ourselves is no different whichever form it takes and we all practise it.

Records of various ancient and modern tribes from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia show clear records of their body painting heritage. By using natural pigments from plants and fruits, ancient people decorated themselves with ritual paintings, tattoos, piercings, plugs and even scarring. Body painting was the important part of the daily and spiritual lives, often showcasing their inner qualities, wishes for future, images of gods, and many natural or war themes. Paint was often applied for weddings, preparations for war, death or funerals, showcasing of position and rank, and rituals of adulthood. In addition to temporary body paints, many cultures used face paint or permanent tattooing that could showcase much larger details than paintings made from natural pigments.

[Ysh]

the two are different forms of modification

the act of modifying ourselves is no different whichever form it takes

Is this not contradict?

[dageir]

Well, ancients tribes weren't exactly "enlightened" like we are today.
What some illiterate caved dwellers did to their bodies is hardly relevant to what we do today.


Also, this is not the same





as this:

[Kaios]

yes the ancient Romans definitely lived in caves

[Amanda44]

the two are different forms of modification

the act of modifying ourselves is no different whichever form it takes

Is this not contradict?

Lol, no, I'm just clearly not very good at explaining my point ... sorry.