A discussion about the world of tattoos and body modification.

1. Body Modification

2. Tattooing
Tattooing is one of the most commong
forms of body modification. A tattoo is
made by inserting indelible ink into a layer
of the skin to change the pigment. Tattooing
has been practiced for centuries in many
cultures spread throughout the world. Since
the 1990s, tattoos have become a
mainstream part of global and Western
fashion, common among both sexes, to all
economic classes, and to age groups from
the later teen years to middle age.

3. Tattoo Machine
The most common method of tattooing in modern times
is the electric tattoo machine, which inserts ink into the
skin via a single needle or a group of needles that are
soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating
unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in
and out of the skin, usually 80 to 150 times a second.
The tattoo artist must wash not only his or her
hands, but he or she must also wash the area that
will be tattooed. Gloves must be worn at all times
and the wound must be wiped frequently with a wet
disposable towel of some kind. The equipment must
be sterilized in a certified autoclave before and after
every use.

4. Lucky Diamond Rich

5. Tā moko -
Maori Facial Tattoo

6. Irezumi

7. Tribal Tattoo

8. Piercing
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the
practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the
human body, The reasons for piercing or not
piercing are varied. Some people pierce for
religious or spiritual reasons, while others pierce
for self-expression, for aesthetic value, for sexual
pleasure, to conform to their culture or to rebel
against it. Some forms of piercing remain
controversial, particularly when applied to youth.
The display or placement of piercings have been
restricted by schools, employers and religious
groups. In spite of the controversy, some people
have practiced extreme forms of body
piercing, with Guinness bestowing World Records
on individuals with hundreds and even thousands
of permanent and temporary piercings.

9. Tongue Piercing

10. Ear Stretching

12. Lip Plate

13. Scarification
Scarification involves
scratching, etching, burning, or cutting
designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a
permanent body modification. Scarification is
often more popular than tattooing among darker
skinned ethnic groups as scars are more visible
than tattoos depending on a persons complexion.
Cutting is generally the most widely used form of
scarification in the west, since finer lines and
details can be achieved with a scalpel than with a
brand.

18. Branding
The second most widely used form of
scarification is branding. In branding, a
hot piece of metal is used to burn
patterns into the skin. While branding
can not match the level of detail
achieved in cutting, the results are often
much more prominent, lasting, and
visible.

19. What do you think?
• What do you think of people who have
tattoos?
• What do tattoos symbolize in your culture?
• Is there any difference between piercing your
ears and piercing your lip?
• Do you think scarification is any different from
tattooing?
• Do you think more people will have tattoos in
the future?

20. Ocular Implant
An extraocular implant (also
known as eyeball jewelry) is a
cosmetic implant involving a tiny
piece of decorative jewelry
which is implanted within the
superficial, interpalpebral
conjunctiva of the human eye.
Eyeball jewelry was developed
first in the Netherlands as a
radical new form of body
modification in 2002. It was first
designed at the Netherlands
Institute for Innovative Ocular
Surgery and is marketed there
under the name JewelEye.

21. Tongue Splitting
Tongue splitting or forking, is a type of
body modification in which the tongue is
cut centrally from its tip to as far back as
the underside base, forking the end. In the
late 1990s tongue splitting was almost
unheard of, but is now considered a
common alteration among body
modification enthusiasts. A tongue that
has been properly split will function as two
completely independent tongues that can
do anything a normal tongue can.

22. Subdermal Implants
A subdermal implant refers to a kind of
body jewelry that is placed underneath
the skin, therefore allowing the body to
heal over the implant and creating a
raised design. These kinds of implants
fall under the broad category of body
modification. Many people who have
these implants use them in conjunction
with other types of body modification to
create a desired, dramatic effect. This
process is also known as a 3-D implant
or pocketing. One common form of
subdermal implant are horn implants on
the forehead.

24. Transdermal Implants
Transdermal implants are a form of body
modification used both in a medical and aesthetic
context. In either case, they consist of an object
placed partially below and partially above the
skin, thus transdermal. The skin around it
generally heals as if it were a piercing. This type of
body modification is somewhat rare due to the
possibility of infection.

25. What do you think?
• Are people with extreme body modifications
frightening to you?
• Are there any of these modifications that you
would like to try?
• Should people be able to show their strange
modifications at work?
• What is “normal”? Is normal the same for
everyone?