Body modification

Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as spiritual, various social (markings) or aesthetic. It can range from the socially acceptable decoration (e.g., pierced ears in many societies), over religiously mandated (e.g., circumcision in a number of cultures) to corporal punishment and provocative statement by the rebellious (e.g., nostril piercings in punk subculture), some even get physically addicted to the kick of a painful procedure.

Controversy

One controversial objective of body modification is the attempt to resemble another race, such as Asians having their epicanthal folds modified to resemble non-Asian eyes or skin lightened with dyes (or even surgically), suntanning, increase in lips, or buttocks size by Caucasians, or African-Americans straightening their hair or getting a nose job.

Related Topics:
Race - Epicanthal fold - Suntanning - Lips - Buttocks - Hair - Nose job

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"Disfigurement" (a subjective term) and "mutilation" (regardless of any appreciation this always applies objectively whenever a bodily function is gravely diminished or lost, as with castration) are terms used by opponents of body modification to describe certain types of modifications, especially non-consensual ones. Those terms are used fairly uncontroversially to describe the victims of torture, who have endured damage to ears, eyes, feet, genitalia, hands, noses, teeth, and/or tongues, including amputation, burning, flagellation, piercing, skinning, and wheeling.

Related Topics:
Torture - Ear - Eye - Feet - Genitalia - Hand - Nose - Teeth - Tongue - Amputation - Burning - Flagellation - Piercing - Skinning - Wheeling

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"Genital mutilation" is also used somewhat more controversially to describe certain kinds of socially prescribed modifications to the genitals, such as circumcision, female circumcision, castration, and surgeries performed to conform the genitals of individuals with intersex conditions to those of typical males or females. Those opposed to the practice of sexual reassignment surgery may consider it genital mutilation, done for psychological reasons; this is universally rejected by those in favor of it, who more often consider the reasons medical.

Related Topics:
Genital mutilation - Genitals - Circumcision - Female circumcision - Castration - Intersex - Sexual reassignment surgery - Psychological

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