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14 December 2005

Seriously f--ked upbody mod. Most body modding is not a big deal to me, but I've never seen anything like this and it is super-creepy. Also what the hell is 'straight-edge' in the body-mod scene and why are brass knuckles associated with it?
I long ago abonded the negatively jugmental POV about body mods and decided that if I think one kind is "okay" then I should think others are "okay", too, regardless of whether they are socially sanctioned body mods, or not.
posted by kmellis 14 December | 00:35
put a ring in it, willya?
posted by quonsar 14 December | 00:46
I thought straight-edge was opposed to body mod as well as everything else. To be honest, this looks like a hoax to me. But then, people do all kinds of unbelievable shit to their bodies all the time.
posted by Eideteker 14 December | 00:47
Well, it's not for me. It makes it look like she's got some massive parasite or something. Still, to each their own.

posted by bmarkey 14 December | 01:00
Holy shit that's hot.
posted by cmonkey 14 December | 01:01
Also what the hell is 'straight-edge' in the body-mod scene and why are brass knuckles associated with it?

I'm not sure that there's a "straight-edge" in the body mod scene, but a lot of xXx straight edge kids like the brass knuckles because they're violent thugs.
posted by cmonkey 14 December | 01:05
Yeah, see, that's the thing that's always confused me about straight-edge kids. You choose not to go through life drunk and/or stoned? Good for you. Why beat up people who don't see it your way?
posted by bmarkey 14 December | 01:13
"Why beat up people who don't see it your way?"

Because it's fun? Here's a history of the human race. There'll be a quiz later.
posted by kmellis 14 December | 01:16
Yeah, that's always confused me, too.
posted by bmarkey 14 December | 01:20
kmellis: there's "socially unacceptable" and there's innate revulsion. I'm not saying it's wrong I'm just saying it's FREAK-EEE
posted by delmoi 14 December | 01:39
i like meeting straightedgers because then i know that i'll have a friend who's a junkie in ten months.

(joke joke joke.)


bodymods are like anything else people do with their bodies, or really, with anything. if the person's mind is healthy, then it's their business to do what they want. if they're not healthy, someone needs to help them. but you can't expect society to (morally) have a set of 'acceptable' body mods. everything's case by case, right? the weight loss associated with anorexia is arguably a body modification. if one of your co-human types who is sufficiently healthy decides to try that for a short period of time as an experiment, to see what it is -- or rather, not to be an anorexic, but to mimic the behaviours thereof, without being driven by the disease that is anorexia* -- then is it one's right to stop him or her?
people are guarunteed certain rights to privacy, i think most people would agree. it's terribly tricky, this business.


* i know. i've never met this person either. but i know lots of unhealthy people who suffer from anorexia. it's a terrible disease, and so on. i don't want to trivialize any of that. this might seem to do so, but it's really only because i'm poor at constructing hypotheticals. i'm generally opposed to argument by analogy on logical grounds.
posted by sam 14 December | 01:41
You bring up a good point, sam. I think that a lot of things which are considered outre can be perfectly healthy or pathological. But that includes things that are universally acceptable, like hard work for example.

The test is if it's pathological. One big problem with this as a test, though, is that for a certain kind of unbalanced mind inclined to pathological behavior, it's precisely something very socially unacceptable that they're attracted to. But you can usually tell the difference if you know them.
posted by kmellis 14 December | 01:57
"
The test is if it's pathological.
"
bingo.
it's a tough test. especially because it seems like 99% of the time, whoever is doing anything that seems a little off usually is a little off. i guess they spoil it for the 1%.
posted by sam 14 December | 02:05
also: i've heard from people into branding that they do it because it is a way of exerting or exercising ownership of their body -- not, you know, dumb extension of cattle branding/leaving a mark of ownership, but rather in the fact that it is their choice to do with their body as they wish.
i personally cannot understand why ownership of one's body would ever be a question in the sort of n. american society i live in, but it's worth pointing out that i come from all kinds of social privelige &c., so i may have a biased perspective of what freedom one can normally expect to exert over one's body. perhaps if i were a woman or a minority in american society, i would have a very different perspective on this point (w/ the caveat that the only people i've known who were into branding were themselves from a white, middle-class type background).


goodnight, kids.
posted by sam 14 December | 02:08
It must be getting harder and harder to shock people.
posted by jonmc 14 December | 09:46
It must be getting harder and harder to shock people.

Yeah, we're about five minutes from vanity trepanning.
posted by PinkStainlessTail 14 December | 10:13
Its wierd - "straight edgers" are some of the angriest people I know. The straight edgers who eschew sex - even moreso.

I'm a *teensy* bit skeptical about those photos, but it sounds like they're silicon rather than actual brass knuckles. The clavicle also seems like a rather difficult place to implant stuff, but maybe that's just me.
posted by porpoise 14 December | 10:58
I think people should be allowed to modify their bodies however they like, but the fact that I they should have the freedom to do so does not mean I don't think something like this is hideously ugly and a possible indication of some sort of mental imbalance/trauma.
posted by Specklet 14 December | 12:59
I think people should be allowed to modify their bodies however they like,

Yes, but these people are trying too hard. If you want to use your body as a canvas, let nature do the work! Simply stop bathing, shaving and grooming. It's a win-win.
posted by jonmc 14 December | 13:02
Sam: There's an argument that's made in political science that any true liberal democracy is de facto a breeding ground for fascism because it respects the rights of people to negate their rights.
posted by klangklangston 14 December | 13:08
The owner of bmezine.com is the Mefite known as glider. I'm sure you could drop him an email and ask if the implant is really ..er.. real.
posted by deborah 14 December | 14:06
Is he the one that did the thing about couples tying strings around their fingers til they fell off? This looks photoshopped to me with fake blood for good measure, but then, what do I know?
posted by eekacat 14 December | 19:24
Man, it'd be a bitch going through security at the airport.

And god help you if you ever need an MRI scan...
posted by Jimbob 14 December | 21:25
Re-rebroadcast? || If you could be one place in the world right now, where would it be?

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