Next up: pierced bile ducts.

If you're going to do that, fine (okay, I'll admit I think this is a pretty gross body mod), but have it done by a doctor! Too freakin' risky.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Literally.

holy christ.
The first ones, well, I can totally see the reasoning behind that.

But the second? I can't even tell what it's supposed to look like, other than a random color splotch.

(although the plan to fill the whites with blue would be cool in a Dune kind of way)

I want to do this as soon as I find a willing doctor crazy enough to tattoo a perfectly functional eye. It'd be fun to have purple eyes.

I saw the first photo, of the guy practicing on a pig eye.

At that point, I decided that discretion would have to be the better part of valor.

*shudders*

But the second? I can't even tell what it's supposed to look like, other than a random color splotch.

That's what it's supposed to be. It's more of a proof-of-concept kind of thing.

Yeah, I understand that they were testing the process in preparation for doing the whole eye/s if it works.

There are a handful of extreme body mods which freak me out, and I expected this to be a new addition to that set -- but I actually found myself reacting rather favorably. I hope it works out well for the test subjects -- which raises another question -- is this something that can be "removed" with lasers (I'm guessing not)?

Second what kellydamnit said. There's no risk to vision, so why not. The others, I get this instant reaction of 'No. Stupid. Stupidstupid.' What happens later on in life? Weren't these people born with the equivalent of bullshit detectors? What if the ink spreads? I can't ever remember of reading about this body mod in any culture at all. Doing dumbass things with your nether-regions (I'm not talking about sticking a bolt through your bits, more like the cutting and stretching and stuff.) - not for me, but there is a precedent set by other cultures that do things like that. I don't think any would do anything with the eye, as once you're blind, you're a burden on the tribe/social group/whatever. Sure, tattoos hurt but it's not too bad, but your eye? Fucking ow!

Better late than never - this came to you via the MetaFram Digest, which I completely forgot to mention earlier.

Still, takes all kinds, I guess.

No, we just have all kinds.

jonmc, I used to date a girl who'd accidentally pierced her own bile duct by falling on a ski pole at age 6. The repair wasn't very good, allowing intestinal contents to reflux back up into the pancreas, and she eventually died of pancreatic cancer in her early 30's.

There's a lot of inflammation around that ink, just as there usually is around new tattoos in skin. The difference is that scleral inflammation can cause a lot of problems, up to and including the total destruction of the eye and all vision in it. So "no risk to vision" probably isn't an accurate summary here.

ikkyu2: sorry. I didn't mean any offense, I was just looking for an odd place to pierce. My coollege girlfriend's mother died of pancreatic cancer while we were dating, it's a terrible way to go.