Body art has been around for many centuries and over time it has developed into a way to express oneself. From tattoos to piercings, to even more extreme fashion like cosmetic surgery, body art sure has became a creative way for people to make a new identity for themselves. In my opinion, body art should not be practiced unless their culture or beliefs are the ideal reason or if they take a course in body modification just so they acknowledge the risk and complications that come with procedures so drastic and that are unnecessary if it is just for pleasure.
Before you make that appointment to get your tattoo that you have been wanting so bad for the longest time, just think about the placement first of all. Where would you be receiving this …show more content…
You get all this art work done on you, but why? According to Alexis Keinlen, men and women get tattoos for different reasons. Keinlen claims “ Men get tattoos to change the way society sees them. Women tend to get tattoos to mark a change in the way they see themselves”(Keinlen 4) because we just want to be accepted in society and fit in. People get tattoos so show they are a rebel and they are different. Lyndell Montgomery, a tattooist, says “ being heavily tattooed is a means of visibly” because she want to not be mainstream. Montgomery grew up in a religious household and when she was old enough to get tattoos she went for it. She claims she was “ drawn to tattoos” because of the environment she grew up in. she got all of her tattoos because of emotion she felt. People will judge you based on how you present yourself. Johnson,another tattooist, says people would go up to her and tell her she is a nice person, but she has “ so many tattoos” and that automatically changed the way they saw …show more content…
Body modification is the practice of modifying your body to your standards. People will cut their tongue in half and some even ask surgeons to amputate their legs. This might make people feel better about themselves at the time but there are some serious complication even with a simple piercing. According to Sheila Jefferies “About 10-15 percent of piercings get infected” (jefferies 2) because of infections like “Staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus”, which can be dangerous. Even with a common ear piercing can cause pseudomonas because it “ can liquify ear cartilage. That is just from simple common piercings, imagine piercing your genitalia. You can get a infections more serious like “tuberculosis, tetanus, hepatitis, and toxic shock syndrome” (Jefferies 2). Tongue piercings can cause difficulty with swallowing and many other complications. Cyst and damaging the nerves on your tongue does not sound like fun. splitting your tongue sounds super fun, until you can not speak anymore because you know you did split your tongue in