Unique And Extreme Body Modifications

Many people have a wide range of reason in getting their bodies modified. Some are content with a few body jewelry while others go to the extremes of permanently changing how their bodies look.

Body modification and wearing body jewelry have been a part of several cultures around the world for thousands of years. Over the past decades, these body modifications, most particularly in wearing body jewelry, have grown and developed.

Here are some of the most extreme kinds of body modification today.

Eyeball Tattooing

To ordinary people not exposed to the world of body modification, eyeball tattoos might sound bizarre or extremely unthinkable. But believe it or not, eyeball or corneal tattoos have been around for over 2000 years.

Galen of Pergamum, a Roman physician and philosopher, first describe corneal tattooing in 150AD. The procedure is usually done to mask the leukomatous opacities of the eye. Today, it practice both for cosmetic purposes and also to help improve the sight of the eye for those who have albinism, aniridia, coloboma, iridodialysis, keratoconus or diffusion of the nebulae of the cornea.

Scarification

This process of body modification consists of scratching, etching or superficially cutting the skin to create designs using scars. Aesthetic, religious and social reason usually leads people to get permanent body modification like scarification. Sometimes, endorphins are released by the body which can induce a euphoric state. Modern scarification can be performed in many ways which include branding, “laser” branding, cutting and abrasion.

The people of Korogo Village have an initiation rite called the crocodile scarification which is held in the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea. Men and sometimes boys are continuously cut by blades until their whole body is covered with scars and their skin will resemble a crocodile’s hide. The ceremony is so dangerous that fatalities have occurred throughout the years.

3D Art Implants

The use of 3D art implants to modify the body is increasing in popularity today. If you are not satisfied with nose rings and ear plugs, the process of 3D art implants involves fully implanting objects under the skin to change its shape or appearance. The popularization of 3D art implants is credited to Steve Haworth. Like wearing body jewelry and piercings, implants can be stretched and one extremely popular example are horn implants which starts small then gradually increased in size.

Corset Piercing

An emerging trend in body jewelry is corset piercing. To achieve it, a series of bilateral symmetrical piercings at the back as few as four piercings will be done. It is a highly difficult and risky piercing to perform and have which is why most corset piercings are intended to be temporary. Corset piercing is often worn laced with ribbon, rope or chains.

Tongue Bifurcation

Tongue piercings have been popular for years but a new emerging body modification involves not just piercing the tongue but cutting it in half. Tongue bifurcation, splitting or forking is a modern form of body modification with the first ever documented success is when Dustin Allor split her tongue by herself using a fishing line method in 1996.

The legality of tongue splitting varies depending on the country and states or territories. In the US, Illinois made tongue splitting illegal in 2003. New York, Delaware and Texas then enacted laws that either ban the practice of tongue splitting, ban the procedure on minors without parental consent or restrict it to be performed only by doctors. In 2009, the Australian state Victoria enacted a ban on splitting the tongues of minors.