Five days ago, the Hellenic Olympic Committee lit the Olympic torch for the 2014 games. In order for athletes to build up their strength, agility and endurance for these games, there is one thing each must undergo — body modification.
There are very few constants in the human form. I was born 8.2 pounds with a mat of black hair on my head. I am more than ten times that weight now, and have naturally sported blond and brown hair. Over the span of my life I have had the ability to become a free runner, couch potato, body builder, anorexic, mountain climber and more, but all of these options would be determined by my personal decisions — the will to explore what my body can be.
Piercing, tattooing, scarification, tongue splitting, ear pointing, dermal implanting, gauging and tooth filing lie in this same field of exploration. They are an external projection of how a person perceives themselves. Yet such practices are too often received negatively by the American community.
One may argue perfection of the body for athletic reasons is different than for strictly aesthetic ones, but I beg to differ. While a body builder might be able to crush my skull in, could he win in a back-alley fight against someone who can actually move their limbs? Can a marathon runner out-pace a bullet?
In such instances, the common vision of practicality begins to erode. Likewise, it would be of great surprise to me to find an athlete who dislikes the look of his body’s altered state.
Other alterations that tend to be held in high regard by society are facial cleansing by chemicals, whitening teeth, coloring hair, achieving a “healthy” skin tone and the application of make-up (for women). Clothing itself could fit in this category, for it is an ever-clinging statement of one’s personal values.
The mindset behind a modification is the true testimony of the alteration’s value, not how “out there” or conforming it is. Each alteration we make to our bodies is a life badge. They can be symbols of both liveliness and struggle.
They should not be instant symbols of unemployability. I say “instant” symbols because I understand presentation is a significant part of the hiring process. Unless my business has a heavy metal theme, I would be hard pressed to hire someone covered in wicked skull tattoos, just as I would not hire a guy that slumps over and smells like he has not paid the water bill.
With that in mind, resumés have been seen on people’s skin much longer than they have been on paper. Look up tattoos of the ancient Egyptians and Borneans, or check out the scarification by Africans for a start. Such modifications could mark a person’s craft, status, bravery or maturity. For the Kanigara tribespeople of the Papua New Guinea, in example, scarification to make your skin look like that of a crocodile showed you had the spirit of the protective reptile, and that you could defend the village. Such a process was truly revealing of a man’s character, for not all survived the process.
While modifications in the general American culture do not hold these inherently understood meanings — and are generally much less taxing — I think this trait makes such things even more applicable to our society, because it lends itself to our values of individualism. They can reveal one’s creativity, mental endurance and willingness to adventure into high-stakes situations; sounds like a corporate boss to me.
Voluntary modifications do not change people into something they are not — they merely reflect how a person wants to present himself to the world. I would like to see the world interpret this presentation in the same light he does. I want to better understand the people I encounter, and be free to live my own non-harmful life as I see fit.
Head to Head: Body modifications express personal understanding
October 3, 2013