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Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons. "Body modification has been practiced since people first started recognizing their own reflections in the watering hole"[1]. Body modification is not just limited to humans. 'Changes in appearances can be seen throughout nature and all living things’. Change of appearances can be done to "fit into social groups, satisfy a need for self-expression, or because they liked what they saw and thought others would, too"[2]. Other reasons such as sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, aesthetic reasons, denoting affiliation, trust and loyalty, religious reasons, shock value, and self-expression[3] are factored into the decision of body modification. Modifications can range from the socially acceptable decoration (e.g., pierced ears in many societies) to the religiously mandated (e.g., circumcision in a number of cultures), and everywhere in between.

Maori Tattooing

Māori chief, late 18th century

Māori Moko in 1908

Maori tattooing is a form of body art brought from eastern Polynesia. "The reasons people have for becoming involved in the body art experience are as varied as the people themselves" . The tattooing symbolized elements of social status, gender, and familial descent. Maori tattooing, or moko is seen as a right of passage and a status symbol within one’s society. In Māori culture, many if not most high-ranking persons received moko, and those who went without them were seen as persons of lower social status. Receiving moko constituted an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was accompanied by many rites and rituals. Tattoos received by emerging adults in the society could be found on all parts of the body, in all shapes and sizes. In traditional times the practice was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex. Men generally received moko on their faces, buttocks (called raperape) and thighs (called puhoro). All men with the Maori tattoo on their buttocks share the same pattern. It was observed by Cook that each of the tattoos located on the buttocks had a starting point in the center of each cheek. Women usually wore moko on their lips (kauae) and chins. Other parts of the body known to have moko on it include the foreheads, buttocks, thighs, neck and backs of women, and the backs, stomachs and calves of men.

There is much skepticism surrounding the start of moko in the New Zealand. "Not until Captain Cook, the great navigator, visited these Islands was anything more known” about the practice of tattooing . Cook returned to England in June 1771, having observed vast amounts of Maori tattooing. Captain Cook wrote in 1769: "The marks in general are spirals drawn with great nicety and even elegance. One side corresponds with the other. The marks on the body resemble foliage in old chased ornaments, convolutions of filigree work, but in these they have such a luxury of forms that of a hundred which at first appeared exactly the same no two were formed alike on close examination."[1][2]Maori tattooing originated for battle purposes. Members of the tribe would paint their faces with charcoal as means of distinguishing themselves from the opponent. "Native tradition has it that the lines made by first settlers on their faces were the beginnings of the tattoo. The practice of carving the face and the body with dyed incisions arose" . Tattooing was also used to establish race in some Maori societies. “Chiefs being of a lighter race and having to fight side by side with the slaves of darker hues darkened their faces in order to appear of the same race” . “By the 1850s, the moko suffered under attacks from missionaries, who described it as "the Devil's art". The practice revived briefly during the 1860s Maori Wars as a statement of defiance against British colonization. The art of full-face moko for men continued to fade out of fashion through the following decades. But more women began to wear moko, usually under their mouths on their chin, to mark their passage into adulthood, commemorate a special occasion, and to beautify themselves. Needles replaced chisels, making the process less risky. By the 1920s, the last of the tattooed men had died, but many women continue to wear moko until the middle of the century” . The tradition of receiving the tattoos on all areas of the body has survived through nation state, colonialism and globalization. Today, Maori tattooing is very much a part of New Zealand’s culture. Many young individuals are receiving the tattoos that represent their gender, family and interests. The deep historical roots and the importance that the tattoos have had in the past has resulted in the continuation of their legacy today.

Foot Binding

An X-ray of bound feet

A comparison between a woman with normal feet (left) and a woman with bound feet in 1902

“Some people say that a portion of Chinese history lies concealed in the bound feet of Chinese women” . Foot binding has been practiced since the early 10th century up until its ban in 20th century. “Historically, foot binding began towards the end of the T'ang Dynasty (618-906). It became common in the upper classes during the Song Dynasty (960-1297). During the next two dynasties, Ming (1368-1644) and Ching (1644-1911), foot binding became the done thing throughout mainstream China” . There are many stories that have originated to explain the origins of bound feet. “The most popular tale says that the last T'ang emperor, Li-yu, had a concubine by the name of Yao-niang who had tiny feet that she would wrap in silk and dance, possibly en pointe like a ballet dancer, on a golden platform shaped like a lotus. Other women of the court copied her, hoping to have feet graceful enough to dance on a golden lotus too. Another story is that the T'ang empress had a clubfoot and the court ladies bound their feet up to copy her, maybe in a form of sympathetic magic to make them more like her. Yet one more tale tells that a fox-demon wrapped it's paws in order to impersonate the empress, although it's harder to guess why the women of the court would want their footwear choices to suggest that” . Foot binding began for young Chinese girls between the ages of four and seven. Once the age is decided a special day is chosen to begin the process . “The binding is done by a caregiver, female relative or a professional footbinder” . .“The foot was soaked in hot water and massaged then it was wrapped in a way in which the child's toes were turned under and pressed against the bottom of her foot.” . “After the feet were dried, alum, an astringent chemical, would be used like talc as a foot powder. The binding could then begin, by wrapping the foot in a strip of cloth 10 foot long and 2 inches wide. Each toe would be wrapped tightly into the sole, except the big one, which was left free to point forward like a bamboo shoot. During the wrapping process, the toes and the arch of the foot may have been broken - otherwise, they may have been broken by force before binding” . This process can take a minimum of three years to complete. Over the years “the little girl's baby feet would be bound tighter every day, twice a day in rich families. As the bandages tightened, the skin beneath them would bleed and rot, causing terrible pain. Extremes of heat and cold would intensify this pain, so hot compresses in winter and cold compresses in summer were necessary, as well as massage to keep the blood flowing” .It was not uncommon for the young Chinese women to experience extreme pain, gangrene ,blood poisoning and loss of skin and toes .There had been earlier but unsuccessful attempts to stop the practice of foot-binding, various emperors issuing unsuccessful edicts against it. The Empress Dowager Cixi (a Manchu) issued such an edict following the Boxer Rebellion in order to appease foreigners, but it was rescinded a short time later. In 1911, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the new Republic of China government banned foot binding. Women were told to unwrap their feet lest they be killed. Some women's feet grew a half-inch to an inch after the unwrapping, though some found the new growth process extremely painful as well as emotionally and culturally devastating. Still, societies were founded to support the abolition of foot binding, with contractual agreements made between families who would promise an infant son in marriage to an infant daughter who did not have bound feet. When the Communists took power in 1949, they were able to maintain the strict prohibition on foot binding, which is still in effect today. Foot binding is a cultural practice that has died out due to strict laws. The laws have not only eliminated the physiological practice but they have also taken away from the cultural value of the practice. The Chinese and Japanese have based their society on other values instead of foot binding. Other erotic signs of beauty are appreciated within their culture. Despite the nonexistence of foot binding in China and other asian countries, the art of foot binding still remains an important part of their history.

Karen Thai Neck Rings

A Kayan woman with neck rings

The Karen, known as the Padaung are a group of people living in Kyah located in eastern Burma that lies on the boarder of Thailand They are a sub-group of Karen (Bwe Group) peoples that number less than 40,000 people in total. They call themselves "Lae Kur" or "Kayan". They speak their own language; this language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family. The Karen are a loose confederation of closely related tribes. They, the Karen Padaung, are the smallest of the surrounding tribes. The Padaung peoples escaped from the Kaya State in Burma to Thailand in the mid to late 1900's because of political turmoil. They belong to the Karenni sub-group of the Karen People, and are still fighting for their independence in Burma . Women living in the Padaung society have worn brass neck rings for thousands of years and the reasons behind the wearing of the rings have long since vanished in the myths of their history The origins of this cultural practice have not been documented throughout Padaung history. Many who have and continue to observe the women believe that their necks have been elongated by the brass rings, but in fact that is merely an illusion. The rings are placed on the young female children around age six . Rings are added over the years to intensify the effects. Over time “the weight of the rings pushes down the collar bone, as well as the upper ribs, to such an angle that the collar bone actually appears to be a part of the neck” . The continuation of this cultural practice has been associated with an individual’s beauty and wealth. Today tourism is the driving factor behind the wearing of the neck rings. Tourism promotes some sources of income for the Padaung tribe that keep this practice alive. There is limited information provided on the Padaung peoples due to their lack of written history and their remote geographical location. It is still a mystery why the wearing of neck rings was promoted in their culture , but there is no question why it is exists today. Having withstood political turmoil and colonization, wearing neck rings has persisted for mostly tourist and economical reasons. There is more information to be learned and observations to be made of the Padaung peoples. It is difficult to gather such information because traveling between Thailand and Burma is a dangerous journey advertised to few tourist groups. The significance and origin of the neck rings remains unknown.

Other types of body modification

Explicit ornaments

• Body piercing - Permanent placement of jewelry through an artificial fistula; sometimes further modified by stretching
• Ear piercing - The most common type of body modification
• Microdermal_implants Similar to transdermal implants, giving the appearance of a small bead on the skin
• Pearling - Also known as genital beading
• Scrotal implants
• Eyeball tattooing - Injection of a pigment into the cornea.
• Extraocular implant (eyeball jewelry) - The implantation of jewelry in the outer layer of the eye.
• Surface Piercing - A surface piercing is a piercing where the entrance and exit holes are pierced through the same flat area of skin.
• Microdermal implants
• Transdermal implant - implantation of an object below the dermis, but which exits the skin at one or more points

Surgical augmentation

In contrast to the explicit ornaments, the following procedures are primarily not meant to be exposed per se, but rather function to augment another part of the body, like the skin in a subdermal implant.

• Breast implants - Insertion of silicone bags filled with silicone gel or saline solution into the breasts to increase their size, or to restore a more normal appearance after surgery
• Silicone injection
• Subdermal implant - implantation of an object that resides entirely below the dermis, including Horn implants

Removal or split

• Hair cutting
• Hair removal
• Male circumcision - the partial or full removal of the foreskin, sometimes also the frenulum--conversely some men choose to take up foreskin restoration.
• Female genital cutting - removal of the labia minora or the clitoral hood
• Frenectomy
• Genital bisection - splitting of both the underside and the top of the penis, including Genital inversion
• Meatotomy - splitting of the underside of the glans penis
• Headsplitting - splitting of both the underside and the top of the glans penis
• Nipple removal
• Nipple splitting
• Nullification involves the voluntary removal of body parts. Body parts that are removed by those practicing body nullification are for example Fingers, Penis (penectomy), Testicles (castration), Clitoris, Labia or Nipples. Sometimes people who desire a nullification may be diagnosed with body integrity identity disorder or apotemnophilia.
• Subincision - splitting of the underside of the penis, also called urethrotomy
• Lingual frenectomy
• Tongue splitting - bisection of the tongue similar to a snake's
• Trepanation, drilling a hole into the skull

Applying long-term force

Body modifications occurring as the end result of long term activities or practices

• Corsetry or tightlacing - binding of the waist and shaping of the torso
• Cranial binding - modification of the shape of infants' heads, now extremely rare
• Breast ironing - Pressing (sometimes with a heated object) the breasts of a pubescent female to prevent their growth.
• Foot binding - compression of the feet of girls to modify them for aesthetic reasons
• Anal stretching
• Non-surgical elongation of organs by prolonged stretching using weights or spacing devices. Some cultural traditions prescribe for or encourage members of one sex (or both) to have one organ stretched till permanent re-dimensioning has occurred, such as:
  • The 'giraffe-like' stretched necks (sometimes also other organs) of women among the Burmese Kayan tribe, the result of wearing brass coils around them. This compresses the collarbone and upper ribs but is not medically dangerous. It is a myth that removing the rings will cause the neck to 'flop'; Padaung women remove them regularly for cleaning etc.
  • Stretched lip piercings - achieved by inserting ever larger plates, such as those made of clay used by some Amazonian tribes.

Others

• Branding - controlled burning or cauterizing of tissue to encourage intentional scarring
• Ear shaping (which includes Ear cropping , Ear pointing or "elfing" )
• Scarification - cutting or removal of dermis with the intent to encourage intentional scarring or keloiding
• Tooth filing
• Bodybuilding