GENDER BENDER



Looking from the outside in - people, place and practice

Showing posts with label Mentawai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mentawai. Show all posts

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Body modification gone too far?

Here are some of the most extreme forms of body modification. They are much more common than you might think:


1. Anal stretching 

This one I just don't get. Why? The image above is for “tools” to aid in this modification. But you can only imagine what this practice involves.


2. Pierced Glasses

James Sooy and Oliver Gibson have come up with Pierced Glasses – the most minimalist eyewear ever.


3. Subdermal Implant

A subdermal implant refers to a kind of body jewelry that is placed underneath the skin. 


4. Branding

Human branding is the process in which a mark is burned into the skin, resulting in a permanent scar.


5. Extraocular Implant

I've hear of tooth jewelry, but this I think is quite mad. The implantation of jewelry in the outer layer of the eye.


6. Earlobe Stretching
This one is quite common. 


7. Corneal tattooing 
Never heard of this before. The procedure can be performed with traditional tattoo needle or a syringe. The eye is simply held open while the pigment, which is the exact same type used in a regular tattoo, is injected into the eyeball.


8. Tightlacing

Almost something like corset percing. Also called corset training and waist training, this is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture.


9. Tongue Splitting
 
Tongue bifurcation, or tongue splitting, is done through scalpeling or surgical laser.


10. Tooth Filing

Like the Mentawai women, tooth filing is a form of body modification in which people file their natural teeth to create a desired look or shape.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Mentawai women and tooth sharpening


Lately, I'm really fascinated by the different forms of body modification practices and rituals that cultures all around the world choose to engage in. For the Mentawai People in Sumatra, human tooth sharpening is ritually practised, especially by women.


But why have sharp, spiked teeth? It looks so painful and, sorry to say, unattractive. According to these women, sharp teeth make them feel beautiful. Some say that sharp teeth chew food more easily, while others say they prefer the look to 'natural teeth'. However, I don't really find this practice suited me, but I find it to be an interesting alternative to ideas of mainstream beauty. We often view beauty as a very specific thing that everyone around us accepts as beautiful as well. How can we as 'Westerners' start to change the way we view beauty as so one-dimensional?