Thanks hun! Don't forget to inbox me


My biggest question comes with the forming of laws and the medicalization of these procedures.

Why makes one legal and the other not?

It's interesting that things like gender reassignment, breast implants, etc are all legal and medical (you go to a doctor with a license etc.) while other look enhancement surgeries are not legal or medicalized. less

Absolutely! It depends on where you live, but many things are illegal. Tongue splitting is a huge one. Facial tattoos are illegal in certain places too. I have a whole list from my research.

Anything to do with the genitals is usually illegal as well. less

Just because I may consider something to be mutilation does not mean I believe it should be illegal. If we wanna get technical, I have to agree with RubenesqueAna and say that most of these things could be considered mutilation...but I see nothing wrong with anyone having them done. If we make tattoos or piercings or even splitting illegal, people will still have them done and that could get dangerous. less

I think only branding and splitting are mutulation. Most of the things you listed are, in my opinion, just body mods.

I define the difference as modifications are things done that you can change back if you choose to and mutilation can not be reversed. Plastic surgery, tatoos, and gender change is a little more difficult but could still be reversed.

I don't think any of it should be illegal as I think a person should be able to do what they want to their own bodies. less

I think only branding and splitting are mutulation. Most of the things you listed are, in my opinion, just body mods.

I define the difference as modifications are things done that you can change back if you choose to and mutilation can not be reversed. Plastic surgery, tatoos, and gender change is a little more difficult but could still be reversed.

I don't think any of it should be illegal as I think a person should be able to do what they want to their own bodies. less

That's a really good way of looking at it.

I thought about this for a little while and thinking that modification and mutilation change note based on any physical characteristics but on cultural/social ones. To me, it's not the fact that some are reversal and others not, it's about choice and reason.

A tribe in Africa still to this day uses scarification to be part of the initiation ritual of boys into men. They have patterns down their backs to resemble an alligator or stripe-like scars like a wild cat. They knowingly and willingly do these things to their body and it becomes a source of pride and part of their identity. I currently don't want this for myself but I don't see it as mutilation or worthy of being outlawed.

On the other hand, many societies around the globe continue to drag unwilling girls from their homes to perform genital mutilation on them. They are forced into it with no person choice in the matter. They carry no sentimentality with it other than "Well, I had to". And now for the rest of their lives, they will experience pain only when having intercourse with their husband. I see this as mutilation and should be made illegal.

It is the dilemma of the anthropologist to determine what is a difference of culture and therefore should not be interfered with or controlled (like the European white man had done for centuries before cultural awareness and acceptance even existed) and what is just inhumane and a crime against all of humanity and decency. Sometimes the line is a lot thinner than you'd think.

Absolutely amazing topic to do a master's paper on, LaUr3n! less

Personally I think all body mods are great, except "splitting" as it can be detrimental to your day to day life.

Otherwise I find body modifications to be very attractive actually. I think I'd find my partner and myself to be much less attractive if we were less modded. We both can't wait until we can get more piercings and tattoos!

I do think it can be overdone, but it depends on the mods, the body, etc. less