BUT
SO
+ 
= 
So are we… 
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Also, thanks to @coma, talk about going down a rabbit hole, and man, I am so vanilla.
So Most of the stuff I looked at I could imagine how it is used, but in this category
TRANSSCROTAL JEWELRY
and with this picture
So, either I have the wrong idea of how that is used
Or I am woefully inadequate
OR some people are into some VERY heavy modifications
I guess saline filled or silicone implants like breast implants.
I’m pretty open minded and all about body autonomy, you do you etc, BUT, if I’m correct, THAT has got to be one of the LEAST convenient, not to mention uncomfortable body mods I can imagine
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Theres no coming back from that.
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Same… And I’ve been on the fence about a couple of bodymods but none to that extreme, or at least not in that particular body part. Craziest thing that I’ve considered is a tongue split but seems too painful for something that doesn’t add functionality.
Also, the implants used for limb lengthening are awesome. But that mod is probably not for me.
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Although you could argue a significant number of men get a body mod when they get a vasectomy.
But, then you could do this
ooooh there is sooo much to discover… 
I guess so… at least if it’s stretched to such a size…
Also it’s quite a surgery to get one - it’s not really a piercing, it definitely involves a scalpel and sutures 
Oh, Arnulf makes these things, too, so if anyone here is interested…
I’m pondering on this one regularly, but I like my tongue piercing too much. But I can tell you as much - the procedure itself doesn’t hurt (it’s done with anaesthetics), but the first few days of healing are pretty much hell. Eating, talking, everyday stuff are really annoying, and according to my artist, the pain is intense. But it’s some days of pain for a lifetime of a nice bodymod, so personally, I think it would be worth it.
And it does add some sort of functionality and lots of new sensations
I hate moustaches, but hell… split tongues are soooo damn sexy!
Oh, and I changed my bandages today, so here’s a picture of my naked finger
The sutures are a bit tight because of the swelling, and I can’t get anything to glow right now, but so far it looks good.
Pain-wise, there is some sort of pressure pain that spreads to the adjacent fingers, but it’s not really intense.
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I heard if you put a split tongue into two different glasses filled with two different liquids you can taste both separately at the same time.
Is it weird that I ponder on this from time to time when I’ve got no piercings or tattoos? The only bodymods I’ve got are thanks to Amal.
Kinda want to go really big or really small…
Not at all! Maybe it just feels fitting to you that way
I don’t think there is neccessarily a “logical” order or sequence in which to get mods, or that everyone interested in one kind of bodymod has to be interested in others as well - it’s often that way, yes, but it doesn’t have to be. And things can develop over time, too. It took me 30 years to get my first tattoo, I always thought they wouldn’t fit to me. Just take a look around, inform yourself and just see what feels good for you 
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Oh yeah. It’s not something I’d do personally. Strangely it’s something I associate to women, not to men. Maybe a bit old-school or too binary from me. My tattoo artist (she) has a split tongue and she showed me some tricks she could do with it, I love it.
That brings up a lot of discussion about what is body modification.
I had a laser eye surgery 10 years ago, is that a body mod? What about the laser hair removal sessions I have for the moment? Or the crowns covering my bad teeth.
And what about pacemakers, artificial limbs, cochlear implants, … all the medical things that are actually fixing or replacing things?
There is no fixed definition of body modification, body hacking, grinders, or transhumanism.
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Personally, I think so. I just had my [oral] labial frenulum and some gingiva removed which objectively feels like a body modification to me.
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I spend a lot of time thinking about that and discussing it with various people…
For me, it would be something you do (or get done) voluntarily (to differentiate it from things like genital mutilation), that has no medical reason (so no pacemakers or anything) and that alters the appearance of your body (even if it’s not always visible, like a tattoo in your lip or the likes).
edit: Oh, and it is done with the intention of altering your appearance - I just thought about self-harm, and while it still meets all the requirements above, I think it’s not bodymodification. The optical results are not the reason why it is done, but rather a side effect.
This is pretty broad. Philosophically speaking, I would include stuff like bodybuilding, cosmetic surgery, permanent hair removal (heey, I’m currently doing that, too! but with electricity, not with lasers ), teeth filing, skin brightening and all the other stuff - but when I talk about bodmod and its subculture, I usually think about tattoos, piercings, scars, split or removed body parts and subdermal implants. I often wondered why I make this distinction, because technically there is little difference between a boobjob and my silicone subdermals, but I think it’s mainly because of the subculture itself. Even if the reasons for doing it might ultimately be similar, there is a lot of difference between “freaks like me” and high society ladys with pumped up lips. But there is definitely a lot of grey between those poles…
What do you think about it? What feels like bodymod for you and what doesn’t?
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It’s difficult to answer. It’s not completely clear in my head though. 
For me, it’s more something that is not medically necessary to fix a failing or missing body part. So my tattoos, piercings, hair removal and implants are bodmod, for aesthetic or for, you know, just knowing that you have something different from the other people.
Bodybuilding, which I’m doing too, is not something I consider a bodmod, but just keeping my meat bag in good shape. Still with the goal to improve the way I look myself. I have a lot of issues with my self-image so I’m trying to improve it the best I possibly can. But you can’t beat aging unfortunately 
. My next steps would be some slight plastic surgery but cost is an issue.
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I’d like to add things that add functionality like RFID implants and magnets. But this definition is broad enough to include people who would never set foot inside of a tattoo parlor.
I would also exclude things that might not necessarily be required for medical reasons but that help reduce the impact of things that require medical attention. For example the use of plastic surgery after an accident even if it isn’t needed to keep someone alive.
I agree, however I’m not as familiar with the bodymod subculture. Maybe I should take a deeper dive into this. Besides, there’s a small gap between those of us who mostly want to implant technology and the traditional bodymod subculture.
However, humans are more complicated than that so you should probably expect to encounter a few heavily modified high society freaks that hang out at country club saunas…
Absolutely! I’m not 100% happy with my current definition, because I know it’s either to broad or to narrow
And it might be something that can’t be clearly defined in the end - still, it’s interesting to see what kind of ideas people have about it
I think for lots of people this is the main reason to do sports, and I don’t think that’s already bodymodification neccessarily. I was thinking about those massively pumped up people, where the sole reason for doing it is to push it to new extremes. I’m definitely not judging here! But I think that’s different from people who just want to stay healthy.
On the other hand, one could argue if the difference is similar to getting the typical lobe piercing (especially as a girl) vs. getting all possible spots of your body pierced
I’m vain enough to think about that, too, but currently my care routine does it’s job
I’d happily show you some websites to start with, but there is little left… if you just wanna see almost everything that might be possible (including tons of not very good ideas^^), bmezine.com is still a good spot, or maybe the Instagram profiles of some great artists…
Absolutely! And I wanna make clear that I don’t want to exclude anyone really… I’m happy people can do to their bodies what feels good and right for them, be it a complete transformation (I really like stuff like the Lizardman and such) or just a single little tattoo. And heavily modded people are no less complex than anyone else, some of them sporting seemingly unexpected hobbies… (like my artist being a total watch nerd - he almost became a watchmaker himself…)
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I have 2 PDF books about body modification, one is “Modcon - The secret world of extreme body modification” and the other “Meet Tommy - An exploration of Private Body Modification and Play” … damn there are some really extreme stuff! 
.
“Meet Tommy” is a play on words for “meatomy” … I let you Google this one if you’re not familiar with the word (NSFW 
)
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Oh yeah, I forgot about “normal” media
Another interesting book is “Opening up” - it’s a collection of interviews by Shannon Larratt, pretty interesting. And a great documentary from times long ago (cough^^) is Modify - lots of interviews, insight to lots of methods, all those fun people from the 80s / 90s.
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