64 thoughts on “BMEZINE forearm slash

  1. #2 It depends on the motivation behind it.
    Experimentation and body modification should be encouraged here of all places.

  2. I’m curious as to how they managed to cut like that with a utility knife. I’ve never been able to get any clean, deep cuts out of them. I find them far too blunt.

  3. The “INE” in “ZINE” looks oddly delicious, like it’s some sort of sugary and sticky substance.

  4. #5 I find utility knives to be sharp enough, and have had many reasonably deep, clean cuts from them. But then, I suppose there are several factors such as body part, strength etc.

  5. the best thing i have found are straight edge razors that you can get from the beauty supply and hair cutting shops, those are mean!! haha in a good way of course

  6. #2-so it’s okay to put holes in your body with needles and create large open wounds filled with ink, but this isn’t okay?

  7. I wouldn’t say regrettable, as those cuts do not look deep enough to scar, not noticably anyway.

  8. the “B” looks as though it healed nicely? I assume it was done at an earlier date.

    I see no difference in this than a scarification/branding/anything else you ever see on this site, ever. lol

  9. -on a side note, i feel a lot of the ‘hating’ on this site is most likely from outsourced links like Collegehumor and “crazy websites” that link back to here as a form of amusement- which is sort of sad.

  10. I agree with #14. The fact that we are linked to by the ‘normals’ (as they call themselves) as something to laugh at or pity DISGUSTS me and I’ve been finding FAR TOO MANY of those links on my trollings of the interweb lately.

  11. i agree with #2 tho because it give BMEZINE a bad name when viewed out of context which it certainly will be in the “normal world”

  12. LOL Stormy, for sure.
    I like it, probably won’t scar,
    and what’s a bit of blood play between friends?

    FYI: utility knives often have icky oils on them as lube which can really irritate the skin and tissues.

  13. same stuff as “nike” – “real madrid” – “coors” and such other BRANDING…

  14. evan – We’re viewed out of context and with derision in the plainskin world no matter what’s posted, be it extremely uncommon or be it a unicorn tattoo, or something inbetween (like this post which is kind of middle ground)… Some people are willing to enjoy all of us being different as a good thing and find community in that, and some people seek out the things that make us the same and over-compensate to make themselves feel less alone by following fashion and conformity and doing what’s expected of them by the majority (and some of them point out the differences in a minority in order to emphasize the parts of them that are group-similar).

  15. svejksoldjer – Not really — “nike”, “coors”, and so on are corporate entities that someone can at best be a fan of. “BMEzine” is a communally created entity that people are literally a part of in terms of making it what it is. It’s far more “owned” by the wearer than any corporate logo ever could be.

  16. i think the only problem i have with this is that compared to other posts on ModBlog its just not very creative or well thought out, i mean you see posts of branding and scarification for which the design might have taken a long time to consider or a well thought out and executed tattoo but this is just cutting a word into yourself with no real thought behind it.

  17. This reminds me of when my friend in school scratched his initials into his arm with a ruler (a plastic one at that).

    Hilarity did not ensue.

  18. #18 i actually care what the “normal world” thinks of bme. i would rather someone say “holy crap, that guy has a cutting of BMEZINE in his arm. it’s not something i’d get myself, but i can appreciate the beauty in it’s artform”, than have someone say “bmezine? eugh, i saw some stupid punk kid with BMEZINE scratched hastily in his arm. fucking freak.”

  19. Is it just me, or does this look really unsanitary? That was the first thing I thought when I saw it…

  20. I really don’t understand what is the hung up that some people seem to have with self-scarification. We’re not talking about cutting up your veins here or hurting yourself (unless you want the pain which is very fine too).

  21. I actually think it will scar. The BME certainly will, check out the first line of the M. I have/had a few cuts that deep over 2 years old and they’re still really prominent.

    Winter is going to suck ass though, they’ll go purple if he gets cold at all, which is creepy looking.

    If the B isn’t branded, then it’s actually fabulously neat.

  22. I agree with Fred. This makes it look like BME supports non-sterile, non-professional, and potentially dangerous home modification practices. People will see it and assume BME is a site that encourages kids to slash themselves up at home.

  23. I think it actually looks like it will scar. I have several scars on my body from cuts of that depth, so it will probably be noticeable.

    The only problem I have with this is that it doesn’t look very clean. Other than that… it’s a self-scarification in my view. “Bmezine” is not the sort of thing you’d carve in your arm in a moment of depression and despair, so this doesn’t come across – to me at least – as self-harm.

    I actually think it might look quite good when it’s healed up. The “BME” certainly looks very neat.

  24. This doesn’t look like something that should be on Modblog, and I’m judging this just on the quality of the image.. and the fact that there’s a box cutter being used.
    This just rubs me the wrong way.. it’s potentially triggering to people that self injure as well. As a former SI’er, it bugged me a bit.

  25. I thought the ‘B’ looked branded when i first looked at it as well…. I also thought that all body mods would be safe to share is too, you dont always know what works.

  26. I think it’s great when people get tattoos or scars of the bme logos (I’d love a bme skull myself), but this seems somewhat different to me. It’s like, “Hey! Look at me! BME is so cool! I am SO dedicated to BME, I carved it on my arm.” And it does look shoddy, like it was done at the back of science class or something.

  27. Edie….I think if you look at the galleries full of images you will quickly realize that BME does encourage this type of behavior…(Assuming you understand all risk involved) especially when getting into the bme hard gallery. I’m not saying it is right or wrong, it just is. Being that I am professional artist I discourage it for a million reasons obviously.

  28. I’m in two minds about this one…
    I can understand why people don’t like this – the potentially bad press for BME itself, generally making assumptions that we are all disgusting, socially retarded freaks, or something along that description.
    But to be honest, a body mod is a body mod, whether it’s DIY, done proffesionally, whether its a tattoo, piercing or scarification, we’re all on here for that reason, our love for body modification, and in my opinion, I see respect in everyone on here…just because we’re sharing an interest…oh my, that was quite sappy, for me anyways.

    =]

    Heh.

  29. This is uncool and should not be encouraged. Right on. There is art there is bod. mod. then there is this. I’m thinking it’s a kid in the 14 to 17 yr. old range. Of course, it’s a fact that I was doing that sort of think too. w/ Slayer

  30. Sorry, but to me there is nothing better than running my fingers over nicely healed scars….or for that matter, not so nicely healed. Something about adding any kind of texture to the skin is beautiful to me. Regardless of the reason or motivation behind it.

  31. i just get the impression sometimes that most people will like stuff posted here purely on the fact that it’s a mod. Then as soon as soemone says something negative, they’re accused of “not understanding” or something along those lines.

    i’m a big fan of flesh cuttings and brandings, when done the right way. This cutting is shit and looks like the sort of thing he/she is going to regret tomorrow.

    It looks like some bored school kid in math class who decided to get stabby with a box-cutter. The lettering’s skewed and uneven, the cutting depth seems horribly mismatched, and the fact there’s that dark-red stuff around the “zine” bit kinda makes me worried that there’s no sterilisation going on there.

    glorifying this mod should not be encouraged, imho.

  32. There seems to be a lot of people on here saying that this was not done “the right way”. Why? Because it isn’t the neatest scar in the world? Just because YOU prefer scars that are done neatly doesn’t mean it’s the “right way” to do it. And it certainly doesn’t mean that this scar was done “the wrong way”, as so many people are implying. Yes, it’s sloppy looking. But did you ever stop to think that maybe the person who did this likes sloppy looking scars? Personally, I like the way this looks.
    And as far as it being unsanitary… It’s really not that big a deal. I have an ink rubbing I did with a box cutter that I didn’t even clean. I didn’t have any India Ink or tattoo ink so I rubbed sharpie ink and pen ink into it (yes, I realize that such ink doesn’t last very long. I re-did it with proper ink later). It healed fine, and was never infected. The ink rubbing is healed now and it looks like crap, but ya know what? I love it. Some people like sloppy scars. And some people can heal really unsanitary mods. God knows I have.
    Anyway, my point is that some people like scars like this one. If this person likes the way it turned out (and he/she must like it thus far because he/she posted pictures of it), then who are you to say that it wasn’t “done right”? As long as they are happy with it, who cares what it looks like?

  33. Apart from it not looking so neat and the fact that like a staley knife has been used, I see nothing “wrong” with this mod as such.

    BME is clearly a big part of a lot of our lives and if someone wants something BME related tattooed/cut etc. into them then I see no problem with that :]

    Though there are better ways of going about it.

  34. This is a baffling cut. Was it done at different times? It looks like several different methods were used. And the red skin all around looks wrong for a fresh cut. Won’t scar much…I’d bet.

  35. I’m still waiting for the “maybe I shouldn’t have cut off both my hands” mod and its respective recycled modblog defense.

  36. The redness of the skin around the whole thing looks quite unhealthy– setting him (her?)self up for a nasty blood infection?

  37. OK so personally the cutting thing is not for me, and i can see why others do not like it, but at the end of th day a body mod is a body mod and the person who has this obviously had reasoning behind wanting it, as probably all of us do for our body mods, im sure a few of us have things that others would say “why?” to or that it was done wrong, but the main thing is….we wanted it!

  38. How is this any different than the Slipknot skin removal a few items down the page? I’ll tell you how… this doesn’t “look professional”. Are the mystic doors into the sacred hallway of “tolerance” only opened for those with *handsome* body mods? And here I thought there was only *one* double standard with tolerance, how intolerant of me! 😉

    Anyways, I like it. It reminds me of the kind of scratchings I used to do to myself.

  39. “How is this any different than the Slipknot skin removal a few items down the page? I’ll tell you how… this doesn’t “look professional”. Are the mystic doors into the sacred hallway of “tolerance” only opened for those with *handsome* body mods?”

    I don’t like that one either, mainly because I think Slipknot are awful, but at least it’s a professional piece. And it has nothing to do with how it “looks,” it has to do with sterility, health risks, safety factors, etc.

    You asking what the difference between the two is is like asking “Hey, what’s the difference between getting a tattoo at a clean studio from a well-reputed artist, and letting my buddy do one on me with a rusty safety pin and the ink from a Bic?”

    Hopefully the difference doesn’t need to be explained to you.

    If it does, all I can say is that I hope you’ve had your tetanus shots.

  40. It’s their arm. It’s their body. It’s their skin and their blood. They wanted to put that into it, who are you to say anything about it? If you don’t like it, think it looks bad, think it’s bad to show, then yanno, don’t look at it and don’t do it to yourself. Problem solved.

    It amazes and saddens me that people on a site devoted to modding and personal self-expression will turn on one of their own when it’s “not good enough” for their standards.

  41. I think several good points are being made here. On the one hand, this site espouses the belief that people should be able to decorate their bodies however they wish. On the other hand, this looks like no “body modification” I can think of. While I realise that some people like uneven, rough-looking scars, this doesn’t appear well planned or well (or very safely) executed. The fact that some people have commented that it doesn’t look like all of this will even scar reinforces that, and makes this appear less like a “body modification” than a “self-mutilation.” Still, if things like this were presented healed rather than fresh (or at least with before and after pictures) people might be less apt to dismiss them entirely. Who knows? Maybe this person had a sincere desire for a BME scar. Looking at this image, it’s hard to tell.

  42. An underlying issue in these debates is class. Many of those arguing that professional modifications are “better,” though they may vehemently say otherwise, are referring to the socioeconomic status associated with the modifications. The suggestion that the relative merits of the modifications have to do with professional practices (which are inconsistent and ad hoc) is often a red herring.

  43. what proof does anyone have that this wasn’t done in a sterile environment? That’s an assumption everyone is making based on the overall appearance of the photo.

  44. Posting of “the normal world” even sarcastically sets a very false binary relationship between those who would SELF-identify as “the body modification community” and those who do not. Levels of tolerance others personal practices are relative to personal tastes, culture, religion, upbringing, knowledge, past experience (both positive and negative), not to mention in instances like this a simple sense of aesthetic.

    Pretending that the “normals” as posters have referred them represent an entire generalization of individuals thinking is a ridiculous as suggesting that everyone who actively reads and/or participates with BME could be summarily understood as the same.

    I guess my point is that attitudes are spectral, rather than binary and I know that Shannon has discussed his concerns, comments and motivations regarding the posting of imagery of cutting, and ultimately I personally understand where he is coming from but based on my personal experience, don’t necessarily agree, in either case, I would not be so foolish as to suggest that my opinion was a matter of my normality or non-conformity to a supposed ultimate “normal”.

    /rant

  45. To me, having the utility knife in the photo just smacks of teen aged, emo, ‘iM kool i KuTZ mYsELf’ bull shit.

    Just my opinion.

    on the flip side, yay for BME fan art!

  46. #59, I’m not even sure I’d say “Yay for BME fan art.” I thought the point of modifications was to celebrate individuality. What’s individual about proclaiming yourself to be part of a group? Isn’t that the opposite of what BME is supposed to represent?

  47. Can we see some similarly crappy and unimaginative tattoos for people to defend as someone’s right to self-expression? I honestly think that would be an interesting debate.

    Oh, and to all of the people saying ‘BME represents x’ no it doesn’t. BME presents body modifications in all their many and varied forms, with a very very broad editorial agenda (and quite right too). As for BME being some kind of community project, see the line at the bottom of the page.

  48. LOL, Edie/#61 you make a great point. The people who are truly reveling in their individualism have nothing to do with this site or any other that promotes an agenda of community over individuality. “Join us and follow our rules so that you can show how independent you are….”

    Sounds sorta like brainwashing to me. But what do I know, I’m here posting too so I guess I’m no more of an “individual” than anyone else right? Posting one’s “personal journeys” on an internet site is base hypocrisy: The instant you communalize (is that even a word?) your experience it is no longer personal.

  49. Am I the only one that thinks the B is just a marker? And that subject was aiming for MEzinE? As in- “it’s all about ME”

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