Body Modification: Rights & Responsibilities The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.

They are not out to get you. They already have you.

You have no rights. Rights are nothing more than political contrivances, pure fictions of the system. To believe you have rights is to fall prey to the deception that freedom is derived from government when in fact government exists only to curtail freedom. What rights are provided in a political system may very well be reflective of certain core beliefs or fundamental values of the systems creators put in place to prevent or restrict the system’s regulation of certain areas of activity but those rights exist only as creations of the system. To be truly free one must exist outside of and beyond the reach of any governmental system. Whether or not the current state of the world even allows for this as a possibility is highly debatable. Regardless, very few people are prepared for or even interested in such an existence. To be so free is to be in a very precarious position — it is an existence without the benefits of government in terms of security and infrastructure and one of perceived outcast. So precarious, in fact, that most people upon consideration would prefer to take a degree of security in trade for giving up all but those rights delineated by a government. Would you rather be utterly on your own and completely free or do you prefer having laws and police and hospitals and various agencies for regulation and certification? Could you accept a world where other people do just what they want regardless of your ethical disdain or distaste?

Rights are never absolute. As they are created by a system that system will always allow for (in practice) the restriction of those rights. There is no conceptual ideal so great as to stop the actual workings of the machine. Go ask any protester in the holding cell if his constitutional right to free speech kept the police from shackling him and dragging him downtown. It may, however, be what eventually gets him out of the cell via the judicial process. Of course, it may not as well. Many times the actual practice of exercising ones rights is strictly limited to an arguably responsible manner. The classic example for free speech is yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre. Furthermore, many systems will deny or further restrict the rights of those with a history of ‘irresponsible’ behavior such as convicted felons being denied voting rights or gun ownership.

So what about body modification? Is it a right? Can it be construed so as to be covered by an existing right in our system of government? Under what pretense does the government regulate and restrict our complete freedom to do what we want with our bodies?

Freedom of speech, via the First Amendment, is probably the most obvious route towards addressing body modification in a political context — at least in the United States. The First Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Through practice and interpretation “speech” has come to be seen in a broad context encompassing not just simple speech but also expression. Some have further decided to pro-actively interpret the intent of this amendment as a directive to the government not only to respect the free expression of the people but also to encourage a climate in which the people feel free to express themselves. It is through such policies that we can see the development of a common misconception about the First Amendment. It is meant only to ensure your right to make your speech and not to ensure that you will not be offended by the speech of others. However, in the aggressive efforts of government to satiate ‘squeaky wheels’ we can see them attempting to walk the fine line of restricting the speech of some in order to encourage the speech of others. Very often this is tied to issues of religion, with the dissenting non-believers demanding that all appearance of religious icons and expression be removed from public spaces and forums. I myself am not a believer in any religion and I do find the near constant bombardment I receive from many sources to be offensive. However, in the case of non-state funded or mandated expressions I am far happier putting up with the annoyance of their free speech than I would be attempting to walk on the border of hypocrisy by restricting their religious expressions in order to make me more comfortable in my expressions of non-belief*.

* I would like to note here though that so called ‘moments of silence’ or ‘silent meditation’ are complete bullshit. One need simply ask; ‘On what basis and authority is my speech being restricted to silence in favor of those around me who want to engage in silent prayer? Why am I not allowed to sing or dance or chatter per my want?’ If John wants to have a silent prayer beside me that is his right but it is not his right to have me forcibly silenced.

In terms of body modification, I think, it is important to realize that if you view your modifications as expressions to be covered by this ‘right’ then you must almost certainly also recognize the right of the person who calls you names to make their expressions of disapproval. And those voicing disapproval should keep in mind that voicing that disapproval comes at the cost of allowing the expression. Surely the ideal of creating an environment in which everyone can make personal expressions without fear or hostility or disapproval is a fine and noble goal but it is also one that fails the test of practicality in a world that contains diverse and often contradictory viewpoints. Furthermore, it should not be viewed as sufficient cause for the restriction of free speech as protected by the First Amendment. But this cuts both ways — just as you should not demand that your expressions through modification not be mocked under the First Amendment, those who disapprove should not be able to restrict your expressions simply because they find them distasteful.

And, in fact, this is not the traditional justification for such restrictions. The classic example, mentioned above, of screaming fire in a crowded theater is used to illustrate a situation in which the exercise of an individual’s right to free speech deserves to be restricted in that it creates and clear and present danger to the rest of the theatre goers who may be trampled or crushed in a rush to escape the fictitious fire. So, if body modification is a form of expression or speech as covered by the First Amendment then how can it be that the government can restrict or prohibit it via policies and legislation such as school piercing bans and the anti-tongue splitting bills popping up in many states.

Fifty-one percent of a nation can establish a totalitarian regime, suppress minorities and still remain democratic.

– Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

In the case of school bans the argument is often made that students, who are often minors, do not enjoy the full rights and benefits of a normal citizen because as such they do have the same responsibilities. As they are not legal adults there are many instances in which they are not held to the same standards, one example would be contract law, as would an adult and since they cannot incur the same penalties for violations, they are not allowed the benefits. Another position is that the school environment represents a context within which there are greater needs at play which supercede those rights. I believe that Shannon more than adequately illustrated how patently false this claim is in his article on school policies. As for the former position, I think it is worth considering the vast difference between something like free expression and things like driving and gun ownership in terms of the needs and benefits of restricting the youth.

As for legislation such as the anti-tongue splitting bills, I think that as I pointed out in my column on the then pending Illinois legislation, such bills can often be traced to prejudiced politicians attempting to make clearly unconstitutional laws to enforce their prejudices upon others while also doing some self-aggrandizing soap box politics. They look to exploit a sure media draw in the form of body modification in order to further their careers at the expense of the rights of their constituencies.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.

– Henry David Thoreau

Now let us get a little bit crazy.

The majority of modification related legislation has little to do with speech or expression in its content or intent. Along with many school level bans it is claimed that the motivation is one of public health and safety. And while many people, modified and not, will support such measures as requiring autoclave testing, gloves, courses in cross contamination and the like it remains to be shown that it is the responsibility and province of the government to put such regulations into place. Such regulations can make the process of getting tattoos or piercings safer but they are also very often used to promote the interests of certain parties or views (i.e. manufacturers of certain products being mandated into use, requiring certifications and memberships from specific associations, or effectively banning tattooing by requiring it be done by a doctor or with a doctor in attendance).

The government is not concerned with your health and well being as a matter of altruism. It is only concerned with your condition to the extent that a cattle rancher cares about the health of any individual or group of cows within his herd. And much like the rancher, the government takes action to regulate the procedures and hazards to which you are exposed because it owns you and feels that it is simply maintaining and protecting its property.

You are government property. They have laid claim to you as possession and currency. The slogans may read ‘Hearts and Minds’ but it is the ass they’re really after.

This is one of the fundamental aspects of the political world. People are resources just like metal deposits, forests, and so on. And similarly, governments lay claims based on their borders or historical precedent (the happenstance of the geography of your birth or your parents citizenship). If anything, people as citizens are the primary operating resource of competing governments. Look at the role of China in international politics over the last century and India’s increased presence — primarily based upon their large populations.

As such, governments are committed to the management and exploitation of this resource. Some may do so in a more caring way while others may use a Draconian efficiency. However, none will abide the population willfully making its own decisions on matters that affect their value as a resource. Think of the rancher analogy and imagine what steps would be taken towards cattle that display self-destructive or herd disruptive behavior. Now consider government attitudes and actions towards suicide, euthanasia, and to a lesser extent public declarations of self-ownership like many ritual body practices and body modification. Look at the abortion debates, the bottom line has always been one of the government is going to decide what women can legally do with their bodies. The argument of whether or not a procedure is allowed only logically follows after it is conceded that the government gets to make that choice and they get to make that choice because they are the ones that own the bodies.

I can only hope that this is as offensive to others as it is to me.

I see two basic ways of dealing with the situation as it stands.

1. In order to gain more rights and freedom regarding our bodies and body modification it must impressed upon the system the value of allowing such freedom. If it can be shown that body modification can be beneficial then it would behoove the system to allow, if not promote it.
2. The other option is to get enough people to deny the government’s position and claim to one’s body — to create a herd revolt. On an individual level, making such a denial could be very precarious and anyone choosing to do so should remember that a government is a system rather than a single entity and successfully navigating it on such a dangerous course is dependent upon breaking down and recognizing the individual components and people which make it up and exploiting them directly on that individual basis to the greatest possible extent.

As always, thank you for hanging in there with my rambling and making it to the end.

Lizardman Q & A Round II The soul, which to a reptile had been changed,   Along the valley hissing takes to flight,   And after him the other speaking sputters.

People seemed to enjoy the first Q & A — or at the very least they were inspired to come up with questions of their own. I got more than five times as many questions when I asked for submissions this time around. I went through and answered every one of them and then selected the ones I liked best at the moment — that moment being sometime late Sunday night wanting to finish up and watch Adult Swim on Cartoon Network (Aqua Teen Hunger Force!). If you asked a question and it isn’t here, don’t fear. I have it, and my response, saved for future use.

Let the games begin!

wldfire_1: What future modifications other than finishing the tattooing do you have planned in your transformation?

Finishing the tattooing is currently my main priority and other than that, some additional stretching of my piercings is the only definite plan left to be completed at this point. That said, I have a number of things under consideration and being researched, and I am always looking for future possibilities as they become available.

glider: When you sent me this email over four years ago (on the 11th of March, 1998), did you have any idea of the sheer immensity of what you’d help start?

I didn’t have clue it would go as far as it has gone and continues to go. I was still very much joking about armies of forked tongued people then while happily getting to show others a way towards enacting their desires.

Clearly you are a role model for children, being bright and articulate, as well as unique, engaging, and funny to them. Children tend to want to emulate their idols; having pursued a university education yourself, is this something you would recommend? Has being “the academic freak” been helpful?

The last thing I want to be is anyone’s idol. Influence is acceptable but idol is too much. Being ‘the academic freak’ has had some advantages. Primarily it provides me with a ‘degree’ (pun intended) of credibility in the eyes of many people who might otherwise simply dismiss me as a nut, loser, or whatever. It also makes for a nice media hook.

My own feelings towards academia or more specifically the educational system in the US are fairly mixed. I think it suffers from a lot of fundamental problems and that in many cases people are better off getting away from it as much as possible. I come from a family of educators and while I respect their efforts they often seem like Sisyphus.

If someone were to ask me if they should go to college or beyond I would have to say that it depends very heavily on what they really want to do and how much of a burden it will be — student loans should not be taken lightly. On the other hand, if you get a free ride (I got a full academic scholarship for my BA; my decision to take loans for graduate school was a mistake), take it and enjoy the experience.

Why haven’t you worked more aggressively to complete the tattooing on your face? I think if it was me, I’d have completed my face before anything else since that’s what the public sees.

Oddly enough it’s the “being seen” aspect that has slowed it down at times. Knowing that I would be in public would often tend to motivate me to not work on my face so as not to be putting a healing tattoo on display and be unshaven due to the healing process. I have tried to have the work done in a pattern in public areas in order to be a bit less piecemeal in appearance. Also, for awhile I was thinking of not tattooing my scalp and going with dyed hair but ultimately I did and that created a whole new area that needed to be done.

What made you decide on the bluish green, versus a bright yellow-green like the background of your IAM page?

Thanks to my tattooing I have become acutely aware of color perception variances and the impact of lighting — especially in photography. I chose a darker green because I liked the shade. It often appears a bit bluish in photos. One of the more common comments I get when people see me in person is that I am greener than they expected.

nootrope: Don’t you wish you were a blue lizard, man?

Nope.

Cork: Do you ever hope to authenticate your appearance by going into further details with the scales, making them more realistic, and less of just a simple representation?

Potentially, but I will be happy to get just the basic two tone coverage completed and then work from there.

juniper: What types of foods spark nostalgia for you? Songs? Images? Smells?

I am not a particularly nostalgic person but I know that part of my fondness for soft pretzels comes from pleasant childhood associations — the same for gummi bears and James Bond movies.

Chan: Which modification has been your favorite/most successful, aesthetically and spiritually?

Spiritually? Someone didn’t read my last column. As for the rest? Tongue splitting.

ServMe: Is there a certain lizard characteristic that you have decided not to pursue due to the danger involved, or because you wouldn’t like the outcome? In other words, will you try to reflect a lizard as much as possible, or only use those parts that are of interest to you?

I am only dealing with what interests me. It is a reptilian motif but obviously stylized a great deal.

Mars: Having walked around with you in London, it appears to me that people seem more accepting and less fearful of you than some one with maybe only 25% tattoo coverage and a few facial piercings. Why do you think that is?

It’s all in the presentation. Today it is a bit easier to attribute it to things like recognition but things today aren’t much different than before I became the media whore I am now. I have always said that the key is how you present yourself. Nine times out of ten when people treat you like a jerk it is not because you have modifications, it is because you are acting like jerk — walking around with some chip on your shoulder and not giving them the chance to be decent to you.

Another theory I have is that it is easier for people to look at my project as just that — a project. It has an obvious theme and that reflects a certain amount of consideration. Even though this is the case for many other people, it is not as obvious to the casual observer and so instead of thinking ‘creative person with an overall goal’ they think ‘punk’ or ‘thug’ who doesn’t give a damn.

Goblin: Say you’re given the opportunity to be a guest speaker at an elementary school. Can you sum up what your presentation would cover?

I should probably mention that my Mom is an elementary school teacher and I have friends with kids in this age group, so it isn’t horribly uncommon for me to visit an elementary school. To answer your question, there are lots of subjects I could address, but given free range to choose for myself I would very likely do something along the lines of appreciating differences. I used to teach swimming for three year olds and up, and kid’s classes at my old dojo. I really enjoy working with kids under the right circumstances and have received a good deal of praise for my work.

shawn.spc: I really enjoyed you on X-files. So, here’s my question &mdas Next time you come to Philly, I want you to get naked and run through Chinatown on a rampage, Godzilla style. Will you do it?

This is why I love Shawn — he’s a bastard (I wasn’t on the X-files).

I’ll do it if you run in front of me naked screaming ‘here lizard’ like that Taco Bell dog. Oh yeah, you pay the legal costs too.

saram: What words of advice would you have for someone interested in attempting a full-body transformation through body modification?

Get the rest of your life together first because the transformation will consume you otherwise. Plan, consider, revise, repeat. Find support before you begin. Think twice. Have a life besides the transformation project, in as much as it can take over your life at times the project itself is not a life or a solution.

jasonthe29th: How do you think you would feel mentally if you did not have the modifications you have today and how would your everyday life be different.

I think I would be able to find other ways to channel my ideas and drives since my modifications are not compulsive behaviors themselves but rather expressions of myself… Much like a painter who could no longer paint might turn to sculpting or composing. It is one thing to deny a particular method and another to deny the motivation. Probably the most significant change for me in daily life would be the lack of head turning, staring, and so on. Then again, I might get that anyway for doing something else that was bizarre!

Athena: What is the biggest way your philosophical background affects your outlook on life, both as a modified man and as “just Erik”?

I take philosophy very literally — love of wisdom. Wisdom for me is the practical interpretation and application of knowledge and experience. The experience of life, while an end in and of itself to me, can be further enhanced through the practice of philosophy.

volatile: When will you be done? How will you know?

I don’t know when, but when I am, I will know. I suspect it will be much like knowing when to walk away from a painting or a drawing.

Sparkle And Fade: What did you dress up as for Halloween as a child?

Something different every year. The one that stands out in my memory right now is Q-bert (with a big homemade paper-mache head).

Vanilla: If you weren’t “The Lizardman” what do you believe you would be doing right now (employment and career wise)?

I would probably still be trying to make it as an artist or performer of some sort even without the transformation. If that wasn’t making it, I would likely have gone back to night shifts at a warehouse — that gave me time and resources to do whatever I wanted.

bullgod2481: If you could, would you take anything back/change anything/done anything different?

Nothing significant.

wave: Read any good books lately? What’s on your want-to-read list?

I’m much less of a bookworm than I used to be — much of what I read now is reference or of a much shorter form (magazine articles, online essays, and so on). The books on my ‘to get to’ list are mainly instructional. The last thing I read (re-read actually) for pure pleasure was Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

lacerazor: What’s your middle name?

Michael.

quinnnchick: Will the Chicago Cubs win the World Series in our lifetime?

I wouldn’t mind seeing baseball abolished, thus negating this question. I don’t like the game.

anokfreak: What are your feelings towards, or opinions about people with very little modifications? For example the average person on the street with an eyebrow, or navel?

I wrote a whole column about them last month. You can’t really judge someone by the amount or type of modification they choose — develop hunches maybe, at best. It takes far more information and interaction for me to hold any real convictions or opinions about them.

Goat: If you were a rich man, would you biddy biddy biddy biddy biddy biddy biddy bum?

Probably not — but then again, maybe once just to see.

RenoSucks: This has nothing to do with the green, the tongue, or anything else really. I’d just like to know if you’re content with your life…maybe even happy?

I’d say I’m happy. And, quite frankly, that is what matters.

Meghan: When did you stop wearing underwear on a regular basis?

Between 1992 and 1993.

Nullius: Have you read the part in Dante’s Inferno (Canto XXV) where people are turned into reptiles and vice versa? When I read it I thought of you.

I’ve read it but more or less forgotten about that part. Just goes to show how classic I am. Heh.

Tammy: How do you feel when you see yourself on television? Do you even bother to watch the shows when they come on?

I generally watch to see how the finished product came out — you really can’t tell at all during the filming. I am hypercritical of myself in such situations and often more pre-occupied with how ‘useful’ I think the piece was than thinking about being on TV as something cool. Any nitwit can get on TV (most do — just watch your local news, RealTV, whatever) but to have it actually mean something in terms of being entertaining or informative is a challenge.

glider (again… heh): Along those lines, how do you feel being presented alongside furries? And how do furries respond to you?

I have no problem being presented alongside them. I just don’t want myself or them misrepresented for our respective ideas and beliefs. Most furries I have met have been very enthusiastic about my work and incredibly nice.

moof: Do you still want to finish your PhD at some point?

Not really. I don’t need or particularly desire someone else to ‘certify’ my work in that way. I’d take an honorary degree (I’ll take pretty much anything free) or I’d at least seriously consider finishing if they waived the costs.

Flat Stanley: Why is your girlfriend so damn cute?

‘Cause I know how to pick’em!

Char the magicalest gnome: Why is my cat looking at me like I’m food?

You are food.

Fidget: At what age do you think it’s appropriate to let kids start major body modifications; the ones that are not easily reversible like standard lobe piercings?

The real answer is that it varies from individual to individual. The socially practical answer is to set an arbitrary age which will be good enough for most. In order to avoid unnecessary hassles, I suggest people wait till at least eighteen but I have met a lot of people who weren’t close to ready in my opinion at thirty and some that were ahead of the game at fourteen.

Anomis: How do you feel about binary gender identification? Do you feel people can be both, none or a third gender?

To me gender is simply a matter of classification for convenience based on genetic make up — XX verus XY (versus XYY, etc). Anything beyond that is relative BS (that’s bullshit, not Bachelor of Science). The identification you are describing, I think, is not identifying with gender but with ascribed gender roles and possibly genital structure. To that I say — act as you want and change around your genitals as much as you like, and science will allow for. People can be whatever they want since it’s people that make up these things in the first place. To indelicately rip off Zen Buddism,

Q: Who makes the grass green?

A: You do.

robert: What inspired you to become what you are today?

Everything I have experienced up to this point. Seriously, I think looking for causation and singular causation in particular is very often a fruitless and often harmful process.

sheduma: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood that woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. I love that rhyme.

Also, how can I get my puppy to stop farting at night?

Butt plug? Or maybe a change in diet.

Pabloferreira: So far I’ve only heard about full body transformations similar to yours in the US. I know that there are some individuals who do take their body modifications pretty far in other regions but so far nothing like you or the Enigma. Do you know if there are similar individuals outside North America?

There are people outside of North America doing extreme modifications and extensive transformations. I think the main reason you may not being seeing them is that the US is pretty much the media spotlight of the world. We, collectively, send out our stories all over the world but intake very few others and even then we re-package them as our own. It is just far easier to get high level (world wide) coverage in the States.

eliz: What are your favorite season, favorite food, favorite TV show, favorite movie, and favorite book?

Depends on geography but most places it will be fall, pizza, The Simpsons, it varies with mood, and The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.

rwwarren_01: Who is your favorite musician, band, or musical group?

It’s dependent on mood, but I can almost always listen to anything by Rob Zombie, Tori Amos, Depeche Mode, Ministry, or Bach — and The Overture of 1812.

Erik Sprague because the world NEEDS freaks… Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more? Copyright © 2003 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published August 26th, 2003 by BMEzine.com LLC in Tweed, Ontario, Canada.

We are not engaged in a complicated joke disguised as a new religion. We are engaged in a new religion disguised as a complicated joke.

– Malaclypse the Younger

 

This column will be a little different. In terms of style, it is even more so than usual a collection of thoughts and reactions. It is very much a sort of revealing of the process and analysis which runs through my consciousness as it relates to the topics within. I present it hopefully as ‘food for thought’ because that is the sort of food which, while it cannot support life, can make living far more interesting.

I am not a religious person. I am not a spiritual person. I do not worship. I do not believe that I have a soul or spirit. I do not feel that my mind and body are in any significant way distinct from one another. I have simply decided, after research and experimentation — still ongoing of course — that the way in which I currently choose to view and functionally interact with the world does not require these things.

In addition, also from the BME Megasurvey, almost 90% of respondents are not a member of any religious groups involved in body modification. That leaves 10% that either have been or hope to be, although only half that number are actually currently involved in such a group.

These results left me a little bit surprised, and pleasantly so. I suppose because like many others I have been sold, to a large extent, the media version of body modification a la the modern primitive or seeker bent. I also often hear — or read on BME — about people connecting their modifications to a faith or spiritual outlook. Then again, many times it seems that the choice of terms (‘spiritual’) is very much based upon a broad and almost meaningless pop usage. Spirit derives from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath and thus breath of life. The Greek term would be psyche, standing for the principle of animation or life. These notions are most often developed in conjunction with a doctrine of soul. Broadly applied it could be related to anything regarding the experience of living, but it would generally presuppose a commitment to the idea of spirit or soul as “substance”. This idea is fundamental to many religious doctrines but also presents a host of problems so great that many thinkers have conceded dualism to be effectively bankrupt and instead try to focus on developing a notion of soul and spirit that is not separate to the body. Given the context in which the term is often placed I have to wonder if something like ‘life affirming’ might not be a less baggage-laden and equally accurate term for many to apply to their experiences.

Dualism of the mind-body, body-soul, or even mind-body-soul is to me very much like the notion of a flat earth. It has some strong intuitive appeals but eventually it fails my needs and requires unacceptable complications of explanation. I have no objections, however, to others believing in a flat earth or anything else that may suit them. When I hear ‘mind-body’ I think of it in the same relationship as, say, ‘liver-body’.

God, gods, Buddha, Allah, Vishnu, bigfoot, UFOs, leprechauns, and the Trix Rabbit — believe in whatever you would like. However, do not expect me to share your beliefs or accept your implication that my experience of life is any less vibrant or fulfilling for not sharing them. The idea that you can make qualitative judgments of other people’s experiences for them is both arrogant and absurd. While you are at it, you can attempt to convince me that the taste I detestfully experience when I eat spinach is one that is wonderful to me.

That which inspires religious or spiritual fervor in others is not missing in my life. I simply experience things through a different lens. To me such things are not evidence of the glory of a greater being or giving me contact with some universal, unifying force. They are, however, glorious life affirming experiences which further impress upon me the wonders which I can come to know.

I do not seek transcendence of body. I seek to revel in body. To me it is a marvelous and nearly unlimited thing and I am far more interested in developing it, pushing it, driving it, and ultimately exploring its full potential. I sometimes wonder if those who seek transcendence are not in some way afraid what their bodies are capable of doing, and of themselves. Is their transcendence another way of explaining experience or fleeing from the vastness of experience which is possible?

In fact, transcendence is meaningless to me. In my view of myself as a whole there is no going beyond. All is contained within. This does not mean I have any more or less than those of different views but that I explain the experiences differently. For example, I have many times experienced by induction and spontaneously all of the sensations often described as OBE (out-of-body-experience), both before and after developing my current views. I would say now that OBE is a misnomer. Of course, I don’t agree with the definition of body that is inherent in that description to begin with.

Body modification and ritual are a very large and important part of how I choose to learn about and explore my world. I have a great deal of respect for those people and cultures that have come before and continue on around me in these varied practices. They can teach me a great deal and lead me to a great many possibilities. However, I am at all times on guard to try to be aware of and separate out the necessary from the personal and cultural artifacts. Body modification describes a set of procedures and practices. They need not be religious or spiritual but can be and are often used as such. This means that the religious or spiritual component is one that is added by the individual or group as a function of their beliefs. Your experience with body modification is your own and need not involve the religious or spiritual beliefs of others. At least as careful, perhaps more so for many, as one is in choosing what foods they consume, so should one be with the ideas and beliefs one intakes.

PS. As soon as possible, for general mental nutrition, obtain and read the essay Religion for the Hell of it by Robert Anton Wilson. You can also find it re-printed in his book Coincidance. Among other things it contains the essential solution to an effective Church of Body Modification — even for us non-religious, non-spiritual types.

Erik Sprague

because the world NEEDS freaks…

Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more?

Copyright © 2003 BMEZINE.COM. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published August 14th, 2003 by BMEZINE.COM in Tweed, Ontario, Canada.

Lizardman Q & A PART ONE

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.

– Sir Cecil Beaton

I get asked a lot of questions — in interviews, walking down the street, online, and so on. It is pretty much a near constant fact of daily life for me that someone will be asking me about something. And while a great deal of the questions are predictable and repetitive, I do catch my fair share from ‘somewhere out in left field.’

Earlier this month I decided to really open the floodgates as part of a new regular monthly feature for Through the Modified Looking Glass and asked IAM members to send me absolutely any question to which they would like to know my response. Hopefully you will find it as entertaining to read as it was for me to write. And now, the premiere edition of Lizardman Q & A!

deadinblood: They say there are two things humans know are going to happen to them in life; one being puberty, the other death [Editor’s note: I thought that was “death and taxes”?]. Most people are afraid of death — even to talk about it. Are you afraid of death?

I don’t think puberty is as certain as death — many die long before reaching it. And while it may not be as conscious a fear, I think people experience a great deal of fear and anxiety when approaching and experiencing puberty. As for the certainty of death, I know and have read a lot of immortalist literature and while I personally feel that there is a large amount of “pipe dreaming” in their thinking I do find many of their ideas to be inspiring — the most basic of which is that we should not simply accept death as inevitable. I do think though that it is very likely that I will die and that doesn’t scare me. I imagine that my death will be my final experience and thus I only hope I can make it magnificent.

stretched_thomas: What are your views on the “fat people disorder”? Why are we fat?

I think different fat people are fat for different reasons — but I think a great deal more of it can be traced to will (or lack thereof) than most would want to accept or find ‘politically correct’. For those having a hard time translating that: I think a lot of fat people are fat because they eat too damn much ‘bad’ food and exercise too damn little. I will accept alternate explanations on a case-by-case basis only when accompanied by a doctor’s note — which should detail not only your condition but also why you are so particularly bad at controlling it.

TheDiabolicSon: A friend of mine says robots going to replace human teachers in schools in the future. What do you think of that?

I think that in terms of effectiveness robots will not be able to do the work that humans can. In my experience good teaching includes a very connective, emotive, and, well, ‘human’ quality — but that doesn’t mean that this approach will not be tried. If such robots become cost effective (and possible) then expect them to be the norm — not unlike the babysitters that masquerade as teachers in many of our schools currently. I would personally never allow anyone I cared about to be solely machine educated.

CrazedInk: Has being part of acts such as the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow helped people watching your acts view the modified in better terms or has it been negative — that is, thinking that we’re all weird and freaks and belong in sideshows?

What’s wrong with the sideshow world? It is caring and supportive of its members and very fun and entertaining. As far as whether or not such shows contribute or detract from the general public’s respect for the modified… the answer is that it depends on the show and the viewer. A good performance demands and earns respect. I have known many people to have their first experiences of the modified be through such shows and those experiences were very positive when the show they saw was a good one. Of course, there are those who just always seems to react badly and I don’t think you can blame the shows — these are people that would have hated mods whether they saw them at a rock show or in an art gallery or anywhere else.

rat_xxx: Do people ever pull away their children when you go to the supermarket?

Very rarely. More often I get children who react in a positive and curious manner to my appearance who are then shuffled off by their parents out of embarrassment. Too bad really, since I will gladly play and talk with an inquisitive kid rather than have their parents stifle them like that.

Majik: I would like to know The Lizardman’s views on marijuana.

The history of legislation as relates to this plant is rife with politics that defy common sense — particularly in the use of hemp fiber and its many industrial applications (as pro-legalization people are often prone to point out, many of the founding fathers farmed hemp as a cash crop) that have no connection whatsoever with marijuana as a drug. As a drug I think it is no better or worse than any other and what comes of its use is far more a function of the user than the substance.

If you’re looking for an admission — yes, I have inhaled many times and enjoyed it. Overall, I can take it or leave it and current prevailing laws in the U.S. make it easier to leave it and avoid unnecessary hassles.

wldfire_1: If you ever have children do you worry what they will think? Or if it will make it hard for them to grow up with a father who looks like you?

I don’t plan on having any children but looking at it hypothetically I think that having me as a father, in terms of my appearance, would likely provide for both additional difficulties and privileges. It certainly wouldn’t deter me. I have other reasons for not wanting to be a parent.

Goat: What crazy stuff did you do when you were in college?

Why just while I was in college? Anyway, it’s more than I could possibly account for in anything less than a book — and that’s just the stuff I remember. Also, I’d have to check the statute of limitations on some things to make sure I wasn’t endangering myself.

Meghan: Over the course of our almost four years together, how much money have you spent on Cinnabons for me?

More than I should have, but I love you anyway.

Counterpunch: Do you feel the end of this planet is near? And when you first started modifying your body did you know that you would go as far as you have, and at what point did you decide to become the Lizardman? Have you ever got into a physical fight because of your appearance?

To answer your questions in order, no, but human life on this planet is always on the brink of ending in many possible ways.

I designed my transformation extensively before beginning it and before that I knew that if I were to undertake these sorts of modifications I would want nothing less than a full body concept. The idea and appearance of “Lizardman” really started to come together from ’93 to ’95 but I didn’t take that name per se until the end of 1998.

I have never fought anyone due to my appearance but I have defended myself — mostly in a pre-emptive fashion by ‘letting people know’ that they didn’t really want to fight with me. [Editor’s note: The Lizardman is an experienced martial arts expert in shito-ryu and shotokan-ryu karate, and definitely not someone you’d want to mess with!]

Numzy: Why a lizard? Why not a different animal?

I like lizards aesthetically and it was an obvious thematic amalgamation of all my procedures.

FREE: Boxers or briefs?

I am not a slave to underwear.

glider: As someone who’s now moving from personal friend of many people here (i.e. “on the same level”) to genuine “celebrity status”, how does that change your perception of the people you deal with every day, as well as your IAM page and personal blog in general?

I genuinely don’t think of myself as a celebrity. However, there are times when having that self-image is actually beneficial but I have to consciously work to maintain and project it.

I don’t think my perception of those I deal with every day has significantly changed — it is more a matter of an increased wariness towards new people. There is often a slight uneasiness about them attempting to use you or only wanting to attempt to profit from an association with you. But, I suspect that these sorts of people often greatly overestimate my value in this respect.

As for my public postings, I’ll admit to having edited myself a bit in entries in the past, but experience is showing me now that I tend to get a better response when I don’t tread so lightly.

obmf: What is the meaning of life? Also, all things equal (cost, upkeep, feeding, and so on), would you rather have a helper monkey, or a helper robot?

I am not at all convinced that life has a meaning and that the question isn’t simply an artifact of the defects of language. Meaning to me is primarily representative of part of the process by which we use symbols of various sorts to represent, and not a property of things. Also, searching for a meaning to life seems to very heavily imply that life is a more like a noun than a verb and my position would be the latter rather than the former.

As to your second question, I have to go with the robot — mainly for customization of appearance and design. If I so desired I could make it a robot monkey.

twitichingfetus: What is your stance on abortion?

I feel no more need or right to tell a woman what to do with her reproductive processes than I think anyone else should about how I cut my hair. Despite romanticized notions and expressions of couples being pregnant and the like, it is ultimately only that individual carrying the fetus that has any real claim to a decision regarding the pregnancy and then only that particular pregnancy. I certainly recognize that others will make claims beyond the individual based on moral and societal prerogatives but I find that I will almost universally deny the premises of those claims when presented.

And there you have it. If you have a question you would like to see me answer, watch my IAM page for the next time I request them. If I didn’t answer your question this time, feel free to re-send it then as well — it might have simply been a space or timing issue that kept it out. And finally, if I did answer your question but you didn’t like the answer — you can ask it again… I have been known to change my mind occasionally.

Erik Sprague because the world NEEDS freaks… Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more? Copyright © 2003 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published July 23rd, 2003 by BMEzine.com LLC in Tweed, Ontario, Canada.

The Benefits of Being Trendy

Art produces ugly things which frequently become beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.

– Jean Cocteau

They say, “You have to take the bad with the good.” Now, we all know that they say a lot of things – and a lot of what they say is inane crap. I bring up this particular adage though, because when it comes to the popularity or so-called “trendiness” of body modification all I tend to hear are negatives. It comes from both sides – those who are aghast that people do these sorts of things fear a new wave of modified people, and the already modified are mortified that their cool, unique status is about to be threatened, or that their deeply personal journey that the “mod” represents will simply be mistaken as joining in with the latest fad.

Part of the problem, as usual, comes from the media that applies the label of trend or fad. Their doing so is usually a calculated move to create or increase the impact of a story – just look at the recent coverage of tongue splitting. Tongue splitting is not even remotely a fad or a trend in the world, in the west, or even among people who go so far as to get tattoos and piercings. At best, you might say that tongue splitting is approaching the level of a trend among those people who have a disposition towards “heavy mods”. But what makes a better sounding story? A couple random people doing what they want to make themselves happier or a rush of people mindlessly running to get their tongues cleaved? The latter makes a story, which combined with a good image or two, that is sure to draw attention and that is what it is all about: ratings.

Commercial media is based upon how many people they can get to look at their product and subsequently the ads within, which pays for the whole enterprise. But there is an upside. It is possible, I’d even say likely, that out of all the people who saw the coverage of tongue splitting that there were at least one or two who saw something that they could identify with, perhaps had even been dreaming of, and now know that they can achieve. If just one person benefits in this manner then I, for one, would be willing to go through the all the hassle and headaches over and over again tenfold.

By way of extension, we can apply such a loose model of exposure to most “mods”. Think about how you first came to know of tattooing, body piercing, or whatever else might be your fancy. If you have come into any of these “scenes”, especially in the last decade or so, then it is very likely that your initial exposure was due in some part to the increasing popularity of them. Moreover, the primary reason you currently have such a large selection of quality manufacturers of jewelry and equipment, qualified artists, and other resources is because of this popularity (i.e. trendiness)*.

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* I know, it also spawns the glut of anything for a buck shops, but — “You have to take the bad with the good.” Heh….

It was not long ago that finding jewelry, good or no, larger than 14 gauge was an incredibly frustrating search and the idea of something like pocketing was nowhere to be found. The necessary fuel for the creative fire of the people who pioneer new designs and procedures to offer us is an industry capable of supporting them. Before you bemoan the “belly pierced and quarter sized butterfly tattoo on her butt” chick imitating her favorite pop star remember that she is one of legions and it is their dollars that help make this industry. Shops cannot survive off only the heavy and unique procedures and practitioners cannot simply jump in at an advanced level – good piercers get good by doing lots of piercings, and good tattoo artists get their basics down churning out flash. Every little flash piece from butterfly to Taz and every blinking light navel barbell are dollars in the coffers and experience at work that go towards potentially improving and evolving the industry and community. Without recent trends your current piercing would probably have been much more expensive, done by a less experienced piercer, and used lower quality jewelry. When the trends and fads are too thin to produce new customers the businesses fall off and it is usually the better shops that take the first hits because of their unwillingness to cut costs on the quality they provide to you in terms of staff and product.

Instead of laughing at “trendy chick” or whoever else – thank them and kindly suggest that they think about adding to their collection. And who knows, perhaps in going through the process of getting that fashion driven “mod” the person may well learn something unexpected or find a deeper meaning and motivation. That butterfly could grow into a bodysuit (we all start somewhere), but that first step might not have happened if not for the pop-star tattoo trend.

So what do you do when everybody else starts getting the up-till-now rare “mod” that you chose because it’s the latest trend? My advice: Get over it. If you only got something done to be different from those who didn’t have it then you are just as shallow, if not worse, than those who run and get the latest thing their idol had done. Odds are you weren’t the first and only person to have it anyway – so why is it ok for you to be one among tens or hundreds, but not one among thousands? We are all already unique individuals by nature without making any effort whatsoever. Doing something just to try and be different is rather silly and redundant to the facts. Ask yourself, “If everybody else had it, would I still want it and why?” Here’s another one of those things they say, “Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to too.” To this I say, “Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

Are you afraid of being one of the crowd or being perceived as one of the crowd? The “crowd” is an illusion – everybody doing it has their own personal feelings and motivations for what they are doing – the differences may not be great but they are there. So, really, you can’t be one of the crowd but you can be seen as such. And this seems to be the most common complaint among the “anti-trendy modified”. These are the people who are upset that their personally significant “mods” will be viewed as just pop trends. Again: Get over it. People who look at you and think you got your piercing or whatever because the flavor of the moment rock star has it done weren’t ever going to recognize the deeply personal or spiritual event or outlook it represents to you anyway. In fact, it is rather hard to do this in any situation unless you explicitly tell the person what it means to you. It may be annoying that they make an assumption that you find distasteful but that’s life and it is going to happen a lot – people make assumptions, trend or no trend. How am I supposed to guess that your butterfly is symbolic of a reclamation and rebirth after abuse and addiction instead of something you and your sorority sisters did on a dare just by looking at it?!

I know and know of a few people who have removed or reversed things because they became popular. I sit here typing this and laughing at such people. To me, your “mods” could not have meant as much to you as you claimed if they can be given up simply because others had their own as well. Beyond which, I choose to laugh because the alternative is to cry at your lack of understanding. Your ideas about modification may be deeply spiritual or have a greater context but that doesn’t have to be so for everyone. You can stretch your lobes for enlightenment but let others stretch them for looks or just for fun. Why should it matter if they aren’t approaching modification with your particular frame of reverence? Feel free to be annoyed if you want but if you actually feel that way about it I would think that you would keep yours and educate others rather than giving up completely. I don’t see the devotee among Jews giving up circumcision and the bris, Hindus no longer wearing nostril piercings, or any other number of peoples stopping their modification practices just because other people in the world may start doing them for other reasons than their religiously or spiritually motivated ones.

Finally, perhaps the greatest benefit of body modification (atypical, of course – per my earlier columns) being trendy is simply a greater level of acceptance. If enough people are doing something that it can be rightfully called a fad or a trend then that means a lot of people are doing it. The more people doing it, the more likely it is to gain acceptance. Look at men piercing their ears over the last couple decades. People like myself with so called extreme and heavy mods are not the ones who can or will make body modification accepted at large. We can do our part as ambassadors of a sort, but ultimately it is the trend followers that will bring body modification home to their families and fight on the front lines for its acceptance. Mom and Dad can sit home and watch me on TV, perhaps even enjoying it, without ever being threatened or changing their dislike for modification but when their son or daughter comes home with their new “mod” then the real process begins. They face possibly an even greater struggle than those who might shun them for their fad – which would you think is easier to fall back upon for support in such times: A vision or belief based on body modification or just wanting to be allowed to look a certain way?

Erik Sprague because the world NEEDS freaks… Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more? Copyright © 2003 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published July 8th, 2003 by BMEzine.com LLC in Tweed, Ontario, Canada.