It's a well known phrase. One I'm sure we're all acquainted with, and it came from the mouth of a Roman writer. "Fortes fortuna adiuvat!": Roughly translated, it means "Fortune favours the brave!" and was used as a rallying cry to Roman troops about to go into battle against an unseen or unknown enemy. It's something I remind myself of every morning when I'm about to leave the house and enter the world of the general public.
At A Glance Author Beermonster Contact [email protected] IAM Beermonster When N/A I never know what new abuse will be thrown my way. Will I be verbally abused, will people make cow noises at me, spit at me, threaten me, what? Whatever is in store for me, I know I have to go out there and face it, deal with it, and move on to the next day. It doesn't make the abuse any easier to deal with, but it does give me some insight into the mindset of this country. Conservative family values rule the moral majority, and it's a rare privilege to find someone who will genuinely accept you for who you are rather than making assumptions about you based on your appearances.
I often feel like a zoo exhibit. People stare, mutter, gawp, and giggle when I walk down the street. Some might say I've let myself in for it. I don't feel that way at all. That's like saying that I modify my body for the reactions of other people. I don't, I do it for me, for my own fulfillment, pleasure and personal gain.
But I'm stating the obvious here. These points of view have been aired over and over, and they don't get any fresher or newer for it. Nevertheless the point remains. I left my job so I could pierce my lip. I put myself in the firing line for ridicule, curses and condemnation both inside and outside of the home. Yet somehow this view remains amongst the unmodified majority that somehow I've chosen this path because I enjoy the reactions it provokes. And I'm sure there are many others out there with the same story. I'm also sure that it's going to get worse and worse as I continue to mould and evolve my body modifications until I attain my idea of beauty.
People often tell me I'm brave. "I could never get that done!"...."Oh my god, that must have hurt so much"...."WOW, that's a huge hole, it must have been agony"....."I couldn't, I'm not that brave!" etc etc are just a small selection of the comments I recieve on a daily basis. For me, it's not the pain that we put ourselves through to achieve the modification goal we desire that makes us brave. It's the facing of fears, breaking the ultimate human taboo ("Here's my body, slice it, burn it, pierce it, change it!") that makes us courageous. It's making ourselves a target for verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse and condemnation, and still going out there every day to face the world and make some small attempt to broaden the perspective of the humans we share our world with, explaining, sometimes justifying, and often failing to describe adequately (as far as the bigots are concerned) why we do the things we do that makes us brave.
My father told me a little while ago that I'll only succeed in life if I make more of an attempt to "blend in". My mother has mentioned in passing that my body modifications are an insult to both God and to her. "Isn't the body I gave you good enough????!!!" has been her trademark reaction since my first body mod (a tiny dolphin tattoo) four years ago. She asked me a question, and asked it again and again, and eventually I felt able to reply. "No, Mum, it's not good enough for me any more. It's not complete. I need more. I want more. I feel empty, like a blank canvas that needs to be painted on, adorned, sculpted and altered until it's perfect." Tears, hysteria and "When will it ever stop??" ensued. Well, that one's easy - people have been inking, implanting, branding, scarring and piercing themselves since time immemorial. In many tribal traditions the process of piercing and tattooing marks a passage into a new stage of life or maturity. The Dayak of Borneo keep adding tat toos to their bodies as long as their journeys and life lessons last. It takes years and years to accomodate such enormous lip plates as one sees on certain African and South American people. So to be honest, I can't see it ever stopping. It's a primitive art form, and one of the most beautiful after nature itself.
Will the people who object so strongly to this lifestyle ever come around to this way of thinking? Probably not. But I'm damned well going to keep on trying to educate people. And I know I'm not the only one. Facing the odds and trying to beat them. THERE'S the bravery that fortune will favour.