Antiscene
At A Glance Author Brodie Contact [email protected] IAM Strapping Young Lad When N/A I'm sure you've all seen the massive increase in some body modifications (mods) around the world over the last year or so. I know I have. Mods on the whole are becoming much more prevalent in modern day-to-day living. We see them walking down the street, in schools, in malls, in the work place, in restaurants and in many other public avenues of life. Certain mods are becoming almost ridiculously commonplace; eyebrow piercings, helix, labret, and of course the ever popular navel. I ask myself 'Why do people all of a sudden have a need to run out and have certain things done to them?' Sure there is the trend factor, but I think there are more clandestine, ironic, and perhaps hypocritically compelling forces involved. The desire to be different and the want to belong are two very strong factors in people today. We call this a community; for us, The BodMod Community. But when you get down to it, there is also The BodMod Scene. I am very much involved with body modification, but I do not like the idea of being a part of a scene. I think there is a difference between the BodMod Community, and the BodMod Scene. Let me expand on what I feel the anatomy of a scene is, and why it isn't something I generally appreciate.
People often use the term 'scene' to describe the social clique to which they belong, or feel they belong. I'm sure there is a plethora of excuses as to why this occurs, and perhaps some are even justifiable, however I consider the concept of the whole thing to be quite dissatisfying.
A person is an individual, and by default � alone. This is quite a spooky proposition to many since the human being is a social creature. We come equipped with the ability of memory and conscious awareness, which, among other things, creates sentiment. Sentimentality will either cultivate or depredate the associations we make with other people. Sentiment is the emotional, rather than rational, interpretation of past experience. It is neither logic nor instinct; it is not needed for survival and merely serves to blur that other pointless human ailment � morality. How we have been treated in the past, and how we have been raised by our parents tends to define how we come to see ourselves and the people around us. Our memories of praise and scorn shape our opinions and choices. We obey our parents as children because it's all we know, when we get older we obey their teachings because we honor and love them. Or perhaps you disobey their teachings because you abhor and despise th em. Most of us are well aware of the general parental resentment towards the concept of body modification. This creates a very compelling drive for many teenagers to use this scene to lash out in angst at their parents while at the same time feeling welcomed by the select few who just might understand. We seek in our companions and acquaintances that which will please us. The things that please us are the things that we have come to enjoy. The things we remember as being enjoyable are the things that made us smile in the past. Our past is what shapes us.
What does this have to do with the whole 'scene' thing? Everything. Scenes exist because, despite its horrible inevitability, people fear being alone. We have a need to share experiences and express opinion. To speak out and be heard. To be acknowledged. To be agreed with. To be revered. If we cannot be with the people who will do that, then we feel lost and unsure. We create scenes so like-minded people can band together and share like-minded opinions. We feel safe and important in these little groups because it is reminiscent of family. We're compelled to emulate the memory and associated feelings of unity. More often than not people will conform to the standards of a scene, not because they have something to offer, but because they need to belong to something. Most importantly, scenes exist to put people apart from everyone else. It creates the attitude of "I am this, and you are that". It mandates the perception of social status based on opinion and belief. It supports t he class system as well as an underlying discrimination. People join scenes to be with people like themselves because they're afraid of the unknown, which is anything other than oneself.
Often that feeling of comfort and relief turns into pride and elitism. Scenes stifle creativity because often times a person who feels associated with a particular scene will banish and disassociate everything that is outside of his/her scene. A person may feel guilty for liking something that is contradictory to some set of common law self-imposed rules. If you're sporting a forked tongue and/or a transdermal implanted mohawk, and you like Kenny-G, go with it. There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. But by that same token don't go liking Johnny Cash just because everyone else does, and you heard that Ring of Fire song in some Walkman commercial.
I'm all for hubs of information and comparative analysis based on personal experience, which is essentially what a community is. The BodMod Community has existed for many years. IAM is not the BodMod Community, it just happens to be where a lot of like-minded people converge. The BodMod Scene as it is has more or less only recently sprung into life. You now have people running out and doing all sorts of things to themselves in the name of being different so they can be a part of the group.
The irony here is that most people in the BodMod Community set out on a mission of self-exploration, self-improvement, physical beautification and spiritual enlightenment. These people seek to claim their bodies as their own, and make it into what they see fit. This is closely tied in with originality - not to be confused with uniqueness. The trendyness of the BodMod Scene is rampant and it permeates deeper than a lot of people like to think. It isn't just every little teenybopper or fashion queen running out and getting a 'belly button ring'; it isn't just every little hardcore kid running out and getting his/her eyebrows pierced. It is also all of these same old tribal tattoos, star tattoos (What do they mean? Why is it so cool to have one?), and generic sleeve tattoos that are done for the sake of showing off the fact that you have tattoos when there isn't a single mod anywhere else on the body.
We can go even deeper. With the number of hack practitioners on the rise you get people who have no idea what they're getting into wanting, and getting, sub and transdermal implants, and split tongues (Not to mention the various surgical procedures available). I am not saying that these things are bad in and of themselves. What is bad is the reasoning behind why these things are sometimes done. More and more people are having these piercings, tattoos, and extreme procedures done so they can be different. There is a fundamental difference between getting a mod because you are passionate about your body, and getting a mod out of an attempt to conform to the standards of nonconformity.
That is the difference between the community and the scene.
I think it is a dangerous thing when people begin to herd themselves together. Scenes create borders and segregation. People are either leaders or followers. Leaders tend to transcend the confines of a scene which is often created by their after effects. It's the followers who create the scene in their feeble efforts to emulate the original and the unique. Typically all they end up doing is bastardizing the purity of the principle to which they are subscribing. The leaders, as well as the majority of the BodMod Community can exist and pursue this lifestyle autonomously and without the need of other people's examples and precedents. Know what you like, but stand apart. Stand for yourself, not some belief. Having a navel piercing makes you no cooler than someone without one. Having your tongue split makes you no better than someone with a mere tongue stud. Don't be original for originality's sake; be original for your own sake. No one needs a scene to belong. All one needs is to be honest with oneself. If you never lie to yourself you will never need to lie to anyone else. If you are honest to yourself you can embrace and belong to so much more.
If you truly think that a navel piercing is a gorgeous and great thing to have, and you have no plan or want for anything else, than by all means get it. I implore everyone to find that which makes him or her happy and to exploit it. That being said I have to concede that I'm sure there are people that find just belonging to the BodMod Scene makes them happy. And that's okay for them.
Are you a member of the BodMod Community, or are you a part of a scene?