If you're reading this, there's a good chance that, at some point in the past, someone has looked at one of your mods and thought about, maybe even commented on, mutilation. It may have been simply someone seeing a couple "standard" ear piercings, or maybe a full facial tattoo, but it seems that some people, even people within the modification community, are very quick to judge the "mutilation" of others.
At A Glance Author wlfdrgn Contact [email protected] IAM wlfdrgn When N/A Mutilation, or self-harm, as it's becoming known, is a serious problem. Aside from the underlying psychological issues which cause these behaviors, the behaviors themselves can be very dangerous, leading to serious social, legal, and medical consequences, or even leading to death. At a very minimum, self-harmers rarely actually fix any of the underlying problems through their self-inflicted injuries, leading them to continue these behaviors, or even escalate them into more serious self-harm, sometimes even suicide.
The biggest problem we're facing in determining exactly who's participating in modification and who's participating in mutilation is that there's no clear definition to distinguish between the two. How many of us have seen heavily tattooed people looking at (usually) younger people with a simple eyebrow ring and seen the look of disgust on their faces? The heavily tattooed person, with modifications which essentially can not be removed is very comfortable with tattoos, and clearly considers them to be body modification and fully acceptable. He looks at the person with a tiny piercing, though, and despite the fact that the piercing can be removed at any time without leaving a mark, since he's not personally familiar with, or at least not personally comfortable with, piercings, he considers it mutilation. Of course, he's wrong.
So when is it right to call something mutilation? It's a difficult call, but there are some things which can help to identify self-harm-based behaviors, as opposed to body modifications which you're just not comfortable with. There are also some things which have no bearing whatsoever on whether it's mutilation or not:
Things that don't matter
- Who did it: Who performed a modification is irrelevant to whether or not it's mutilation. Yes, if you have no experience the technical quality of the work may not be as good as if you go to a professional, but the modification could quite likely have much more personal significance to you if done by yourself, your partner, or a close friend.
- Technical quality: Who hasn't had a crooked piercing? Most of us has had the badly done tattoo at one point in our lives, too. Maybe you did it yourself, or the person you went to didn't do a very good job, or maybe it just didn't heal all that well. In any case, it's something that happens. Poor quality may sometimes be a sign of a bad choice of artists or rotten aftercare, but it's not a sign of mutilation.
- Where is it: There's no question that placement of a mod is important, and some placements of some mods can definitely be very career-limiting. Large, stretched facial piercings or tattoos which aren't easily concealed can impose some limitations on career choices, but are at worst simply bad choices and, properly thought out, are not a problem at all.
- What is it: Much like where the mod is, what it is also doesn't really make much difference in terms of whether it's mutilation or modification. A skull tattoo on a hand isn't necessarily any more indicative of a problem than a rose on a hand. It just shows different tastes.
- What kind of modification is it: Someone covered with tattoos may consider all piercings to be mutilation. Someone with piercings may consider cutting or branding to be mutilation. Someone heavily branded may consider all surgical mods to be mutilation. None are mutilation by nature, but all can be mutilation.
- What does it say to the world: A swastika means to many things like white supremacy, or brings back memories of the Third Reich of Nazi Germany. To others, though, it means something much older. It symbolizes peace. A tattoo which says, "Born to Lose" or "Self Hate" probably indicates a rather negative self-worth to most of the world. To the wearer, though, it may indicate that, no matter what the world throws at him, he's strong enough to get through it and come out alive. Also, don't discount the possibility that the tattoo is a joke, or was done purely for shock value. Many are.
Things that do matter
- What does it mean: A really shitty tattoo that was done to commemorate the death of a child can have a lot more meaning that a beautifully done tattoo that costs thousands of dollars. The same goes for any mod. If a modification has meaning to it's wearer, even if the wearer may not be able to express that meaning, it's not mutilation.
- What was the motivation: Did the person get the mod for a good reason? Does it symbolize a part of his or her life? Is it to cover up a nasty scar? Is it done simply because it looks good? If there's a positive reason, it's not mutilation. If the motivation was negative, though, for example to piss off parents, then it's probably mutilation. Done due to boredom is a gray area. If the person's always wanted nipple piercings and got bored one day and got them, then that's modification. If the person is bored and just starts slashing on his or her arm, that's quite likely mutilation.
- Was it planned: Mutilation seems to almost always be very impromptu. A cutting on an arm which was planned out for days, weeks, or even months, which underwent repeated revisions, being redrawn over and over, which was done after properly cleaning the skin, using sterile scalpel blades, with sterile gauze pads close at hand to control bleeding, that cutting is not likely to be self-harm.
- What context was it done in: You may not like it, but many ceremonies, rituals, etc do involve permanent marks. A male circumcision, also known in most of the world as ritual genital mutilation, is perfectly acceptable to most people when done for religious or medical reasons. Driving nails through your hands and feet may seem to be mutilation, until you realize that if it was done in the Philippines around Good Friday, it was almost certainly done as a sign of religious faith. Many other situations, including, but certainly not limited to, sadomasochism, consensual slavery, etc, also often involve permanent marks which, while you may think they're mutilation, the wearer may consider reminiscent of one of the most important times of his or her life, and they wouldn't trade them for the anything.
- How does it feel: When the wearer looks at it, what's the feeling? Does he remember the day, years ago, sitting in his bedroom, when he and his three closest friend all cut the same mark on their chests, bled all over the room, and felt closer than they'd ever felt in their lives, or does he remember the night he ran to his room crying, took out a knife and started slashing away?
- What effect did it have:Even if the person ran to his room crying and started slashing away with a knife, was there a positive outcome? Did it help solve the problem? Did it help heal wounds inside? Was it the last event in a long sequence that ultimately led him to changes in his life? Did it trigger his entry into therapy, stop his parents from abusing him, made him realize he's worth loving after all, etc? If so, even something negative can become something positive, reminding the person that he's stronger than he ever thought possible.
Ultimately, what all this means is that, just looking, it's nearly impossible to tell if it's mutilation or modification. To truly know which it is, you have to actually look deeper. You have to look at the motivation. You have to understand the meaning not to you, but to the wearer. When looking at the modifications others have chosen for themselves, you must keep an open mind, not just an open mouth. You need to look at the mods of others as you'd like others to look at yours. If you don't understand, ask, but do it respectfully. Most of us are very willing to talk at length about our mods and what they mean to us. Instead of disgust, you may find deep respect, instead.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a mental health professional and the opinions stated here are my own. They have been developed over the years from contact with other members of the body modification community, as well as in discussions with many behavioral health professionals who have come to me for information on body modification.