One of the many things I've been asked over and over, and I know many of you have been too, is the ever infamous "did that hurt?" Many people are legitimately interested and want know what level of pain that others are willing to go through for a modification. Sometimes I have to assure people that it does not in fact continue to hurt even now and that I most likely experienced a level of pain far lower than what they are imagining it was. Other times the only way I can get someone to stop harassing me about it is to point out that they would never go up to a women and call her stupid for having a child because "it must have hurt so much." Having a child is a huge payoff for the pain felt during the birth, and while getting a modification is significantly less payoff than creating a human life you must also remember the pain of a piercing is likewise significantly less than the pain of childbirth.
At A Glance Author Uberkitty Contact [email protected] IAM Uberkitty When N/A I don't want to give everyone the idea that only people without modifications ask this because it is not just outsiders, I've spoken to many other modified individuals that ask me about the pain level I experienced during certain piercings, or while getting certain locations tattooed because it is something they are in the process of researching before undergoing it themselves.
Most of us continue to ask this despite the fact we know different people have vastly different pain tolerances and that there are many variables that can reduce or increase pain, such as the amount of sleep they got the night before, diet, exercise, and stress just to name a few. Even if pain could somehow be calibrated so that it felt exactly the same for everyone the question becomes could we even communicate what the sensation and severity was? I've tried to come up with unique and accurate descriptions to convey what different modifications felt like and I am still never satisfied I was able to get the point across correctly. I've almost given up on it now but I know I will continue to try so long as people continue to ask.
Thinking about this has led me to reexamine the position I held on one of the topics that comes up in this community with reasonable frequency: The use, or lack thereof, of anesthetics.
I've heard many people say over and over that pain is an important part of the modification process and that it is only through pain that we can earn the changes we make to ourselves. Some people have claimed that if it wasn't painful suddenly everyone would be modified and that would lessen the meaning of it all to those of us currently in the community. In effect, someone that has used an anesthetic has "cheated" and will be looked down on. I used to believe this but after analyzing the lack of reasons for it I've now come to see this as an almost elitist view. Who is to say we should force others to feel pain? Is it because that by doing so we can somehow be more proud of the fact we went through it "without help?"
As I said before, all of us have vastly different pain tolerances. I know some people that would, if it were ever possible, increase the amount of pain felt during any procedure because they find it sexually arousing. I know other people (and I fall into this category) that don't usually find pain sexual or even pleasant, but instead think it is very interesting if for no other reason than we don't get to feel it very often. They savor the novelty of pain and wouldn't want to do away with it. Many other people don't think pain is something to be savored on any level but instead view it as something to overcome, and through overcoming it have earned the modification. But you must remember that not every falls into one of these three categories. Some people don't feel they have anything to gain by experiencing pain, others fear it outright and that fear can cause them to hold back.
Are we really willing to say that someone with a terrible fear of pain should be required to feel it along side someone that finds it extremely enjoyable? I believe that if pain can be controlled everyone should have the option to do so. If you want to feel pain go ahead, that is your choice. If you choose to use an anesthetic to take the edge off then that should be your choice as well and you should never fell pressured to choose otherwise. The community as a whole should admit that it is possible for different people to gain or lose something from the experience of pain and it is just one of the many personal differences that we already manifest.