Call me naive. Goddess knows that I may well be as I haven't been into body modifications very long; less than 6 months if I am to be truthful. The thought of a newbie writing an article might seem like a laughable prospect, but I figure I'll put my tuppence in and see how it turns out.
At A Glance Author natasha242 Contact [email protected] When N/A I happened upon BME's site while reading the body modification page on Wikipedia because I've recently started becoming interested in body modification, both mainstream piercings and tattoos. So I've looked around the site and like what I see so far. Under the heading of "News", I happened upon the Shapeshifter columns. This piques my interest because over the course of the last 6 years or so (depending on how you measure the starting point), I have transitioned from a male body to a female one, minus "The Surgery" as some may call it.
I've always have been a woman, even if my body didn't always fit the part. As a male-bodied child, I got mercilessly teased and regularly beaten for my femininity; the boys didn't want to play with such a fragile creature as I, and the girls scoffed at letting someone they perceived as a boy to play with them. It drastically escalated when, in my High School years, my family moved and I was transferred to a school in a conservative part of Missouri with "Farm" in the name.
In my prior life there was a lot of admiration for geekgirls and women who had tattoos and piercings. There was a sense of longing that I couldn't vocalize and if I had, would have resulted in more teasing and beatings. After 26 years of excuses and hiding things from myself, I started transition and in the process lost most of my family and friends because of it.
Personally, I hadn't seriously considered expressing myself through mods until my current body was more or less as I wanted it. Minus the single ear piercings earlier in my life, it started with this irrational need to get my navel pierced a few months ago. After that I had one tat done then a second one a month later. Currently let's just say that I'm planning on at least a couple more tats and a row of rings on one of my ears (to cover a malformation of that ear that I've had since birth).
While James' articles were definitely interesting - not to mention one hell of a good read - I have to wonder where the line is drawn between transitioning as a medical issue to keep one's sanity intact and utilizing body modification as an expression of self?
The first line of thinking in my mind is that hormonal and/or surgical transitioning is a medically necessary experience for those who feel dysphoria with their own bodies and are absolutely unable to function as their birth sex. Going through this process is a complicated thing to explain and has too many levels of change to list here. The most obvious changes to those around us ARE going to be the physical but, as James experienced, there is much more to it than just the body... than the physical modification in general. There are a LOT of social and mental adjustments to make as your body shifts to what feels proper to you, and it can take years to truly begin to feel some normalcy out of this experience.
Then the second line of thinking comes to the surface - in theory at least, transitioning IS a form of modification even though it IS a necessary thing for those whose dysphoria with their physical sex has become a constant problem. ALL of these involve expression of self and some form of social adjustment (especially for the more obvious mods such as those involving the face or head).
But where IS the line exactly? If you feel as if you're [insert gender here], should it be SEEN as a separate category outside of general body modification? Or is it all the same end result; an expression of self utilizing the body?
Honestly, I don't HAVE an answer that would be an all-purpose one applicable to all people. I'm still going on my own journey through life right now; finding comfort in my faith, working on my music and trying to gain confidence in the still-new social skills of being female-bodied and maturing this somewhat immature sense of self.
To be honest with you, I can't believe that there really IS a right or wrong answer on this topic. But I think it is something that each transgender person who is involved with the body mod community should think about for themselves. Is it the same or different... or does it even matter as long as you're being true to yourself?
You know, I think I like the last answer best!