| At A Glance | |
| Author | broken_wings |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| IAM | broken_wings |
| When | It just happened |
By IAM: broken_wings
I am more than a little jealous of the prestigious members of the bmezine community that have interviews with interesting individuals. Rather than sit around waiting to have an interview fall from the sky, I scheduled one with my wonderful friend Chantal (also known as IAM: Child). I realize I lack the experience and pizzazz of some of the official interviews, but a girl's got to get her practice somewhere! Chantal is probably the most modified person I personally know, and she is a strong, smart, and beautiful individual. For these reasons and more I wanted to interview her. Perhaps in her you will see a part of yourself, or perhaps you will glimpse into the life of someone quite different than you. Thus concludes my intro to the interview. Let us begin.
Broken_wings: So Chantal, thanks for agreeing to this interview. For the sake of our readers (who don't know you as well as I do), could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Child: Crap you start with hard ones. Ok, umm, I'm 18; I've been a vegetarian for 8 years; I love music of all kinds and mods of all kinds. I'm happy and persistent. I dunno dude. That's a hard question.
Broken_wings: Don't worry that's fine. We just needed a bit of background. Why don't you tell me about the first body modification you've ever gotten?
Child: Umm the very first would be ear lobes when I was about 6 months old. But my very first mod by choice would be "cuts" in various places when I was about nine or ten.
Broken_wings: What is it about your "cuts" that makes you consider them a mod, instead of the product of self injury?
Child: I think they're both. I have conflicting emotions about them but I like the scars I have and they were/are a release for me the same way getting a piercing is.
Broken_wings: Would you say that that "release" is a main reason that you modify your body?
Child: No I don't think so.
Broken_wings: Why then?
Child: I think mostly I do it for looks. Some of it is a release; I like the pain of piercings. I have a tattoo that was pretty significant as far as "healing" goes, but it's mostly aesthetic.
Broken_wings: By changing your looks in these ways, do you change the way you feel about yourself?
Child: Definitely. I'm much more confident when I have visual facial piercings. I feel so much prettier, and so much more normal.
Broken_wings: But wouldn't visible body modification make your life harder? Especially in terms of interactions with other people.
Child: In some ways it has. I've lost a job because I refused to take out two piercings. Sometimes people can be kind of ignorant about it, but it's not a big deal really, there are other jobs and other people.
Broken_wings: Has it ever affected personal relationships of yours? (Including friendships and more.)
Child: Well my dad hates it, and actually isn't aware of most of my mods. He really makes it clear that he thinks it's a problem. And my mom has stopped talking to me for weeks at a time because of various piercings. They get over it though. Other than my parents everyone is generally unaffected by my mods.
Broken_wings: I'm sure you've encountered adverse reactions from time to time. I guess what I'm wondering is, what makes body modification worth the sacrifice? Whatever that sacrifice may be, it definitely doesn't make certain aspects of life easier.
Child: For me there isn't too much sacrifice. It doesn't make my life any harder really. My mods aren't that extreme and I don't know yet if they ever will be. I kind of think that "the hardships" of being a modified person are exaggerated a bit. Yah there's discrimination sometimes, but its not impossible to find a way around it.
Broken_wings: That's a very good point. Speaking of particulars, what are your current mods? Any plans for the future?
Child: Currently I have a 14ga septum, a 10ga tongue piercing, 14ga top and bottom navel, 8ga lobes, 8ga conch, 16ga tragus on each side, 14ga industrial on both sides, and a 10ga verticle hood. [My tattoos include] a castle tattoo on my lower back, the word karma, and the word lucky. My mods are always changing though I get new piercings every few months and tend to get the same ones over and over.
Broken_wings: Why do you think you do this?
Child: Because I can never decide on which ones I want to have. So I switch it up a lot.
Broken_wings: I see. So, it's about time I play the mom card. What happens when you have kids? Will you let them get piercings and tattoos?
Child: Sure. I hope that I'll be the kind of parent who will teach them properly about it and help them not get horrible tattoos. I wouldn't let them be careless about it. But I want my kids to be happy, and if tattoos make them happy I'm all for it.
Broken_wings: Would age be a factor?
Child: Well I wouldn't let my six year old get a tattoo and I probably wouldn't let a 15 year old get flash. Yah I'd say age would be a factor.
Broken_wings: You'll be a great mom, and I really hope I won't be seeing kindergarteners with tattoos. Ever. So we're talking getting older, growing up, settling down and having a family - reckon on having any regrets?
Child: Not mod wise, not yet. I have regrets in other areas of life, but not this one.
Broken_wings: I think we should end on that note. Thanks so much for letting me interview you!
Child: No prob, it was fun!
And that concludes the interview. Hopefully you gained new insight into something significantly important. Perhaps you and IAM: Child now have a special bond, a shared experience, or maybe it's a simple case of opposites attracting. It is my dearest wish that you read this with interest. If not, stick to the official interviews. I don't claim to be as fantastic (although the subject of my interview sure is!) The other interviews are truly the real deal, and I aspire to be as wonderously witty and thought-provoking as they are. (Practice, practice, practice!)
Thank-you for your patience.