I am not against body modification, anything that changes one’s anatomy or appearance, from piercings to breast implants to foot binding, if done in moderation.  But, on the other hand, it’s not my body so if someone wants to use their body as a canvas and get every square inch of skin tattooed and pierced, well, fine.  Go for it.  My limit was pierced ears because I got tired of losing one earring. 

There are some things that are a little unusual and nauseating like sclera tattoos – injecting color into the white of the eyeball.  You’re probably wondering how I found out about this.  A model, her description not mine, from Canada likes purple so added to her 25 body tattoos, and her purple hair and lipstick, wanted purple eyes.  Things went wrong so she is now in excruciating pain and will probably lose the sight in that eye.  She went on face book to warn people about the procedure, hence, the story was picked up by The Washington Post.  This could have been fake news, but they had pictures to back up the story.  I googled sclera tattoos to see if other people were this pathetic.  Yes, there’s a whole world out there of people who add lumps and bumps to their skull, fork their tongue, copy Mr. Spock’s ears, brand their skin with hot irons and much more.  Many of these things were so gross I had to close google.

As I was doing research for this story, I couldn’t help but wonder what would make a person do these things to their body, so I went back on google.  There are many reasons that were given by people who have changed their appearance from “I don’t want to look like everyone else” to “it’s an addiction.” The money they spend and the pain they endure seems to be inconsequential. I can’t help but wonder where these people work, what their mother thinks, and do they get upset when people look at them?

At the end of the day, I can only say, “To each his own!”