Quote:
Originally posted by NotFromHere
My real comment is, is that self mutilation/piercing has been going on for centuries. Remember the first time you saw a National Geographic and thought - who in the hell would put a plate in their lip? Who would stretch their ears like that (other than white teenage boys)?
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Good point.
One difference is that the self-mutilation that was showcased in National Geographic was usually intended as a decoration or modification that (1) reinforced the person's membership of the cultural or larger social group in which the person would generally spend his/her whole life, and (2) was generally viewed as beautiful or desirable, or at least necessary (in the case of genital mutilation) by the members of that group.
As you note, we generally view this stuff as just plain freaky.
