Why
From BMEzine Encyclopedia
Why is a question everyone involved in body modification, on any level, is asked repeatedly. There are as many answers as there are modification varieties. All of them are valid; some are negative, while others are positive. Here are a few:
- Why not?
- I liked the way it looks.
- I like the way it feels (healed, that is).
- It was a ritual journey, a trial by fire — I went through it, I survived, and I'm a better person for it.
- I wanted to "reclaim" my body, and assert personal power and ownership over it. It was empowering.
- I wanted to mark a significant moment in my life.
- I wanted to set myself apart. I am not like the rest of the drones. I will never work at McDonald's.
- I wanted to make a sociopolitical statement.
- I wanted to make an artistic statement.
- My friends think it's cool.
- I was emulating someone I admire. I saw it in a music video.
- I got it to be the same as the rest of the people in my subculture.
- It is an extension of my unstable sociopathic nature.
- It is a cry for help.
- I believe it will make me more attractive to my sexual partners. It will make me a better lover.
- I wanted to "align my external body image with my internal body image".
- I believe body modification is the path to spiritual enlightenment. It teaches you about yourself, about your role in the universe.
- I believe that exploring the body and modifying it facilitates evolution.
- My parents hate them, I hate my parents, and now I'm old enough to go on my own.
- ...etc. etc. etc.
