Tag Archives | Body Modification

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge: The Status Quo Is Always Our Enemy

By on January 11, 2013 in News 3

Picture: Seth Tisue (CC)

In the second part of our interview, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge talks about pandrogeny, the need for the species to evolve and the best way to subvert the status quo.

Via Technoccult

When we began Throbbing Gristle we were, we being me, really angry about the inequities of society. Especially being from Britain, with the royal family and aristocracy and the really ingrained class system. Enraged by the inequity and the bigotry and the inherited privilege whether people have the skills or the qualities to exercise it.

So my approach to expressing the anger was very aggressive and enraged, furious. But over the years we’ve come to believe that there’s never a need for anger in order to demonstrate or propose change. That a friendly, seductive presentation is just as effective, if not more so. And also in a way it’s more insidious and subversive to smile and talk gently and still say something that contradicts everything somebody else has imagined to be the truth.

… Read the rest

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1,000-Year-Old Mass Grave Of Elongated Skulls Found In Mexico

By on December 20, 2012 in News 6

The remains of “lucky,” high-power individuals who had their heads ritually elongated have previously been unearthed across the globe in South America, Germany, and Greece. Was the goal to mimic the look of alien overlords? Via Yahoo! News UK:

An archaeological dig near the village of Onavas, south of Sonora in Mexico has uncovered strange elongated skulls from more than a millenia ago. The burial site contained 25 individuals, 13 with elongated skulls – reminiscent of the monster from Ridley Scott’s Alien.

The ‘cranial deformation’ in the skulls is actually intentional – carried out by binding the heads of babies to produce the bizarre effect. For pre-Hispanic cultures in the area, longer skulls were a sign of social status.

‘Cranial deformation in Mesoamerican cultures was used to differentiate one social group from another and for ritual purposes,’ said Cristina Garcia Moreno, the head of the research project. South American cultures such as the Maya and Inca practiced cranial deformation – and the practice was also known in Germany and Ancient Greece.

… Read the rest

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Body Modification: What Is A Freak?

By on May 10, 2012 in News 4
Photo: CarrieBee (CC)

Photo: CarrieBee (CC)

Modern Mythology recently took us on a trip down body mod lane:

Geekology has presented us a great example to look not just at some of the newest trends in body modification today, but also to make a point about latent or mainstream standards of beauty, and the backlash it can cause.

I’d like to provide for you exhibit A, a Ukranian girl who has surgically modified herself to look like a barbie:

Note the tone of the post:

This is 21-going-on-6-year-old Valeria Lukyanova (links to her Ukranian Facebook-y thing with LITERALLY 10,000 more photos of Little Ms. Vain). Valeria always dreamed of being a real life Barbie doll. And now, after numerous surgeries, she’s finally realized her dream AND CAN HOPEFULLY MOVE ON TO ACTUALLY DREAMING ABOUT SOMETHING WORTHWHILE. Wow, of all the dreams in the world to come true of course it’s squandered on the girl who wants to look like Barbie and not everybody hoping for a cure for cancer.

… Read the rest

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Perfume Pills Will Make Sweat Smell Pleasant

By on September 9, 2011 in News 8

swallowable-parfum-lucy-mcrae_1The future of perfume will be taking a pill that turns your sweat into golden droplets emanating the pleasant smell of your choice. Body odor will no longer be a bad thing. For instance, you’ll find yourself saying, “Did someone just take a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven? Oh, it must just be Michael’s armpits.” Via GreenMuze:

No more spritzing, spraying or dabbing, now you can start you day with confidence knowing that all you need to do is swallow a simple digestible perfume capsule to smell great all day. The Swallowable Perfume, created by renowned Australian artist Lucy McRae, in conjunction with Harvard University biologist Sheref Mansy.

“Once absorbed, the capsule enables the skin to become a platform, an atomizer, a biologically enhanced second skin synthesized directly from the natural processes of the body,” explains the artist’s website. “Fragrance molecules are excreted through the skin’s surface during perspiration, leaving tiny golden droplets on the skin that emanate a unique odor.”

The strength of the scent is determined by varying factors including an individual’s ability to acclimatization to temperatures, reactions to stress, exercise, and sexual arousal.

… Read the rest

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Perfect Humans – Is It Really Wrong To Enhance Athletes?

By on March 9, 2010 in News 10
Mark_mcgwire

Mark McGwire, St. Louis, 2001. Photo: Rick Dikeman (CC)

Now that the Olympics are over, science writer Quinn Norton asks if there’s contradictory rules when athletes technologically enhance their bodies. “A new injectable hormone will quickly become anathema, but seeking multiple LASIK eye surgeries to get better than 20/20 vision is a professional responsibility… Another instructive example is Tommy John surgery, an operation that replaces the ligament in the elbow that tends to suffer most in baseball pitchers. This surgery lets them pitch harder for longer, and despite being a major surgical modification, it isn’t viewed negatively.”

And here’s an even better example. “Injections of synthetic Erythropoietin to boost performance are a major no-no in sports. It’s considered blood doping. But athletes can produce EPO another way: by sleeping in a hypobaric chamber. This reduces oxygen and air pressure to what it would be somewhere 10,000-15,000 feet above sea level. The body responds by producing its own EPO — and lots of it — to get as much oxygen to the sleeping muscles as it can in the deprived environment.… Read the rest

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New Warning on ‘Perfect Vaginas’

By on November 11, 2009 in News 10

From the very staid and proper BBC:

Women are undergoing surgery to create perfect genitalia amid a “shocking” lack of information on the potential risks of the procedure, a report says.

Research published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology also questions the very notion of aesthetically pleasing genitals.

Operations to improve the appearance of the sex organs for both psychological and physical reasons are on the rise.

But surgeons said the report overplayed the risks of an established procedure.

Researchers from University College London reviewed all the existing studies on cosmetic labial surgery – which generally involves reducing the amount of tissue that protrudes from the lips which cover the vagina. They found there had been little work to document any longer-term side effects…

… Read the rest

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20 Tattoos You Don’t Want To Get (If You’re A Guy)

By on October 9, 2009 in News 61

You really have to visit Comedy.com to appreciate just how bad some of these tats are. As they say:

We’re not sure why guys get elaborate, over-the-top tattoos (like these 5 Crazy Ronald Regan Tattoos). We just know the people who get them have serious issues we don’t even want to know about (especially, if you got this Patrick Swayze tattoo). That reminds us, we should call our parents. Check out the 20 Tattoos You Don’t Want To Get (If You’re A Guy).

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