First and foremost I am AGAINST the negative view body mods have in the modeling industry and am so sick of hearing "piercings and tattoos can break a potential modeling career". Nerds to that! My body is my temple and I'll decorate the fucker however I see fit!
Secondly, I am AGAINST the negative view body mods have in "normal" job industry.
Yes, I am the girl that writes letters complaining about the drive through girl that has a band aid over her nose ring. The band aid is there so over-sensitive grandma doesn't get offended when she buys the grandkids a happy meal, but what about the OTHER demographic? I find the band aid offensive!
So on that note I wish to educate the ignorant on the history of body mods. Because they are not just a way for punk kids to buck against the grain. They actually have a history and once they had a purpose besides pissing off little old ladies at McDonalds.
The first nose piercing on recorded was dated over four thousand years ago in the Middle East. It is also mentioned in The Bible in Genesis 24:22 Abraham requested his oldest servant to find a wife for his son Isaac, the servant found Rebekah, and one of the gifts he gave her was a "golden earring" the original Hebrew word used was Shanf, which also translates as "nose-ring".
Nose piercing was bought to India in the 16th Century from the Middle East by the Moghul emperors. In India a stud (Phul) or a ring (Nath) is usually worn in the left nostril, It is sometimes joined to the ear by a chain, and in some places both nostrils are pierced. It was also believed that if a woman were to pierce her nose it would lessen the pain associated with periods and childbirth.
Tongue piercing was practised in a ritual form by the ancient Aztecs, Mayas of Central America and the Haida, Kwakiutul, and Tlinglit tribes of the American Northwest. The tongue was pierced to draw blood to propitiate the gods, and to create an altered state of consciousness so that the priest or shaman could communicate with the gods.
The piercing of the lips for the insertion of objects into them is very widely practised throughout the world, however only two tribes pierce the lips with a ring; the Dogon tribe Of Mali, and the Nuba of Ethiopia. Among the Dogon the piercing of the lip has religious signifigance, they believe that the world was created by their ancestor spirit "Noomi" weaving thread through her teeth, but instead of thread out came speech. All the other lip piercing that is practised in the world is done with labrets, which can either be a pin of wood, ivory, metal, or even in one case quartz crystals.
The piercing of the septum is probably the second most common piercing among primitive peoples after ear piercing, it's even more common than nostril piercing. It's probably so popular for the same reasons as nose piercing, with the added attraction that the piercing can be stretched and large pieces of jewellery can be inserted. The septum piercing is particularly prevalent among warrior cultures. Septum piercing was widely practised by many North American Indian tribes, the name of the Nez Perc, tribe of Washington state, stem from their practice of piercing the septum, Nez Perc, is French for Nose Pierced, and was given to the tribe by the French fur traders.
(Ok, yes I admit that navel & nipple piercings have no solid proof of religion but they have been a fashion statement since the 1400s)
Now for those that look down upon tattoos & insist on the tattoos being covered in one way or another.
Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, medical treatment, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. With the new discovery of several icemen tattoos have been carbon dated back 5,200 years!
So you see! We've been doing these things for hundreds of centuries! So people need to just relax
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