Extreme body modification: art or mutilation?

Women of the Victorian age modified their bodies through corsetry. Chinese women did it through foot binding.

Why did the Victorian women find beauty in having a minute, Barbie-sized waist?

Why did the Chinese endure these excruciating foot binding procedures to make their feet just a few inches shorter?

The answer is found in the timeless cliché heard time and time again - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Fast forward to present day - body modification, pierced cartilage and belly buttons are the new standards of beauty, at least in some social circles. As with the cycle of fads, crazes come with warped speed and disappear just as fast.

Extreme is the new black and it's slowly creeping its way into tattoo and piercing parlors across the states.

Junior Tina Holden, a piercing and tattoo aficionado, is no stranger to the body enhancing culture. Adorned with multiple ear, eye and lip piercings, Holden says she is very interested in testing the waters of the extreme side of body modification.

"It looks interesting and spiritual in a way, like in a tribal sense," she says.

In the world of body modification, the extreme includes anything from scarification and branding to suspension piercing and tongue splitting, Holden says.

She describes the process of suspension piercing as becoming more popular in big cities like Seattle, New York and Philadelphia. The person is elevated off the floor by a number of large gauge hooks attached to the body, Holden says. The hooks are connected to a rope or cable and strung from an elevated anchor.

"They can pull you up or you can self-suspend," she says.

Although she's never tried suspension piercing, Holden describes the emotions felt by those who have.

"It really does hurt and it's pain to a point that is so perfectly free and clear," she says. "It's like a form of meditation."

Tongue splitting is another extreme form of body modification. Holden says the act of splitting the tongue down the middle, leaving the forked tongue in two separate healed pieces can be done with a laser, scalpel or even fishing line over time and is performed predominately for aesthetic reasons.

"It's the equivalent of getting your tongue pierced, but it is 10 times more painful to reverse it," she says.

James Weber, professional piercer and owner of Infinite Body Piercing in Philadelphia, puts the bias popular culture has placed on these extreme practices into perspective.

"It's only considered extreme because it isn't as popular as tattoos or body piercings," he says.

Weber says Infinite Body Piercing does scarification and branding, but only to a small extent. He further comments people do it for the same reason they get a tattoo or a new piercing - it's a personal thing.

Scarification and branding are more permanent forms of tattoos. Scarification is a procedure that makes cuts into the skin, whereas branding is the burning of skin either with heated stainless steel metal or with a hot, red-tipped cautery pen, Weber says.

Luis Garcia, international liason for the Association of Professional Piercers and owner of No Ka Oi Tiki Tattoo and Body Piercing salon in Philadelphia, says his store specializes in tattooing, body piercing and surface work. Although his shop's insurance doesn't cover branding and scarification, Garcia himself has performed a number of branding and scarification procedures throughout his worldwide travels as an international liaison.

He says some fraternities traditionally brand their respective symbols of brotherhood onto their members' skin. Garcia says the health risks associated with branding and scarification are the same dangers associated with those of a tattoo or piercing.

"I've seen people come in with piercings from the Jersey Shore that are so horrendous," he says. "I can't fix them myself so I have to send them to the hospital."

Although New Jersey and Philadelphia have piercing and tattoo laws, Garcia says they are ambiguous. The laws don't necessarily prohibit something from being done, but rather how it's performed. Sterility, professional experience and a number of qualifications are required for lawful practice.

Carson Sloan, a university alumnus, says his accumulation of more than 15 piercings and two tattoos over the past six to seven years was mainly for aesthetic reasons and partly because of its shock value. Sloan's custom-designed Celtic wheel tattoo, acquired at age 21, allowed him to express his individuality.

"It was a coming-of-age sort of thing," he says. "I needed a change in the way my life was going."

Although Sloan is pursuing a career in graphic design and is constantly surrounded by people who share his love for piercings and tattoos, he is not without some conflict of opinion. The piercing on the nape of his neck is one that draws curious attention from onlookers.

"People will tap me on the shoulder in a restaurant and ask me, 'Is that real?' 'Why would you do that?' " he says.

Holden, who got a lot of her tattoos and piercings because of her cultural interest, says she faces peer scrutiny of a similar kind.

"Younger girls will come up to me and ask, 'So are you a masochist?' or 'I bet you like pain,' " she says.

Holden explains body modification means a different thing to everyone. It's a form of beauty, personal expression and individuality. She dismisses the stereotype people have of those who pierce or tattoo as a means of screaming for attention. Conversely, she says the opposite - she dislikes receiving extra attention.

Holden makes a quick jest at those who approach her with negative views of her piercings and tattoos.

"I think those UGG boots are horrible, but I would never go up to someone and tell them that."