Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

6 Introduction
authority, and mainstream values (Charles and DeAnfrasio. 1970;
Freedman. 1986: 82-85; Brain. 1979: 116-120). Hair service
workers in contemporary western societies commonly define hair
as a medium of aesthetic expression and their personal service
activities to be a minor art form (see Schroder. 1972; Terkel. 1972:
233-241; Bertoia. 1986).
Permanent Forms of Body Alteration
Like clothing. body painting and hair styling are mechanisms
for altering appearance that have in common the relative ease
with which one can change the social "vocabulary" as the message
becomes outdated. undesirably stigmatizing. or otherwise
worthy of reconsideration. They are modes of body alteration most
commonly associated with transitional statuses or temporally
limited social events. The major forms of permanent alterationbody
sculpture. infibulation (piercing). cicatrization (scarification).
and tattooing-are. on the other hand, typically connected
to permanent statuses (for example. gender. maturity), life-long
social connections (for example. clan or tribal membership), or
conceptions of beauty that show considerable continuity from
generation to generation (for example. head shaping among the
Mangbetu of Central Mrica or the Chinook of the American northwest
coast). Permanent body alteration and non-permanent corporeal
adornment in both tribal and modern cultures share the
rigorous social support of the bearer's significant reference group.
No matter what the overt purpose of the alteration-protection
from supernatural forces, communication of sexual availability,
demonstration of courage. symbolization of membership. or whatever-all
types of body modification have a decorative function.
The transformation makes the body aesthetically pleasing to the
individual and the relevant reference group.
Body Sculpting • Reshaping the body so as to meet criteria of
beauty is a common practice in many cultures. For centuries Chinese
women's feet were bound to create the "lotus foot." The ideal
three-inch foot (just the right size to fit into a man's palm) was
not only a form of symbolic and actual social incapacitation, it
was also considered to have erotic significance. The feet were