Before one can make a judgment on this subject, a good bit of knowledge is needed. Fear of the unknown can sometimes lead people to form harsh opinions, or to even hold them back from doing things they really want to do. Here is a clear explanation of how these basic types of body modification are actually done, and how the human body is trans

Scarification: Scarification is done two basic ways: by branding the skin, often with a white hot piece of metal, or by cutting into the skin with a scalpel-both used to create beautiful designs that will last as scars. The results vary, based on the skills and experience of the person who does the work, the body's own ability to raise keloids (fibrous scar tissue), and how much melanin (the natural pigments in skin) one has (Miller 116).

Branding is done by fashioning pieces of metal into a design, heating them, and applying them to the skin. The burn will spread two to three times the width of the brand, which the design must compensate for. Each strike only lasts a few seconds, but many people who have been branded often rave about the incredible endorphin rush they get during this process. Two 18-year-old boys, Chad Keys and Erik Smith, of Maryland, were branded together as a symbol of their lasting friendship. When asked about the experience, Keys exclaimed, "As soon as the metal was well into the skin, the pain suddenly stopped and I got this awesome rush or high, that felt like I was on a roller coaster or something. It's almost addictive." After the rush, the pain is excruciating, but for many-it's worth it.

Many people do see body mutilation as art. Kim Hewitt, author of Mutilating the Body, finds acts of self-mutilation to be "positive expressions of social custom, individualism and resourcefulness ... symptomatic of crises of identity, religious faith, or modern social structures." Humanity has, says Hewitt, "a universal urge to alter consciousness through body manipulation, this urge also indicating an individual and cultural moment of transition through crisis and passage into maturity" (Hewitt 6). Clinton R. Sanders, professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut, stated his opinion on the matter simply when he said, "Body alteration is culture," in his book Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of Tattooing (Krakow 43). Sanders emphasizes the ways in which body alterations are connected to status, social connections or concepts of beauty which span from generation to generation (Singleton).

Body alteration is also a way to help many people gain confidence about themselves. Sure, breast implants or liposuction is a route that many take-but others don't feel the need to have such extreme surgical procedures. What about that enormous birthmark on their forearm? What about that nasty scar on their leg from when they fell of their bike as a child? Former tattoo artist, Ruth Marten, laid it out by saying, "People compens

Some common words found in the essay are:
Smith Maryland, Ruth Marten, Piercing Piercing, Singleton Hopefully, Scarification Scarification, Lord People, Bible Leviticus, American Heritage, Tattoos Tattoo, , body mutilation, body art, mutilation art, body mutilation art, viewed art, skin removal, form body, human body, beautiful designs, tattoo artist, leviticus 1928,
Approximate Word count = 1731
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)