At A Glance Author SCBear Contact SCBear@bme.anon When N/A Artist Todd Almighty Studio Staircase Location Santa Cruz Yesterday, I received more than the usual looks at my septum tusk...almost forgetting that it was there...then I recalled ...yeah, that.
I think I was enticed to write this when I was thinking about the consistent questioning "modified" people get: "Why?" And I think in my mind I thought I had that question answered. But when I asked myself, nothing came up immediately. Then it occurred to me (and JUST to me, and many will think this is elitist) that there are 3 types of modified people. And I define that as people having modifications outside the basically acceptable parameters: i.e. anything more than one set of ear piercings.
The first type being the basic, run of the mill trendy person (piercers should call them "bread and butter") who gets the over-the-butt-dolphin tattoo or belly button piercing. We all know who they are and that the artists have a hard time NOT rolling their eyes when they see them.
The second type (and forgive me as this is not definitive) is the "I am going to put as much metal shit in my face and everywhere else to look "unique" and "out there"....ok, YES this is a generalization, but we all know the type. Just check out the mags to see an example. In my humble opinion, their mods don't have a lot of meaning other than to stand out and to feel accepted by others of their ilk.
Type 3, (and I put myself in this category), modify not only for the appearance (yes, vanity) but also to visually and physically align ourselves with the culture and values of the co-called primitive societies. This would include early India, South and North American Indians, Dayak, African and so on. Although I would concede that the actual mods mean different things in each cultural context, in OUR context, I feel they mean a solidarity. A solidarity with those who do not accept the current cultural paradigm; the industrial, technologically de-humanizing era we live in. Most of my life I have been modified – tattooed when I was 18, ears done by 16, etc. But deep down, I didn't really want to stand out. And when I answered the "Why?" question to myself, that changed. I recall recently the first time I noticed someone noticing my septum or large gauge lobe piercings. Rather than feeling "out there", I felt that THEY were outside. Meaning, in my mind I responded: "Yes, I am NOT one of you...and if you asked I could/would tell you why and how".
With these more obvious mods, I feel I kindrance to those who have been persecuted and whose culture is being destroyed – the warriors of Papua – who share a similar septum tusk...I feel connected to a culture where money and belongings are not currency. Cultures that of course are not the most humane or "enlightened", but who are connected to the earth in ways we have not been for centuries. Our society where being connected to the Earth at ALL is a foreign concept. And the more I relate to my mods, which are not extreme when you consider this community I am communicating with...I feel the pull to go farther not in my mods (as a lot in the community seem to – never knowing when is enough)..but in my lifestyle as it relates to this society I am "part of".
The difference being: I do not want to appear different, I want to BE different....in how I raise my child, how I relate to others, how I relate to money and living in general. I want (hypothetically) to be able to look in the eyes of a Massai warrior, him seeing my mods, and NOT be embarrassed...NOT feel silly and like an impersonator. I would want to look there and just nod...as if to say, I am not you, but we are not different either. I am not a spoiled white man from a tragic culture – I am not of them. I am something else altogether and if you ask "Why?", I will have an answer.
I think being modified merely for the aesthetic factor is not so bad. But at the same time I do not feel kin to those that I see so often, face full of metal, tattooed just to be tattooed...just to get them out of the way when they are young. I do not feel the need to go to multiple tattoo artists....I enjoy the connection I have with the one I have been going to for the last 2 years. I feel good that all my tattoos have meaning and a purpose...not just decoration. That I could go to a village of these so-called traditional peoples and show them my tattoos and explain what they mean and I feel they would understand and then show me theirs. (Yes, all this from being stared at in the Taco Bell).
So all these thoughts raced through my head all at once, and I felt proud...not so much to make 'squares' feel weird, but maybe in the hopes that one would ask "Why?"...and I would tell them – Because I want people to know that we are here...we are present in this culture and we want to show that we are not OF it. That we aren't just sitting around drinking overpriced coffee and bitching about Bush (though I DO do that of course). But that my cultural affiliation via body mods is a choice I make that encourages me and reminds me what I am when I am busy being sucked into corporate lands of lies. When I sit at my desk and feel my septum retainer – I smile to myself. "this is not me." I am here because I have a beautiful daughter to take care of – and she needs me. But I cannot hide my ¾'' stone plugs, and don't want to . I like pushing that boundary. On some subtle level, saying – I am here with you, but I am not the same as you...and maybe, saying "Come with me, you might see life differently".