I love that you can see Marco’s tools in the background after his DIY thumb removal… It’s something I’ve always been interested in, but since the surgery on my leg I’ve been wanting to do a minor amputation more and more — my surgery caused some nerve damage so I have no feeling in part of my lower leg, and observing the different ways that my brain interprets it is just fascinating. I guess sometimes one is driven by fetishism, and sometimes by curiosity.
That said, I like having long opposable thumbs, so for me I think I’d go with a finger, probably the ring finger (I think Steve Haworth told me some time ago, when we were implanting the magnets, that if you’re going to mess with a finger, that’s the one to do because it’s the weakest, and even if you lose it completely it does not have a major impact on your ability to use your hand).
Comments
217 responses to “Chhhhhhop!”
He is really going to miss that body part. And why was this done again? I think some one needed more attention as a child. This is why we need mothers at home with the children as they grow up. As a person up in years I have seen a lot of self destruction in my day with having a mentally ill grand parent and all but this is terrible. Maybe he just needed to get a real job. What do you do when you run out of body parts to cut off or a way to hold the tool up and cut something off. Well its been real. God bless.
I think most people who have problems with self-amputation might know/ be aware of that actually this act “helps” these people tremendously for personal reasons even above the physical aspect. It’s been talked about by psychiatrists and I need to find those different articles online.
I find no problem whatsoever with people doing what they want to themselves to feel better or even for personal aesthetics, it beats hands down making fun of other people’s tragedies (see a few posts under).
I actually have a friend with only one arm (not amputated, born that way), and the guy kicks my ass at video games. Sometimes not even on the wii.
Anyway, putting aside all the ranting one way or another about the mental health of this person, I think that this is a really interesting area of the mod community and I hope that at some point in the future there can be an unemotional, nonjudgmental discussion of the topic. I don’t understand the desire to be an amputee for the same reason that most people here opposed to it have acted with revulsion: because it inhibits functioning. Personally, I agree with Shannon and others that a person has an unlimited right to control over their own bodies, and I respect no law that says otherwise.
However, I can’t get past the fact that amputation (if not this one, then more extensive ones) can have serious consequences for and limitations upon a person’s ability to function. As a person who doesn’t desire an amputation, I see it as a limiting experience, not a liberating one.
Yet don’t people engage in these sorts of activities on a daily basis? Drugs, illegal or prescription, can have dangerous consequences for the individual and those around them, despite the fact that they can make that individual happier. In such a situation I can understand why people would view such an alteration in a perjorative sense, because it can be dangerous to the rest of the population, yet I can foresee no contingency in which self-amputation could be harmful for others.
Is it the permanence of such an alteration that causes this visceral reaction? Or is it merely the physical as opposed to the mental nature? People don’t often question the motives of a person undergoing plastic surgury if they are trying to achieve the social somatic ideal, even if it does limit their functioning (e.g. botox). Is the revulsion to amputation then just another extension of people misunderstanding and attacking the desire to move away from the ideal body image rather than towards it?
Truth is, I’m not sure. But I’m willing to talk about it.
This is sooo weird, that thumb really disgusts me! I almost can´t look at the picture!
If it had been a bit moore blood in the picture I dont think I would have been so diskusted :s
149: Meegs, I agree with you to a point. The Comment function of Modblog is inundated with garbage posts either validating (Yay! Neato!) or vilifying (Oh noes! Stoopt!), all of which is really irrelevant in the scope of Modblog as I understand it. It’s really unavoidable in an open-forum environment in the context of the Internet, though.
However, I disagree with your suggestion to shut down the feature (not that I think Shannon ever really would). Buried deep in the muck of idle judgement, there are the discussions that really do contribute to the worth of Modblog, and that reason alone validates the function of the Comments feature, even if you have to wade through the mass of redundant posts to get there. Even some of the validate/vilify posts have legitimate questions or positions in them worth addressing.
It’s also the nature of an open “Comments” feature, as opposed to a moderated message forum system.
As a mentally ill person(with the papers to prove it), what’s with all the maligning!?! Being crazy doesn’t equal cutting off digits….and cutting off digits doesn’t equal crazy.
For the record, I still have my thumbs.
And it was the lack of blood that grossed me out, rather than the amputation itself or the implications thereof.
I…am speechless. That is fucking gorgeously done!
…although all this hate shit flying around in here from the uninformed/close-minded/control freaks kinda bums me out. Honestly. What the hell…stay out of this site if you don’t like it.
Shannon, man, you rock, and we all know it, cause you enable us to be privy to wonders such as this.
I ‘m 100% behind the right to own your body, as long as you do what you do with a sober and clear mind and for some reason I doubt that someone with BIID has a sober mind. Of course, I don’t know if the person in question is in fact mentally ill (and no there’s nothing wrong with that unless it influences your life negatively and most mentally ill people would rather be healthy any day) or does this for aesthetic reason, the thrill or sheer stupidity. But guess what, I cannot judge this from a picture of a cut thumb and your own self-indulging blabber whether this person actually thought this through or not, so I’m left to form my own admittedly biased opinion. How about providing a statement from the people whose antics give so much traffic to your blog, instead of posting a gory picture and anticipate the ooh and aahs of gawkers?
ouch. i know for sure i wouldn’t do this, well not for sure but at the moment i am pretty sure. But either was its pretty interesting on why a person would decide to do that. I seriously doubt they are crazy. And I have nothing against it and wouldn’t go off judging as many people here, but i just don’t understand how this could be gorgeous? Hehe, but I must say, this is the first BME pic I just can’t look at, the lack of blood is really intimidating, and also the inside of the thumb itself is rather shocking. It’s really a wonder to me how somebody can do that themselves. I couldn’t even pierce my lobes myself. It must be pretty weird when you just amputate it, the absence of the tip of the finger. I wonder why they chose thumb, I would go for the ring finger, I like how that looks.
>>153
I think it is the permanence that causes some of the reaction – at least for me, that’s part of what makes the decision so interesting. You can’t go back, and what was part of your body, under your control, suddenly isn’t. What is the nature of that change? Where is the line? If it matters, I’ve always been sort of interested in other decisions people make that utterly change their lives in an instant too.
In the main people seem to feel that botox wears off, so isn’t permanent in the same way. However, when the topic of “what if it doesn’t?” comes up, there are definitely plenty of people who will criticize botox users for doing possible (possible, even!) permanent damage to themselves.
There is something different about permanent modifications, particularly those that may (depending upon definitions in some cases) either impair, or perhaps better put, permanently change a person’s daily functioning or relationship with others. That’s partly why there are so many posts asking for interviews and what not when those mods are shown, I think.
It’s fine to say “mods are mods” but really, hideability and reversibility are factors in what makes a mod “out there” or cause it to gather a lot of commentary (of all sorts). Lots of places won’t do face/hand tattoos as a first tattoo. Look at the reactions to the guy with the all-face skull tattoo, everyone wonders, what will he say about it in 20 years, because it’s so unhideable, and as a tattoo, pretty much permanent (although if he tires of the skull, he could go for the all-black face). Hence all the “wow he’s got balls” comments (and no one seemed to mind those). Small designs on the shoulder and what not don’t tend to get “wow he’s got balls” comments, and it’s not hard to imagine why. Plenty of piercings, too, people say “well, I can always take it out if I change my mind.”
…so yeah, the permanance is part of the interest, at least for me.
I’ll put in a vote for keeping the comments, as well – sure, there are a lot of the “how could they?” “he’s insane” “I can’t believe not everyone is utterly in love with it!” “look how openminded *I* am!” stuff, but there is often thought-provoking commentary as well, not to mention that people who know the subject in the photo often supply extra details.
>>109
Aha, that’s the edge of the nail? That explains why there’s no big bone in the middle then, I guess, I was wondering…
/time for dinner!
argh! tatjana! you’re my new best friend! i read Ishamel quite a while ago and it really moved me. I lent it to someone and never got it back and couldnt remember the name cos ive had the over population conversation with sooo many people and have always wanted to recommend it. for some reason i thought it was called ezekiel… excellent!
im still baffled by why people bother coming to modblog and commenting on things just to prove how narrow minded and unaccepting they are. someone way below mentioned how plastic surgery is so common and few people have a problem with that, those people are drastically modifiying their bodies with procedures that do carry risks, but because theyre modifiying themselves to become more like what society deems aesthetically “perfect” its not considered sad or worrying? i think thats FAR sadder, that someone has to do that to themselves to live up to an expectation that has been forced on them their wholes lives, and not just because it feels right to them for whatever reason.
having said that, gimme ten grand and its boob jobs ahoy for panties!
160: That’s true about the botox, but many plastic surgury operations can limit functioning in more subtle ways, like large breast implants causing back problems. Though I suppose implants can be removed, the back problems can persist. That’s mainly what I was getting at.
Thats a good point with facial tattooing, I remember that one, but the majority of negative reactions provoked seemed to be more along the lines of questioning his intelligence, not his mental stability. I’m curious as to what people think creates that distinction.
158: As far as making decicions with a “sober and clear mind,” it’s been my experience that most people in the mainstream think that modded people of any type are mentally ill. Why is amputation any different?
implants can be removed ether, but ive seen a lot of girls that even if they took them out, are pretty much mutilated for life in a way that i dont think anyone, open minded or not, finds particularly attractive.
oh, and for the record, i agree with the over population argument 100%. aside from living in a country where people are persistantly trying to live in just about permamently drought ridden and barren areas, i dont think anyone that’s read Ishmael could NOT agree
I wonder where you live, Ether, cause in my experience the average Joe does not question the sanity of the average modified person anymore. Or at least not as often. It’s when the modification gets extreme to the point where it hinders one’s simplest activities, then ones sanity comes in question. By the way, I’m modified myself, though I vastly prefer the term decorated. Modified implies some sort of “repair” to me.
It’s so…clean.
Personally I think hands with amputated fingers look awesome. Particularly when the ring finger is the one that’s amputated, purely for aesthetic reasons. I’d never do it myself though, I need all my fingers for typing and playing instruments.
Also, I think it’s great for someone to be able to overcome societies closemindedness and be able to do something that will make them happy.
Luxuria, I suppose you’re right. I grew up in the California Bay Area, and there are a lot more open minded people here than other places I’ve been. It just seems like most places I travel outside here, people start giving me the “what’s wrong with you?” act for even a not-so-extreme mod like a nape piercing.
My family’s probably not a good guage either, as they think my soul is in danger of hellfire because of it.
I like the term, by the way.
“I direct you to The Population Bomb and/or The Population Explosion by Paul R. Ehrlich.”
Wait. You mean the book that has never, EVER come true? Just like everything else Ehrlich has written? The man is revered as a god when he’s just a pompous moron. Point me towards someone better than that, please.
Ether, I guess I feel spoiled in the U.S. where nipple piercings seem to be pretty damn common, at least among my circles (goth/punk people). I grew up in the Mediterranean and there anything other than an ear piercing is looked upon as really bizarre to say the least, so I hear you about thinking of your family’s opinion as that of the “mainstream”. I definitely see a *lot* more acceptance here.
ok…..I am sorry for not being as “open” to other peoples opinions as I should be, but if I hear another person on a modblog comments say the person featured needed “more attention as a child” (see ignorant comment #151) I might just lose it. As I said before, about 100 comments ago, dont assume the person’s modivation behind this until you have gotten their side of the story. and please, for christ sake, STOP BLAMING THE CHILDHOOD.
155 = I agree, there is a lot that’s valuable that comes out of this — the site itself is amazing (props shannon, as always). i check it every day, and i occasionally grit my teeth and check the comments. but it’s a matter of percentages for me.
you’re a kindergarten teacher with a class of 15; you give your kids paint to use. 4 of the kids create beautiful, talented paintings, but the other 11 aren’t mature enough to use it and throw the paint everywhere, eat it, rub it in each others’ eyes — in a case like that, you don’t defer to the creative minority and put up with the destructive majority. you take the paint away until all or even most of the kids grow up and can use it constructively.
empress, house frau and the rest… stop eating the damn paint.
I’s never do it. It squicks me out.
At the same time, I’m not going to fault either the people who say it’s wonderful, nor the people who say it’s stupid, in their opinion. Having a choice of opinion, even if you don’t like it, is more important even than having a choice of body mod…even if you don’t like it.
Sorry for not looking through all the replies to see if someone mentioned this already, but your information about the ring finger being the weakest is incorrect.
As a rockclimber I know that the 1st ‘team’, middle and ring is the strongest, followed by 2nd team, middle and pointer and 3rd team is weakest, pinkie and ring.
thats pretty amazing, does he still have a knuckle or is it at the knuckle?
As far as impacting his life, my mom’s father lived with half a thumb for most of his life, along with other amputated fingers, the cost of being a carpenter and an airplane mechanic, and it never stopped him from doing anything, including making me all the furniture I had in my nursery.
Hell, my other grandfather had only one arm since a battle in WWII, and it never made a dent in his lifestyle other than he had to learn to tie his shoes with one hand, and hold me as a baby with one arm.
Maybe its from being around amputated people my whole life, but I don’t think this is so extreme, or freaky, or will impare him in anyway, and its almost insulting to think that it would. I’m sure he knew what he was doing and was ready to adap to anything that might change with this choice.
Obviously this person thinks its asethically pleasing, and I can’t disagree that I wasn’t fascinated by my grandpa’s amputations as a kid.
My grandparents did not choose what happened to thier bodies, but not once did I see either of them with fake fingers or a fake arm because there is nothing wrong with the way it looks, fuck everyone else.
thats pretty amazing, does he still have a knuckle or is it at the knuckle?
As far as impacting his life, my mom’s father lived with half a thumb for most of his life, along with other amputated fingers, the cost of being a carpenter and an airplane mechanic, and it never stopped him from doing anything, including making me all the furniture I had in my nursery.
Hell, my other grandfather had only one arm since a battle in WWII, and it never made a dent in his lifestyle other than he had to learn to tie his shoes with one hand, and hold me as a baby with one arm.
Maybe its from being around amputated people my whole life, but I don’t think this is so extreme, or freaky, or will impare him in anyway, and its almost insulting to think that it would. I’m sure he knew what he was doing and was ready to adap to anything that might change with this choice, and as far as I’ve seen, thats not much.
Obviously this person thinks its asethically pleasing, and I can’t disagree since I was fascinated by my grandpa’s amputations as a kid.
My grandparents did not choose what happened to thier bodies, but not once did I see either of them with fake fingers or a fake arm because there is nothing wrong with the way it looks, people look like that all the time.
#168 – There are one hell of a lot of amateur psychologists who post on modblog, aren’t there?! Maybe they should take a good hard look in the mirror……
Sarah, I had directed you to two references, not just one.
If you feel the population explosion is not for you, then I direct you to any of the Ishmael books. In particular, I recommend The Story of B. Daniel Quinn.
If you need more books, I have a vast library. Please contact me and I will send you more titles with authors you may find not so “moronic”, to use your term.
I have an IAM account and can be reached through there.
Come on! This is NOT REAL!
First off, where’s the bone? When you amputate a limb, even a finger, the flesh retracts leaving the bone protruding. Even if the bone were cut later back to the same point, you would be able to see it. Where is it?
Get real. I can’t believe you people sucked this up. I guess that’s why they are called “suckers”.
I lvoe how everyone automatyically lumps things they don’t understand into the “mentally ill individual” category.
As a representative of mentally ill individuals, I can say I have not, nor have had the urge to amputate any part of my body. We’re not all that extreme.
Moving on to the actual picture- if he’s happy then I’m happy for him =) I’m just fascinated by the picture itself.
“#9, you know that until just a few decades ago, being gay was counted as a mental illness, and was completely incomprehensible to most people? Oh wait, you probably still think it is an illness. Gotta love America.
#10, you wouldnât be saying that if the mod was a âniceâ? âfeminineâ? tattoo. Can you explain why one is a positive thing and the other a negative thing, WITHOUT referring to your own aesthetic preferences?
By all means discuss those preferences, just donât conceal them behind a wall of wilful misunderstanding.
I personally find getting tattooed extremely painful. I guess this would be painful too. Having kids in the future will fuck up my body far more than an amputation (having kids being a selfish decision however itâs dressed up – the world is overpopulated already).
I guess Cere put it more succinctly.”
I wouldn’t call being gay and cutting off your own thumb the same thing.
Jane Q. Public – It’s not fake.
If you want to be critical of a mod then fair enough. It’s easy to understand why some people could be grossed out by something like this. However to then go on to insult the person or assume something about them is not right. The mods a person has says nothing about who they are. Just as clothes someone wears or the car someone drives, it doesn’t say anything about the person. I think it’s unfair to insult someone and call them mentally ill just because they chose to do something like this which effects no one but the person who did it.
As I read through these comments I keep thinking that it really doesn’t matter if you like it or don’t like it, it’s his fucking thumb not yours!!! People are so quick to judge what other people do with their lives and their bodies. Against tattoos??? Don’t fucking get one!!! Against piercings??? Don’t fucking get one!!! Against homosexuality??? Don’t be an asshole!!! Against abortion??? Don’t have one!!!
But don’t think for a minute that any of us really gives a shit what you have to say about your own “morality”
-Clay
[email protected]
“It is safe to say that no other superstition is
so detrimental to growth, so enervating and
paralyzing to the minds and hearts of the
people, as the superstition of Morality.”
-Emma Goldman
sorry for the angry post, just really sick of people forcing their morals on the world. Makes me sick!
184 posts? holy moly thats gotta be a record….
It is a record Tanya. I’m putting it in my book.
Total fake. He already had a missing thumb. Suckers.
Jane Q. Public
There’s no bone? Maybe you haven’t looked at enough severed limbs enough in your life, or maybe I’ve just seen too many…..ummm…yeah, movin on.
If you LOOK at the lower portion of the thumb you’ll see a rather large circular white shape.
That ain’t no Mentos, the fresh maker, or a Tic Tac inside the wound.
It appears to be a very smooth, crisp, clean cut/severing of tissue and bone.
Maybe stop watching horror movies my dear, as they very rarely show clean cuts…Because, well, chainsaws and all that sort don’t cut so well/smooth.
I wonder where the line is drawn between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” reasons for amputations. I think most people would agree that people with BIID have valid reasons, and should be given the surgery they desire.
But I wonder if people who amputate out of curiosity, or because of a particular fetish, are actually more likely to regret their decisions – but I doubt enough people have done it for a proper study to look at the relationship between the reason and the long term effect. I’m assuming that people who do it out of curiosity or fetish are screened out of the procedure by doctors, being “unsuitable”, do it DIY and so can’t be studied post-op, like those with BIID who have been allowed the surgery.
I find tho whole topic of amputation – how it’s done, BIID, acrotomophilia, prosphetic limb technology – endlessly fascinating, and I’m glad it’s on ModBlog. All forms of modification should be documented, not just the “pretty” ones.
so i’ve recently been informed they do make spoons that small.
first off.. this was very pretty.
its about the expercience..
gorgeous.
i’ve always wondered what that would look like.
As someone who accidentally lost the tip of his middle finger (crushed in a hydraulic wood splitter) and accidentally severed his pinky, requiring a tendon repair, I can say that pretty much is what the inside of a finger looks like, except I would have expected some empty space where the tendons would retract. The cut must be close to a joint. I hate the way the crushed tip of my middle finger looks and I have considered cutting it off at the first knuckle, but I worry about the tendon retracting and having a stump that can’t move. I work with my hands and any loss of mobility would be an incumberment. The pain if it isn’t really a consideration, I’ve had enough traumatic injuries and done a few rituals that involve pain so I am pretty sure I could handle the pain if I prepare for it. It’s always the pain that upsets the “normal” people te most, that and the fact that you are moving away or even downright rejecting accepted societal norms of appearance. These same people would see nothing wrong with someone getting breast implants, which has a lengthy and painful recovery.
Sorry, I don’t buy that. I cut my thumb off at the first knuckle on a shear at a sheet metal company and my thumb did not look like that. Whats with the wrap around the thumb? It must have been cut off awhile ago and your’re putting some prostetic on it.
post 192.
Tendon Retracting. Thats exactly what happend to me. It sucks, and I’ve been living with it for 15 years. I’m just lucky that I’m right handed and it was my left thumb that got mangled.
wow what a heated discussion here!!
1) pretty obvious: YOU SHOULD EXPECT MODIFIED THUMBS ON A MODIFICATION WEBSITE!
2) THE WORLD IS NOT OVERPOPULATED!
3) WHY ALWAYS THE POOR NAZIS? as if they weren’t just another alternative group like modifiers …
4) i laughed for 10 mins about \n./ !!!!!!
Its cool to pretend you think this is fake to get attention.
I find myself disgusted at some of the close-minded comments posted about this
Suffering from mental problems myself, it is not the reason why I have wanted an amputation of my little toe. I have hear of thousands of mentally ill people – yet they don’t go belting off body limbs
This man did it because he appreciated the beauty of the modification – so good for him
I have a disorder called Body Integrity Identity Disorder, which means one has a craving for an amputation not fior any sexual reason, but more to do with the fact that the offending digit is like an alien part to me. Amputation is the only way to treat this. I have suffered with this over five years now, adn I can’t even begin to explain the aggravation and upset it has caused me. What pains me is I cant even get it treated because at present, a reputable doctor will not remove a healthy limb
I will have to do it myself. Since I’m a sap, I don’t know when that will be. But it is going to happen one day, when I finally can’t stand my toe any longer
But even if I didn’t have BIID, I’d still support this man’s decision, it’s his body and his choice
However, regardless of why this man chose to get rid of his thumb, it’s up to him what he does. It’s his thumb. If you think it’s disgusting, fine. But there’s no need to use insults to show that – that only proves how childish you are, #11
You knew what this was about. Frankly, if people are going to say this is “sick” “ugly” “mental illness” then why did you read it?
If you can’t accept that there are various forms of body modification on here, and view it with an open mind, then you’re not open minded or mature enough to view BME in the first place
If you dont like the content on BME, then fuck outta here. I apologise openly to anyone this offends, but like CajunChefClay, people trying to force their idiotic ‘morals’ on others makes me want to throw up – it’s not right
Everybody has different tastes Empress (~11) – if you don’t like, don’t look. There’s the red cross at the top right of the screen – you may use it!
On a nicer note, this looks great! Very nice, clean cut
post 197.
ok if you want to amputate a finger or thumb then I can set u up with a Sheet metal notcher or a shear – which can take as many digits as you want… just make sure you have good insurance because I’m not going to cover you.
And by the way I was rederected to this site just to see what someone elses thumb looked liked.
For those of you that wish to amputate that you you were born with; please make sure its part of your reporductive system.
Post #197
Sorry, I made a mistake. If you want your itsy bitsy toe sheard off, then I can help you out. Tho you do need a very good health insurance policy for my company to help.