I’ve just posted another in my series of interviews on lip plates, a modification which I find absolutely fascinating because of how far it pushes facial aesthetics past our cultural norms. This time I talked to G.C. from the UK and Duff from Russia (both her and her husband have lip plates) for some additional viewpoints to the ones raised by Toph in the previous interview on the subject.
Click through to read the interview and then come on back here to comment!
Comments
152 responses to “Interview with GC and Duff Posted”
“lucky” – Besides safety issues, I don’t see why any parent would care one way or the other if their kid splits their tongue…? Why does it matter? It’s pretty much the lowest regret mod out there, and it has no negative consequences that I can think of. Really, of all the things a 16 year old could do that a parent might object to, tongue splitting to me seems like one of the most non-issue things.
I’d also suggest that 95% of minors with split tongues did the procedure themselves using the tie-off method, which is on the whole safe (definitely safer than, say, tongue piercing), so there’s no practitioner issue.
if you all are going to shit a brick everytime shannon posts something, why do you even bother visiting this website? just don’t look at it if you don’t like it.
Shannon, I don’t know how you can be bothered having this same argument over and over and over again, going round and round in the same old circles, year after year. It’s so repetitive. I bet you could write an AI to do this argument for you.
Respect for staying strong.
In some cultures at 16 you’re not allowed to think for yourself.
btw, paleblue is BME.
🙂
side note: being pregnant at 16 is probably a lot more common than a huge plate through one’s lip, but you do have options. Adoption and abortion immediately spring to mind. its not a death sentence. Neither is the lip disk, although it does mean if she ever changes her mind about having it(good or bad) it will require cosmetic surgery to bring the face back to what she may have looked like before the large jewelry. And that, like getting the mod in the first place, is her choice.
What would be nice, and certainly balance out a lot of the valid points people have brought up is to start posting interviews with openly heavily modified people who are older than 25-30(there are a ton of us now), established in their(non-tattooing/piercing/bodymod/sideshow/entertainment)related fields-with lip plates, horns in their heads, implanted,etc. When there are as many of those as there are interviews with “revolutionary” people who all appear very young, non established in what appears to be ANY field-THEN you’ll have something approaching a real evolution. The occasional rocket scientist you’ve interviewed(which I greatly appreciated)or lawyer(love ya Marissa) doesn’t balance out the wave of people now getting their stretched lobes reversed-something once profiled here with some level of “wow” but now seemingly a footnote to other heavier/prettier/more awe inspiring modifications because(i’m guessing)its not considered ‘cutting edge’ anymore.
I still have the first piercing I ever got at 19 and I’m 35 now. but I know that people’s personal body aesthetic can and DO change over time-I know my own ears have gone up and down in gauge sizes/jewelry types for years. If these folks still feel the same at 26, 36, 46 and beyond…hey great! lets do another round of interviews in 5 years with these same people to find out how they’ve “evolved” not just on the outside but on the inside.
To close, it needs to be repeated but comments you perceive as bad have just as much validity as the congratulatory/adoration oriented ones. If you’re going to bitch all the time when people don’t agree in a public forum turn the fucking comments off all together or quit carping about it. I’d rather see the mixture of good and bad-even paleblue(kiss kiss)and yttrx-than stupid blind devotional circle jerks where everyone is just patting each other on the back. otherwise expect the beatings to continue until morale improves. 😉
Eff the haters.
Ok firstly Shannon didnt know this girls age before he interviewed her, Shannon would you still have done it knowing that in most countries she is underage? Secondly Shannon didnt do this to her so cant be held responsible.
Now for my two cents… I think she is way too young for this her body hasnt matured and she is a child imo. I also dont think she should be married either but thats not a mod so I will leave it there.
In most countries you have to be 18 and for very good reason, I thought I knew everything at 16 as do most teenagers.Sadly I still dont know everything ,lol.
Shannon not everyone who disagrees with blogs or you has an agenda against BME they just have opinions.
Oh and as much as I dont like huge lip plates I think GC looks happy and thats what matters.( and he is an adult)and before anyone says Duff looks happy too ,that may be so but ask her again when shes the same age as GC I think that would be interesting,maybe it would prove me wrong 🙂
Just to counter the “when I was 16 I was stoopid” tales –
When I was almost 16 I got engaged. Now we’re married. It’s fantastic. Pretty major life choice there, no?
Since 16, I… know degree-level academic content and am more sure of my career choice. That’s the only difference I can think of.
I, for one, admire that girl – getting engaged is socially approved, she went with what she wanted despite it really not being so!
Firstly #93 I wear wood in my 1″ labret, it’s comfy and my lip likes ebony…I had horrible problems wearing delrin…other people seem to do well with it, my lip got pissed off and if I knew where to get a clay lip plate from I WOULD 😀 so in answer to your question, there’s a few of us out there
Now the interview, Informative, well written and non-biased to all sides as usual
GT.c. from talking to him online is a great guy (even if he is filthy bournemouth scum…love you really chris) and his decision with his lip plate seems well thought out and I really like the look of it on him, even though |I wouldn’t stretch my lip that size myself (YET)
With Duff…I’m going to partiually agree with the quote/unquote ‘haters’ n that her being 16 kinda tweaks me out however that is because of the person I was when I was 16
Would I have done something like this when I was 16, no because I don’t think I would have been mentally ready to handle having some more extreme modifications
Is it wrong for someone this young to get modifications of this tye? No because every single 2 armed 2 legged 1 brained human being is different in all but the most basic of genetic structure so why should I impose what was not right for me onto someone I don’t know
I’ve had younger friends of a similar age who I’ve advised against getting certain piercings or tattoos because they are people I know and I know that with those people they are only getting it because it’s the ‘in’ thing
I would not however advise all 16 year old that getting a certain modification is wrong for them because of their age because of the aforementioned differences in everyone
From reading the interview Duff seems mature and has an intrinsically adult view of the world…this is from reading an interview with her, I do not know her personally so would not advise her on anything but she seems to know what she’s doing
The only concern I have is that she was worked on by a practitioner as she said herself for her lip cutting when she was under the age of 18 and this could get both the practitioner and herself into trouble with the ‘powers that be’
sorry…I didn’t realise i’d typed that much :O
Er Id like to know the gender of all these people saying 16′s an age where you fully know your own mind and what you want in life. Speaking as a female, every 16 year old girl i have ever known, including myself, actually DOESNT. All those hormones flying about make you THINK you do, and watch out anyone that says otherwise, but the actual fact is you dont. Guys mature later, its a fact. At 16 i very much doubt she is fully prepared not only to have to live with the asthetics of her lip plate for the rest of her life, but also to deal with all the other crap that comes with it. For example finding a job and having to face predjudice from the general public.
When I was 16 I split my tongue (am female) and had a large-ish list of planned modifications. Have made it through most of the list and don’t regret anything yet, don’t think I will. It is often a mistake to base your perceptions of other people on your personal experiences. Culture varies hugely in perception of children / adults country to country, this fight over age is a lot like what used to go on with males claiming women were overly emotional and couldn’t be trusted to make decisions for themselves, just accept that if people have the means they will do what they want.
Anyone remember the BME interview with the 16 year old (I think?) who amputated one of his fingers?
I am 16 and I have tattoos and piercings, including a microdermal, all of which I have thought about thoroughly. There are actually a decent number of young people with split tongues on IAM. I would have mine done if I had the money. Although I understand where people are coming from with their age comments, I really don’t think it’s valid. Everyone is different. I think it’s pretty dumb when people criticize people like her for modifications they love but have no problem when they see pictures of people getting tattoos removed.
Timinglife: I don’t think many people are flat out criticizing her. I think the majority are just concerned for her well being and future.
#106 starspring – Agreed.
I do appreciate both of these interviews, I’ll note that the one with GC didn’t raise as many issues with me, simply because he does seem more settled in a career path before he fully went for it, has a specialized skill, had the experience of taking mods out for work, etc.
I also think it would be interesting to hear back from people in a few years, how’s it going, etc. I’ve been appreciating some of the photos of more healed cuttings, too.
As for stretched ears no longer being so cutting edge? I’ll agree with that. The SCARY side of that is the various webpages you find on Yahoo questions and the like with 13-15 year olds bragging on how they are “gauging” so fast, using random household materials to just jam through there and stretch to an inch in a month and yeah, it’s bleeding but hey, doesn’t last too long! (Occasionally in those long-ago closed threads there would be some voice of reason pop in, scream, and provide links to the advice on BME.)
But, I do see more stretched ears (nice ones) on people working (even with the public) and that’s a good thing.
And finally… the articles I’ve read about the Mursi say that they make their own clay plates. I’ve heard discussion that making polymer clay things directly for ears can be harmful (or is that only Sculpey in particular?) but I suppose natural clay would be different, and so, I also wonder if anyone’s tried that. The natural look of brown decorated (in the Mursi case) with white dots was interesting.
Note: I was just informed that Duff’s birth year on IAM is listed as 1987, so it’s possible that age 16 is when the modifications started, not her current age.
Its not about solely her gender, its about her AGE in relation to her gender.
i have been coming to this site for several months now…and this has to be the funniest group of people…not because or in spite of the interest in body modification, but because of the war of the mods…we have the peace mods (please, everyone let’s just get along!)…the snob mods (we have very strong opinions about what should and should not be)…and the mod squad (body modding is fun and cool but a personal choice – note this group also includes those who arent modded out – this is the group that laughs at everyone else)…just my two cents…
i do enjoy the spirited nature in which opinions are debated because what people may or may not realize it is in these very debates that the true intelligence of this community is displayed…i am being serious here…i can “hear” the voices of those presenting their own opinions and i find it incredible…other forums/communities would have locked down the comments…a “big brother” would be censoring EVERY single comment…but at least the debate still rages on…
and that is what makes this place unique…not the fact that individuals who choose to alter their physical form are allowed to display themselves…because in reality, that is what they want…they want to show the world, hey, look i have done this to myself and i want to share it because it makes me feel good to do so…it isnt that that makes this site different…it is in the ability to continue to discuss in this manner…
those of you involved may not agree with me…but you are still here arguing your point, arent you…
curiousgirl
i dont get how people on here can hate on other modified people. Level of maturity doesnt depend on ages its totally down to the individual person, and who cares if she decides in 5 years time she doesnt want it anymore? why is that anything to do with us?
ps. i think duff is amazingly pretty.
I don’t like to get into these debates because for the most part I find them utterly pointless. I would however love to know the current ages of everyone who is saying “when I was 16 I wanted all this stuff and now I have it” and how long you’ve actually had your modifications for. I don’t really find that argument valid until you are of a substantial adult age. Being 18 doesn’t really cut it for me. I for the most part haven’t changed who I am since I was 16 (I am now 20.5, 6 months til 21 almost exactly I’m excited haha) but I’m very glad I wasn’t getting modifications at that age. I wasn’t fully grown and I would have some tattoos now that I’d regret mostly based on positioning. I’m starting my back piece in a few weeks and I have to cover my first tattoo that I got when I was 18. I love the tattoo, but its just poorly placed for my over all modification goals. I don’t agree entirely that all 16 year olds are knuckle heads and don’t know what they want, BUT I’d have to say the vast majority of 16 year olds don’t know what they want, or it will change with time. And I’m not talking decades, I’m talking months to maybe a few years. If when Duff is 30 and she’s still rocking her lip plate and has an awesome career more power to her, but I worry that that will not be the case.
i stopped reading comments after a certain point…my ADHD got the best of me…i see alot of people pondering duff’s age…in other cultures, 16 year olds are considered adult participants in society. in some contries girls, are married and with child by 14. while professionally i’d never stretch a 16 year old’s lip to that size, i live in a different part of the world and i’m shaped by my own cultural perceptions and restraints. also* some contries are a bit more accepting of mods than my own, so it would be hard to even understand how she’s actually even limited herself professionally-not knowing if her region is less judgemental…
in the end, she’s a pretty girl and the interview was interesting. according to comment # 54, she’s happy and doesn’t understand what all the cursings about…what you do to yourself is your own choice, i think ethical debates should be reserved for when professionals start improperly stretching minors to this size, not when they elect to do it to themselves. sometimes i think people are forgetting that these are actual people. while i don’t always agree with shannon’s views, i think his statement that we should wait till they actually regret the decision has some weight. i will agree that when someone’s featured that has made some hasty stretch decisions that result in scarring-by all means address that shit! but telling a 16 year old she’ll have so many regrets is not only condecending, its counter productive…when we were kids and the adults told us we’d have ‘so many regrets’-did we listen? i know i didn’t…so why risk sounding like your mothers?
excuse me- i meant to say ALL of shannon’s views…thought i’d clear that up
#122 Uh of course maturity levels relate to age =/
I agree with those who have mentioned being modded since a young age and now don’t regret it… I’m not exactly old, but I’ve been getting pierced since I was 13 or 14 and tattooed since I was 17 and the only thing that’s changed is that I want more than I initially thought I would.
I’m also not heavily modded, yet, but that has more to do with my lack of balls than my lack of wanting.
Is it not less her age and more the fact that she is still just studying that is concerning people? That she doesn’t know what she’ll be doing in the future and whether her dream job has become impossible to obtain; many people don’t discover what they truely want to do untill later in life. For now though she is obviously happy and content with herself which I can’t see anyone thinking a bad thing.
Also, it’s pointless to comment on things unwritten, inasked and unsaid. It’s equally likely for her to be the girl who changes a huge amount between 16 and 25 and make decisions she regrets as it is for her to be th girl who knows herself at 16 and stays the same for her whole life. Claiming one side or the other is definitely true and atacking people who disagree just seems pointless to me.
re: Organics in labrets (stemming from comment #93… I didn’t read them all, just skimmed them and it caught my attention)
Wood is great in labrets, but it does have to break in. Personally, I have olivewood in both my medusa and labret, and couldn’t be happier with it. I honestly can’t remember the last time (at 8 gauge maybe? 5-ish years ago?) I wore anything other than stone or wood in my labret.
I was an education major (volunteered as a preschool teacher, private instructor, and did various other teaching/tutoring-related jobs) with a big labret. It’s not nearly as ‘debilitating’ as you’d think even in a conservative area. I was tentative about stretching very large (I set my limit at 2g) until I knew what I was doing with my life a little more concretely (whatever that means), but to be honest if I had gone to my current size (roughtly 1″) back then I’d have probably never regretted it for a second.
Oh, and as far as the wood in labrets thing, I actually made GC a labret almost a year ago (around 1 1/2″ I believe), but due to issues getting it there (my studio was broken into and the first piece was part of the many things stolen), he was at a larger size than the jewelry I’d made for him by the time it arrived so I don’t think he ever really got to wear it in his lip.
FINALLY!
not only an interview not related to genital modification/sexuality,
but an interview with a female too!!!
THANK YOU!!!
i remember her picture in stretched labrets gallery
in which she was topless/nude
does that mean that your liable for some sort of
legal action against you shannon for posting them
cos that’d sure blow?
It’s nice to know there are so many budding social workers out there, caring for the young of the world and their future.
Really, I think a lot of people should be asking themselves, why they give a fuck about what some Russian girl somewhere does with herself. Or why one young American guy chooses to do what he does, to himself. Why do you care?
If they’re happy then big fucking deal what they do.
And as for the promotion aspect, I bet most of you berating Shannon at the moment say little or nothing of the tobacco industry or alcohol lobby or junk food and soft drink companies that spend billions and billions of dollars/pounds/euros/yuan etc actively ruining the lives of millions of children the world over, year after year.
Put things into perspective people. It’s a small handful of people and it’s a 50/50 gamble (their gamble): either they’ll love it and YOUR life will remain the same or they’ll hate it, and YOUR life will remain the same.
Regarding the marriage age, there are countless countries around the world that being married at 16 years old is permitted, some with some without parental consent: Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Canada, Chile, Mexico, UK, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Singapore and nearly every country in Europe amongst others and let’s not even go there with the USA with 45 States allowing it AND Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri all 15 years old, New Hampshire 14 for boys and 13 for girls, New York and Utah (never mind the polygamy) 14 years old.
So you might want to get off your moral high horses about the young marriage part and do your homework first.
Strangely enough I didn’t see anyone complain like this with the previous 2 interviews. Did no one want to tell the guy who tortures his cock and testicles how much of a douche they think he is? Or how much of his life he’s ruining? What about the
Lizardman, do you all contact him regularly to let off some steam about how his job propects in the banking sector are now fucked because he tattooed himself the wrong shade of green? Or maybe you stalk The Enigma to let him into the big secret that he might never get a promotion to senior pen pusher in his local council administration office?
Life would be so fucking dull if there were no risk takers, for without them 95% of the people on BME doing suspensions right now wouldn’t be photographing and promoting themselves on the site.
Any new procedures or looks that we all buy into often came from risk takers, people willing to go against the grain and put themselves out on a limb. Instead of telling them all the things that they can’t do, why not try something radical and help them find things that they CAN do.
We should be promoting diversity in all its incarnations not demonising it. Supporting it, not trying to bring it back down to the lowest, blandest, most common looking denominator.
I’ve got to say that I’m slightly bemused by the fact that so many people have identified her age as being a source of interest here – all the more so, since it wasn’t raised as a possible issue in the interview – it was only mentioned casually in passing.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know whether she’s going to regret it when she’s older, but I have no real reason to assume that she might. I certainly wouldn’t base any assumptions I might make on the basis of what I did or didn’t do when I was sixteen.
When I was interviewed for BME this time last year, I said in answer to one of the questions: “But to answer the question properly — Do what feels right for you, whatever age you are.” It’s your mod, your decision, and – ultimately – your verdict on whether the decision you took was the right one or not.
133 ‘So you might want to get off your moral high horses about the young marriage part and do your homework first. ‘
LOL so should you the legal age for marraige in all of the uk except Scotland is 18.And anyway just because something is legal does not make it right ,once again jmo.
#126. no.
#136 right so you have the same level of maturity now as you did when you were 13? if so i feel a little sorry for you. at 16 i very much doubt she has had enough life experience for her to be mature enough to make life changing decisions. its not like its a lip piercing or crappy tattoo, its a heavy modification.
Why do people give a fuck? Because it’s an interesting picture posted to the public internet with a comments section, that’s why. So people passing through with the tiniest portion of their day decide to… “Leave a Comment,” as it suggests on the bottom of the page.
Discussion is interesting. Boundaries are interesting.
You’re right – life would be dull if there were no risk takers. But the flip side of that is, someone is always out there pushing that line, and crossing boundaries. Part of what makes something a heavy mod, or gives the “wow that takes balls” is because it’s coming up against social boundaries (boundaries which move, but you can certainly overtake them). So, humans that we are, people wonder, what’s that like? So they ask about it. How does it change you? Etc.
As for Lizardman and The Enigma, they have careers already as sideshow performers, which is a world away in position from someone just starting out or even still in school. It’s a question of timing. GC in this post, too, has secure employment and some special skills now to take to any future places. So, it’s a more steady footing, compared to still being a student.
I honestly don’t see so much of the supposed “hating” in here that people keep talking about. I think people ask honest questions, and yet occasionally if they are about boundaries get the canned “there is no line, it will change nothing!” response, which I’ll admit comes off to me as ignoring an elephant in the room. I’m not telling anyone not to push boundaries, or not to cross lines, but to pretend that the boundaries don’t exist seems to dodge the discussion entirely and is, dare I say it, boring, on the other side.
Mexie, a simple Internet search would have shown you that you’re wrong:
“Throughout the United Kingdom and the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, the minimum legal age for getting married is 16 years.
In England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the written consent of your parents, or legal guardians, is required if you are under 18 years of age. In Jersey, your parents’ consent is required if you are under 20 years of age and if they live in the Island, they must give their consent in person. In Guernsey, if your parents live in the Island, they must also give their consent in person. In Scotland, no parental consent is required. Where written consent is required, it will normally have to be given on a consent form provided by the registrar.”
Akibare, the reason they have those careers is because of their extreme modification choices. The Lizardman wasn’t ‘The Lizardman’ before he tattooed himself and got his implants and tongue split. It would be interesting to hear his take on this though, and Enigma’s. Who’s to say she won’t also develop a similar career along those same lines.
I’m fully aware of societal boundaries and the narrow mindedness of people within those boundaries and as a consequence I’m still all for less ‘shoot them down’ and more ‘build them up’, much like I am for many other minority, disadvantaged groups of people.
my whole gripe had less to do with how shes going to feel with her body in 5 years (she’ll feel however she wants to and as ferg said, this will NOT affect my life in anyway) what i was more questioning was the ‘professionals’ that performed a tongue split on someone so young and that the issue(or non issue?) of her age wasn’t even mentioned in the interview or in the comments until now. if she did the tongue split herself, fine. if some asshole posing as a professional artist did it, then i think thats bad news not to mention bad practise.
thanks for posting this shannon, fuck i love a good healthy debate(although i wouldnt really call this a debate, rather an exchange of opinions) that was fun. and its cute how agressive everyone gets. humans love being right 🙂
I get so annoyed with the arguments that teenagers are mature enough to make adult decisions. Teens have the mindset of “us vs. adults” because we just don’t understand them… as if we weren’t all teenagers at some point! And yet their argument is that things are somehow different with them — that teens are now better equipped to make reasoned choices than we were when we were teens making stupid decisions.
NEWSFLASH! This is simply not true. To marginalize dissent by making the argument that this is an “ageist” position is ridiculous. This is SCIENCE! There are physical differences between the minds of teens and adults, and this difference manifests in how we process emotions. Compared to teenagers, we adults have greater activity in our frontal lobes and lower activity in our amygdala. As we transition from being teenagers into being adults, brain activity shifts from being focused in the amygdala to the frontal lobes!
The frontal lobe is what controls behavioral inhibition, the ability to control emotions, and impulses. This is also where decisions about right and wrong and cause-effect relationships are processed. The amygdala, on the other hand, is involved in making instinctive, “gut” reactions (think “fight or flight”). With lower levels of frontal lobe activity, control over behavior and emotions is also lower. And with higher levels of amygdala activity, the odds of reactionary decision-making and increased emotional arousal is also higher! Basically, teenagers’ brains are WORSE at making good decisions and BETTER and making gut decisions without fully understanding cause-and-effect.
Is that being ageist or being real? You tell me.
So while you may feel like a more enlightened being to treat teenagers as peers and tiny adults, they are not. Age isn’t “just a number.” The simple fact of the matter is that their brains are not fully developed yet, and they are much more prone to impulsive decisions without having properly evaluated the repercussions.
Get a grip, dude.
You’re right, my mistake. ‘Adults’ don’t make wrong decisions. They never regret things, never do things impulsively, always evaluate the repercussions and act accordingly.
With their increased maturity and controlled brain activity they marry with responsibility, never make mistakes and can control their emotions at/with will.
They instinctively know what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’.
You could argue what ‘making a good decision’ is for years; that is certainly not ‘science’. Your opinion (and it is just that) of ‘right’, ‘wrong’ and ‘good decision’ will be different to others’ I’m sure. Thankfully I might add.
Gut decisions: those evolved, instinctual ones are usually the ones that keep us alive – using your fight or flight term, (there is also a ‘freeze’ in there but that’s kind of irrelevant). Before we have a chance to study the cause and effect, out instincts often take over.
I can just see you standing there with a fast approaching angry lion, maturely going through all the options while the 16 year old with the big lip plug who was standing next to you moments before has fled into the bush….she turns round just in time to see you get mauled while muttering “I’m glad being an adult enabled me to work all of this out and make the right decision.”
Oh and I forgot, everyone is the same. There is no variation at all with humans of course. Everyone at 16 is identical in behaviour and thinking to everyone else at 16.
I think you need to get a grip, dude.
Maybe the repercussions to her are not as important? Maybe she doesn’t want a boring, normal life like the majority of other people. Maybe she’s happy standing out (some people love it and make a healthy living from it – and they’re adults too! Can you imagine!!!)
i think 142 is begging the question in talking about whether “teenagers are mature enough to make adult decisions”. this seems to suggest that adulthood comes in with a jolt at midnight on our 20th birthday, which is an arbitrary number probably derived originally from our having 10 fingers. are we to imagine that at that moment the brain activity moves forward to the frontal lobes.
the actual transition to adulthood is far vaguer than that , and in our own particular society seems to vary in legal terms from 18 to 21, although as someone has already pointed out, in the uk you can marry at 16. certainly the body of most people is mature at 18 and sometimes long before depending on their individuality and on their nutrition . conversely i know a number of people who have long ago passed 21 whose brain has not yet set into an adult pattern.
i think it is a folly to define mental maturity entirely in terms of age , and an even greater one to assign a turnover date that fits all. some people in bme are definately making mature decisions in their teens, others perhaps who are past the teens may not have started
LOL! Okay, argue that brain scans and neuroscience are opinions. Have fun with that.
What’s your level of education, by the way?
And nobody is claiming that the DAY you turn 18, you become better equipped for decision-making. What I’m claiming is that as you near your mid-20′s, there is a physiological change in your brain activity that affects how you make decisions and how you behave.
Keep fighting the uneducated, unscientific fight — I’m sure you guys will win. *Pats your heads* Good job.
145-strange, i could have sworn it was you making statements about “adults” versus “teens” and “teenagers brains”. i hadnt realised you werent using thise terms with their normal dictionary meanings of before and after the 20th birthday.
tho i apologise to other readers, this has really nothing to do with the quality of the interview or duff’s apparently completely successfull exercise in stretching.and until we have reason to think she is suffering adverse social effects from her mods (something of which there is no evidence) any comment on that issue is irrelevant, speculative and valueless
You’re showing the weakness of your position by resorting to an argument of semantics, but do what you must. 🙂
i just love all the different, and sometimes clashing, views on modblog…and all the ‘evidence’ each side brings to the table…
that’s a really interesting point you raised, sean, about brain activity and developement…is there a link you could provide that has more info on the subject? i’d love to read more about this. that’s something i haven’t ever seen raised in the ‘are they too young’ debate before…
That’s because this community has evolved into something where we must encourage and glorify any and all modifications, as if there were no consequences, no difference in opinions, and no point at which another can raise concern: it is politically correct and enlightened to say that age is just a number; it’s the teenage mantra (now and in all previous generations) that they are more mature than their age and that adults don’t understand them. Reality has a habit of being a party pooper, so most would rather ignore the facts in favor of mob mentality and BME scene points.
Some sources, just to start:
“Another series of MRI studies is shedding light on how teens may process emotions differently than adults. Using functional MRI (fMRI), a team led by Dr. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd at Harvard’s McLean Hospital scanned subjects’ brain activity while they identified emotions on pictures of faces displayed on a computer screen.5 Young teens, who characteristically perform poorly on the task, activated the amygdala, a brain center that mediates fear and other “gut” reactions, more than the frontal lobe. As teens grow older, their brain activity during this task tends to shift to the frontal lobe, leading to more reasoned perceptions and improved performance. Similarly, the researchers saw a shift in activation from the temporal lobe to the frontal lobe during a language skills task, as teens got older. These functional changes paralleled structural changes in temporal lobe white matter.
While these studies have shown remarkable changes that occur in the brain during the teen years, they also demonstrate what every parent can confirm: the teenage brain is a very complicated and dynamic arena, one that is not easily understood.”
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/teenage-brain-a-work-in-progress.shtml
“Talk more about that in terms of the kind of risks that teenagers take. When they exhibit risky behavior, what is actually happening?
One thing that happens in the brain when we’re going to get involved in any activity or initiate any activity is, we either have to decide what the consequences of that behavior are, or we’re just going to behave impulsively. And to appreciate what the consequences of a behavior are, you have to really think through what the potential outcomes of a behavior are. I think the frontal lobe, that part of the executive region that we studied, is not always functioning fully in teenagers; or least our data suggests that perhaps it’s not.
That would suggest that therefore teenagers aren’t thinking through what the consequences of their behaviors are, which would lead us to believe that they’d be more impulsive, because they’re not going to be so worried about whether or not what they’re doing has a negative consequence. …
Our findings suggest that what is coming into the brain, how it’s being organized, and then ultimately the response — all three of those may be different in our adolescents. So that attitude may be part of that, or may be related to that. But it’s not simply a matter of teenagers feeling like they don’t want to do something, or that they’re just going to give you a hard time. …”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/todd.html
I don’t understand all the controversy over this girl starting her modifications at the age of sixteen.
Is there really that much of a difference in mentality between the ages sixteen and eighteen? How much of it is the age of the person versus the maturity of the person? There is a lot of people making judgments about someone they have never met.
I understand that some of the issues being raised are not meant to be personal, but instead with the publication of Duff’s experiences… that just seems like splitting hairs to me. It sounds a lot like “she shouldn’t have been allowed to do this to herself and we shouldn’t discuss it, in case others might decide to follow her lead.”
If she lives to regret her decisions, she will not be the first person to ever find themselves in such a position. If she doesn’t… well, that will go a long way in showing people that they were wrong to judge.
Just my two cents.