So, both of the people who regularly read my posts here are probably aware of my proclivity to occasionally find a particularly silly article by some poor jamoke (who probably doesn’t give half a shit about body modification but just needs to file 800 words thrice weekly to his local newspaper so he doesn’t lose his health benefits) and then eviscerate them because ha ha they don’t understand body modification, jerks! I’m not apologizing for this, but I would like to clarify my position: I don’t actually care at all if somebody is perplexed or even grossed out by certain types of body modification. The pursuit of body modification is not an absolute, and it’s silly and arrogant to think that just because somebody doesn’t particularly enjoy tattoos or scarification or implants that there is something fundamentally wrong with them.
The issue I take with these sorts articles is not that the authors don’t appreciate body modification, but rather that they so often allow their lack of understanding to take the form of a hatred and mistrust of those for whom body modification is fundamentally important. Because of this, the level of discourse just tends to devolve into “… and 60 years from now, old people who are bitter because they tattooed their faces when they were still in the womb and never got a job will be furious because of their inky, flabby, unemployed skin and their inevitable uprising will give way to the extremist Muslim rapture!” and other such statements that are supposed to explain why body modification isn’t just an unattractive fad (or whatever), but is actually indicative of the hell-bound path on which our society has found itself, and it’s all because Scarlett Johansson got her septum pierced or the tollbooth guy had a tattoo on his neck.
With all that said, I’m admittedly confused by this column by Brian Goodings of The Blue Mountains Courier-Herald, which seems to take the opinion that … well, I can’t quite tell.
“When I was young I used to wear ill-fitting clothes (remember elephant pants?) and listen to strange music but when I got older, I just stopped doing so. The time for that kind of thing in my life had passed.”
“Strange music,” you say? Strange like John Zorn or strange like Crazy Town? I have to say that lines like, “I used to … listen to strange music but when I got older, I just stopped doing so” sound like pure propaganda and make it hard to believe the person who wrote them is under 50 years old. (Which is fine, of course, but the article’s tone seems to suggest the author is going for an, “I’m a Generation-Y’er who has seen the light!” sort of thing.) That said, I do remember elephant pants! We used to call them “phat pants” though, I think. Maybe we went to the same “raver drug warehouse parties”!
Goodings goes on to “wonder about the fate of our younger people because tattoos and many kinds of piercing leave a more permanent reminder of younger days that isn’t just going to go away when the wearer gets older.” It’s not that he dislikes tattoos — he even admits that he’s seen many he enjoys on people his age, whatever that is. (Presumably between 25-60.) But his concern is with some more extreme procedures he’s seen.
“Case in point: when I was in Denmark this summer with my family we visited the amusement park Tivoli. While there, we ran into a whole group of youngish men and women whom I believe would be called ‘Goths’. As a friend of my said, a couple of them looked like they’d fallen face-first into a fishing tackle box and come up worse for wear.”
Great joke. Nailed it.
“I’ve never seen such an array of piercing and black makeup and… well, you get the picture. But – and here’s the strangest thing- one of the young men was sporting a nifty pair of horns on his forehead. I’m not kidding; he had a pair of two-inch nubbins created by implants buried under his skin.
“His face was also heavily tattooed, as was every bare inch of skin that I could see. He and his buddy also had those earlobe discs-thingies and when they took them out to go on the rides, their stretched earlobes hung down the sides of their heads and moved like turkey wattles.”
Let’s revisit my initial point: I completely understand being put off by very heavily modified people when it’s something you are not used to. What Goodings is doing here is actually surprisingly subtly insidious: Later on in the piece, he admits to having done some research about body modification while writing this article. (Although he warns “this isn’t the kind of research I would recommend to anybody. The horn implants are tame compared to some of the stuff that people are doing to their bodies.” Ha ha body modification is gross!) Even a cursory look at BME or a similar site provides a handy enough resource for a writer to at least learn the correct terminology. But Goodings makes reference to “earlobe discs-thingies,” which sounds ridiculous to anyone who knows a plug or tunnel when they see one, but to those who are unfamiliar or just generally don’t care? It makes the people being described sound ridiculous and discredits them just because of their modifications. Goodings doesn’t seem like he’s really against this stuff for the most part (the fact that he trots out the hoary old “disfigurements/mutilations” descriptor notwithstanding), so consciously using this sort of language is a curious decision and makes a bewilderingly off-kilter article all the more unfocused.
And good lord is it ever bewildering — the real problem with this article is that it’s just poorly reasoned. After a piecemeal beginning, the bottom half of the piece jackknifes and flies off the overpass as Goodings starts throwing out half-baked ideas about what hardcore modifications really mean.
“I wonder if this kind of stuff is based on the deepest of narcissisms or perhaps they are trying to say, ‘I’m so alienated from human society that I don’t even want to look like a person…’
“[… M]aybe, just maybe, these are very sensitive people who feel, like many others in our time, utterly powerless to significantly change the world in any other way so instead they ‘alter’ their own bodies.
“[…] Maybe they are tuned into and even reflect the deep angst felt by creation itself as the extinction rates of our neighbours speed up and the unsustainable economies crash and often the whole world looks like it’s heading you-know-where in a handbasket.”
All of which seems to be saying, body modification to Goodings is a means of displaying one’s feelings of weakness and acquiescence to the demands of a cruel world, rather than being a method of expression, beautification or even just a fad. Those who engage in heavy body modification, Goodings seems to be suggesting, are trying to ugly themselves up so that they fit in with their crumbling surroundings. Either that or he’s trying to be zeitgeisty enough to write his way into a bigger paper. It’s a toss-up.
And then there’s the finale:
“Perhaps it’s always been thus with the upcoming generation but I sense there’s something deeper going on nowadays on many levels and I believe it does signify a global paradigm shift in almost everything we do. Desperation is running high – but so is hope.”
I’m not trying to be a dick, but this doesn’t even mean anything. Platitudes and poor attempts to insert buzzwords do not a coherent editorial make; this reads like a letter a high school sophomore would write to Obama while recovering from wisdom tooth surgery. And the shame is that it’s not like there aren’t parallels and associations to be drawn between body modification and certain other cultural and societal movements and trends, but the author misses those completely, and instead resorts to some Dadaist nonsense that seems to say that, as the western world becomes more fucked up, so too do those for whom body modification is an integral part of their lives regress into some sort of dystopic mess of Mad Max-esque cretins. But … maybe there’s more to it than that? So stay hopeful? With your ear-disc-thingies? Now that’s analysis you can take to the bank. After you get it from the dime-store.
On the Horns of a Dilemma [Blue Mountains Courier-Herald]
Comments
108 responses to “Regional Columnist Fascinated With/Disgusted By Body Modification, is a Talented Philosopher”
“this reads like a letter a high school sophomore would write to Obama while recovering from wisdom tooth surgery”
LMFAO. WIN!
“this reads like a letter a high school sophomore would write to Obama while recovering from wisdom tooth surgery”
LMFAO. WIN!
yeah whatever u suck andthe poeple here swallow stop throwing stones in glass houseididnt see u say boo or standup on the first big ? if our so cxalled top people here are willing to judge other worthiness to beemployed somewhere by thier mods then wtf losserr u andthem
yeah whatever u suck andthe poeple here swallow stop throwing stones in glass houseididnt see u say boo or standup on the first big ? if our so cxalled top people here are willing to judge other worthiness to beemployed somewhere by thier mods then wtf losserr u andthem
“I’m not trying to be a dick, but this doesn’t even mean anything. ”
THANK YOU! while i was reading I spent too much time wondering what it did mean. And I only had to read on to realize it wasn’t just me!
“I’m not trying to be a dick, but this doesn’t even mean anything. ”
THANK YOU! while i was reading I spent too much time wondering what it did mean. And I only had to read on to realize it wasn’t just me!
Instead of just ‘assuming’ all the time, why didn’t he do some better ‘research’ and ASK members of the community…
Instead of just ‘assuming’ all the time, why didn’t he do some better ‘research’ and ASK members of the community…
See, the only thing that makes me go, “Buuuhhh..?” is the author says, “I don’t know, I’m just guessing.”
If you are “just guessing” then what makes you think you should be publishing articles about it? I could “just guess” about lots of things but you don’t see my “guesses” in any newspapers. lmao
See, the only thing that makes me go, “Buuuhhh..?” is the author says, “I don’t know, I’m just guessing.”
If you are “just guessing” then what makes you think you should be publishing articles about it? I could “just guess” about lots of things but you don’t see my “guesses” in any newspapers. lmao
bradly… I’ve read your comment 4 times and still have no idea what you’re attempting to convey there. You might want to give that comment another once over yourself.
bradly… I’ve read your comment 4 times and still have no idea what you’re attempting to convey there. You might want to give that comment another once over yourself.
ahahaha ah this was bare good.
and bradly if that was some attempt at an insult, better luck next time.
ahahaha ah this was bare good.
and bradly if that was some attempt at an insult, better luck next time.
The article isn’t very well written or well informed, but I think you had to do some digging to find any real malicious intent here.
The author is likely middle aged or grew up in a place where body modification was rare, and when visible probably not to the levels that you would see on BME/IAM. It’s not surprising then that his vocabulary of body jewelry might not reach much farther than “ear disc thingies”. Most people who don’t pay much attention to body mods probably don’t know to call them plugs or tunnels.
You’ve clearly taken his “wow piercings are wierd!” viewpoint as an affront, but you’ve gone to the same level and childishly countered with “lol that old guy sure doesn’t know much about body modification”
I swear some people on BME/IAM/ the bod mod “scene” in general are trying to look for any excuse to call someone ignorant because they don’t understand or like their modifications.
The article isn’t very well written or well informed, but I think you had to do some digging to find any real malicious intent here.
The author is likely middle aged or grew up in a place where body modification was rare, and when visible probably not to the levels that you would see on BME/IAM. It’s not surprising then that his vocabulary of body jewelry might not reach much farther than “ear disc thingies”. Most people who don’t pay much attention to body mods probably don’t know to call them plugs or tunnels.
You’ve clearly taken his “wow piercings are wierd!” viewpoint as an affront, but you’ve gone to the same level and childishly countered with “lol that old guy sure doesn’t know much about body modification”
I swear some people on BME/IAM/ the bod mod “scene” in general are trying to look for any excuse to call someone ignorant because they don’t understand or like their modifications.
#6 if that was ur attempt that ur hopin will leedto mating then we are thinking the same thing
” thats what “By Jordan Ginsberg • Oct 2nd, 2008
#6 if that was ur attempt that ur hopin will leedto mating then we are thinking the same thing
” thats what “By Jordan Ginsberg • Oct 2nd, 2008
http://www.buymyshitpile.com/node/3234
http://www.buymyshitpile.com/node/3234
#4 cause thememebrs here blow and #7 drop dead i dont have time to waste tothink ofinsult s i just spit the truth from the topof my head
#4 cause thememebrs here blow and #7 drop dead i dont have time to waste tothink ofinsult s i just spit the truth from the topof my head
Aaron: That wasn’t quite my point. The fact that he thinks piercings/etc. are weird and strange doesn’t bother me — it’s just a poorly written article that contradicts itself (or at least inelegantly tries to show “both sides” of a “debate” that is neither a debate nor nearly so polarized). More than anything, I was just trying to suss out exactly what he was getting at. I said quite plainly that I couldn’t care less if people don’t like or understand body modification, and I stand by that — my issue here was with the author of the piece trying to ascribe some ambiguous-but-seemingly-negative meaning to something he doesn’t understand.
Aaron: That wasn’t quite my point. The fact that he thinks piercings/etc. are weird and strange doesn’t bother me — it’s just a poorly written article that contradicts itself (or at least inelegantly tries to show “both sides” of a “debate” that is neither a debate nor nearly so polarized). More than anything, I was just trying to suss out exactly what he was getting at. I said quite plainly that I couldn’t care less if people don’t like or understand body modification, and I stand by that — my issue here was with the author of the piece trying to ascribe some ambiguous-but-seemingly-negative meaning to something he doesn’t understand.
Being a journalist, I understand the decision to call tunnels and olugs “Earlobe stretching thingies.” While we all know, many readers out there might not, in fact, the majority might not know, which is just a wee bit sad but given the state of the society with its own subculture at every corner, also understandable. However, I would not have called them “Earlobe Stretching Thingies” but out of journalistic neutrality (which does get a bit wobbly when applied to a column), I’d have rephrased the entire sentence.
Anyhow, while the entire piece might sound extremely jaded, it might not be as evil as you make it out to be. Also, you might think it’s not that hard to understand the basics of Bodymodding, but it is when you do it as a journalist. As such, you basically have to know every subculture, every sub-style of every subculture. And that, paired with deadlines, is extremely hard, since the insiders most likely won’t talk and the internet is a sketchy business.
Having that said, I’ll just go on enjoying what I see here. I just wanted to give you little impression of “the other side.”
Being a journalist, I understand the decision to call tunnels and olugs “Earlobe stretching thingies.” While we all know, many readers out there might not, in fact, the majority might not know, which is just a wee bit sad but given the state of the society with its own subculture at every corner, also understandable. However, I would not have called them “Earlobe Stretching Thingies” but out of journalistic neutrality (which does get a bit wobbly when applied to a column), I’d have rephrased the entire sentence.
Anyhow, while the entire piece might sound extremely jaded, it might not be as evil as you make it out to be. Also, you might think it’s not that hard to understand the basics of Bodymodding, but it is when you do it as a journalist. As such, you basically have to know every subculture, every sub-style of every subculture. And that, paired with deadlines, is extremely hard, since the insiders most likely won’t talk and the internet is a sketchy business.
Having that said, I’ll just go on enjoying what I see here. I just wanted to give you little impression of “the other side.”
Hoellenthon: Hey, I’m a journalist too — gaining expertise about many different subjects (or at least learning how to fake it well) is part of the job. I understand that deadlines can be stressful (I even address that in the intro), but I have very little sympathy for lazy writing, especially when the resources are readily available.
Hoellenthon: Hey, I’m a journalist too — gaining expertise about many different subjects (or at least learning how to fake it well) is part of the job. I understand that deadlines can be stressful (I even address that in the intro), but I have very little sympathy for lazy writing, especially when the resources are readily available.
But, they are his opinions and views. You can’t fault him for expressing them. If so, you are being extremely contradictory.
But, they are his opinions and views. You can’t fault him for expressing them. If so, you are being extremely contradictory.
“That wasn’t quite my point. The fact that he thinks piercings/etc. are weird and strange doesn’t bother me — it’s just a poorly written article that contradicts itself (or at least inelegantly tries to show “both sides” of a “debate” that is neither a debate nor nearly so polarized). More than anything, I was just trying to suss out exactly what he was getting at. I said quite plainly that I couldn’t care less if people don’t like or understand body modification, and I stand by that — my issue here was with the author of the piece trying to ascribe some ambiguous-but-seemingly-negative meaning to something he doesn’t understand.”
Ah, understood
“That wasn’t quite my point. The fact that he thinks piercings/etc. are weird and strange doesn’t bother me — it’s just a poorly written article that contradicts itself (or at least inelegantly tries to show “both sides” of a “debate” that is neither a debate nor nearly so polarized). More than anything, I was just trying to suss out exactly what he was getting at. I said quite plainly that I couldn’t care less if people don’t like or understand body modification, and I stand by that — my issue here was with the author of the piece trying to ascribe some ambiguous-but-seemingly-negative meaning to something he doesn’t understand.”
Ah, understood
Seems to me this author didn’t have enough time to complete any in-depth research into body modification and just couldn’t make up his mind. He didn’t/doesn’t know how he feels about it and that’s why his article is all over the place. As others have intimated: deadlines can be a bitch.
Seems to me this author didn’t have enough time to complete any in-depth research into body modification and just couldn’t make up his mind. He didn’t/doesn’t know how he feels about it and that’s why his article is all over the place. As others have intimated: deadlines can be a bitch.
You know what they say…. “Ignorance is bliss”… and some people are simply orgasmic.
You know what they say…. “Ignorance is bliss”… and some people are simply orgasmic.
Lazy, pointless writing. I find it easier to read professional articles, even if they’re hellfire and hate against mods. This just shows a lack of research and no direction.
“Thingies”. Not a word in journalism unless it is in quotation marks.
Lazy, pointless writing. I find it easier to read professional articles, even if they’re hellfire and hate against mods. This just shows a lack of research and no direction.
“Thingies”. Not a word in journalism unless it is in quotation marks.
every1 else stop postinghere i hate u and ur thoughts unless u agreewith me
every1 else stop postinghere i hate u and ur thoughts unless u agreewith me
He sort of paints the “scene” as “sensitive” and acknowledges that some (not all) do it for attention.
Besides, he was in a foreign country. He should have expected foreigners to be different. The article may be all over the place so that everyone can read it as supporting their side for the sake of diplomacy.
As for the dystopian rambling, I consider Dystopia to be a perfectly valid aesthetic. At least he didn’t suggest Prozium (“the great nepenthe”) or “lead identical lives”.
He sort of paints the “scene” as “sensitive” and acknowledges that some (not all) do it for attention.
Besides, he was in a foreign country. He should have expected foreigners to be different. The article may be all over the place so that everyone can read it as supporting their side for the sake of diplomacy.
As for the dystopian rambling, I consider Dystopia to be a perfectly valid aesthetic. At least he didn’t suggest Prozium (“the great nepenthe”) or “lead identical lives”.
Absolute opinion and I suppose there is no wrong in that. What an ‘easy read’… and by ‘easy read’ I mean that it really isn’t well written and definitely not informative. Though I’m confident there are a lot of kids, or people for that matter, going through a phase, or individuals who DO want to demonstrate their angst through body modification (though I personally don’t understand that), that is NOT everyone.
Now, after a massage with jojoba, I’m going to put my “disc-thingies” back in. Whatevs!
Absolute opinion and I suppose there is no wrong in that. What an ‘easy read’… and by ‘easy read’ I mean that it really isn’t well written and definitely not informative. Though I’m confident there are a lot of kids, or people for that matter, going through a phase, or individuals who DO want to demonstrate their angst through body modification (though I personally don’t understand that), that is NOT everyone.
Now, after a massage with jojoba, I’m going to put my “disc-thingies” back in. Whatevs!
I’m no journalist, but was there no better description than “earlobe discs-thingies,” perhaps “disc earrings” or “large earlobes with discs.” IMO the word “thingies” in particular has no place in professional journalism. It makes the author sound like a fourth-grader.
It seems like this guy budgeted his time poorly, went out and had a few beers with his buddies, came home, and realized he had a deadline. When I used to write short pieces for the school newspaper a few semesters ago, I would have been asked to stop submitting work if I had turned something like this guy’s article in.
I’m no journalist, but was there no better description than “earlobe discs-thingies,” perhaps “disc earrings” or “large earlobes with discs.” IMO the word “thingies” in particular has no place in professional journalism. It makes the author sound like a fourth-grader.
It seems like this guy budgeted his time poorly, went out and had a few beers with his buddies, came home, and realized he had a deadline. When I used to write short pieces for the school newspaper a few semesters ago, I would have been asked to stop submitting work if I had turned something like this guy’s article in.
Oh yeah, replace the period with a question mark at the end of the first sentence. That irritates me when I see other people do it…
Oh yeah, replace the period with a question mark at the end of the first sentence. That irritates me when I see other people do it…
Everyone’s right. The article didn’t have any real direction. I can’t tell exactly what he’s criticizing. Or condoning. And actually, I don’t think he was doing either.
I guess this was his thesis (or point. idk journalism jargon): “So what, you say? It’s their business, not yours! Yeah, I agree. But I’m intrigued why anyone would do that kind of thing to his or her body. They are certainly making a public statement but I’m not sure what they are saying.”
I suppose the point of this article was to explain WHY we modify ourselves instead of if he thinks it’s acceptable or not. But even so, his explanations were just guesses. There was no sign of research or reason in forming the opinions he did. Because there wasn’t any. He even admitted that they were guesses. Maybe if he’d interviewed one of these “very sensitive people” it would have been more potent.
Resonanteye said it best: “I find it easier to read professional articles, even if they’re hellfire and hate against mods.”
Everyone’s right. The article didn’t have any real direction. I can’t tell exactly what he’s criticizing. Or condoning. And actually, I don’t think he was doing either.
I guess this was his thesis (or point. idk journalism jargon): “So what, you say? It’s their business, not yours! Yeah, I agree. But I’m intrigued why anyone would do that kind of thing to his or her body. They are certainly making a public statement but I’m not sure what they are saying.”
I suppose the point of this article was to explain WHY we modify ourselves instead of if he thinks it’s acceptable or not. But even so, his explanations were just guesses. There was no sign of research or reason in forming the opinions he did. Because there wasn’t any. He even admitted that they were guesses. Maybe if he’d interviewed one of these “very sensitive people” it would have been more potent.
Resonanteye said it best: “I find it easier to read professional articles, even if they’re hellfire and hate against mods.”