Tattoos, Body Piercings, and Other Body Modifications Essay -- body mo

â€Å"The colors and pictures we apply to our skin communicate our values and aspirations as well as our hopes and personal histories. Even when we adopt the â€Å"natural look† and don't adorn our skin at all, we are making a social statement. Our skin talks even when we don't; it is not a neutral canvas.† (Jablonski, 164) We as a species are obsessed with our appearance and are equally preoccupied with altering it to our own varied desires. Each person wants nothing less than perfection, but each has an unique idea of what that means. Every person on the planet engages in some form of body modification to achieve the look that they can identify with and feel is their own. From cosmetics to cosmetic surgery, a pierced ear to a facial implant, hair styling to tattoos, and everything in between, altering our bodies is part of our way of life. Body painting was likely the first way in which the human animal adorned itself and attempted to express its individual status amongst the species. Long before the tools were invented required in the production of clothing; prehistoric hominids implemented embellishment of the physical form by smearing natural pigments such as hematite, limonite, manganese, and ash, as well as, chalk and charcoal. Scarification through branding as a cosmetic body alteration likely began in the early days after the invention of fire and has been carried on in various ways and by various cultures into the present day. Other forms of body alteration including diverse types of piercing and circumcision are remnants of the cultures from the ancient world. Tattooing and deliberate scarification became other ways of personal expression early on in prehistory, possibly also before fashioned clothing. It is co... ...TE / SITE OFFICIEL D'ORLAN." ORLAN OFFICIAL WEBSITE SITE OFFICIEL DORLAN RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. . Rush, John A.. Spiritual tattoo: a cultural history of tattooing, piercing, scarification, branding, and implants. Berkeley, Calif.: Frog :, 2005. Print. "Second Life with Autism." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. . Taylor, Mark C.. Hiding. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. Print. Wegenstein, Bernadette. The cosmetic gaze: body modification and the construction of beauty. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2012. Print. "modern." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. . "modernism." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. .