Editing Body modification

{{short description|Consensual alteration of human anatomy}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2013}}
[[File:Scarification by Lestyn Flye.jpg|thumb|[[Scarification]] in progress]]
{{Body modification}}
'''Body modification''' (or '''body alteration''') is the deliberate altering of the [[human anatomy]] or [[human physical appearance]].<ref name="Thompson 2010">{{cite book | last1 = Thompson | first1 = Tim | last2 = Black | first2 = Sue | title = Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction | publisher = [[CRC Press]] | year = 2010 | pages = 379–398 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=2o6iyCnwmDEC | access-date = 25 February 2013 | isbn = 978-1420005714}}</ref> In its broadest [[definition]] it includes skin [[tattoo]]ing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common [[earring|ear piercing]] in many societies), and religious [[rites of passage]] (e.g., [[circumcision]] in a number of cultures), as well as the [[modern primitive]] movement.

Body modification is performed for a large variety of reasons, including [[Aesthetic (meme)|aesthetic]]s, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, [[religious symbol|religious beliefs]], to display group membership or affiliation, in remembrance of lived experience, traditional symbolism such as [[axis mundi]] and [[mythology]], to create [[body art]], for [[shock value]], and as self-expression, among other reasons.<ref name="Thompson 2010" /><ref>{{cite web |date=16 May 1986 |title=What Is Body Modification? |url=http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisbodymod_pdv.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128093431/http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisbodymod_pdv.htm |archive-date=28 January 2016 |access-date=20 March 2015 |work=Essortment}}</ref>

== Background ==
[[File:First piercing.jpg|thumb|100px|Early stages of getting a [[navel piercing]]]] 
What counts as "body modification" varies in cultures. In western cultures, the cutting or removal of one's hair is not usually considered body modification. Body modification can be contrasted with body adornment by defining body modification as "the physical alteration of the physical body [...] can be temporary or permanent, although most are permanent and modify the body forever".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=DeMello |first=Margo |title=Encyclopedia of Body Adornment. |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0313336959 |location=United States of America |pages=}}</ref>

== Biohacking ==

[[Body hacking|Biohacking]], also referred to as "bodyhacking," represents a subculture of individuals experimenting with the integration of technology and biology to enhance human capabilities. This movement, pioneered by figures like [[Kevin Warwick]], involves practices ranging from inserting magnetic implants for sensory augmentation to developing DIY bionic prosthetics. While some advances, such as brain-connected prosthetic limbs and sensory vests for the deaf, push the boundaries of art and medicine, biohacking remains a controversial field due to ethical concerns and health risks. Advocates believe it could revolutionize human potential, yet its adoption is limited by the challenges of commercial viability and mainstream acceptance.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=25 January 2025 |author=The Guardian |date=29 October 2017 |periodical=The Guardian |title='We are the future': Meet the transhumanists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/29/transhuman-bodyhacking-transspecies-cyborg}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|small=no}}
*[[Adornment]]
*[[Bioethics]]
*[[Blood ritual]]
*[[Bodyhacking]]
*[[Church of Body Modification]]
*[[Deformity]]
*[[Eyeborg]]
*[[First haircut]]
*[[Genital modification and mutilation]]
*[[Genital tattooing]]
*[[Human enhancement]]
*[[Leblouh]]
*[[List of body modifications]]
*[[List of people known for extensive body modification]]
*[[Makeup]]
*[[Microchip implant (human)|Microchip implant]]
*[[Modern primitive]]
*[[Morphological freedom]]
*[[Transhumanism]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Body piercing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Body Modification}}
[[Category:Body modification| ]]
[[Category:Cultural trends]]
[[Category:Underground culture]]