Subdermal Thinking

So, last night I emailed my piercer (I'll call him that since he has done ¼ of my piercings, and if I get my wrists pierced I am going back to him. Well, he sent me this e-mail this morning ;

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hi matt,
those were prob the best questions I have ever been asked. let me explain

1. I prefer to use a barbell with a 45 degree bend on it, this allows the flat part of the barbell to lie into the subcutaneous layer a lot easier than the 90 degree bars I feel that this way allows the piercing to stay in a lot longer and there is a lot less chances of it etting caught on clothing etc. I also like ptfe, which is a flexible plastic, some people cannot use the ptfe for allergic reasons


2 as with all surface piercings there is a high rate of rejection most of this happens due to improper after care a surface piercing is hard work to take care of there are some cases when the person has done everything right abd they still reject that does happen

I hope this has helped u at least a little and if u have anymore questions please feel free to ask also if you have a minute google dermal anchors and let me know if that is something u would be interested in they r really cool ttyl

O

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So, I did my research and basically what dermal anchors are implants into the skin with a screw top. Like the picture below. It seems like a really cool concept. It looks a little painful. I probably would not get my wrists done with this, as if they are removed then you need to get them cut out, which sounds very scary to me. I don't know it seems like there is a very spiritual connection with them because they are imbedded inside of you. It sounds very transforming and neat to me. So, I emailed him back saying I would probably be interested after my wrist piercings and next tattoo. I'll post what he says back, but I would be interested in getting this done. I was thinking maybe the front of my shoulders, maybe something below the waist. NO NOT THAT, like my knees or something. I saw some "ring dermal anchors", which seemed really neat, but not for me.

Oh well, if you are a person that reads this blog, comment and let me know what you think, but I think it sounds amazing.




I think it looks really neat, and would def. consider it. Other than that, I wanted to share some thoughts on piercings that I wrote for a class forum earlier. I think body mod is a very involved topic, but some things we talked about in class got my mind relating it to me as a modified person.


Here's what I said ::

I wanted to say something in class but conversation transformed and it seemed out of range when we got where we did, but I still wanted to bring it up. Joline et al was talking about the childbirthing curses and we were talking about pain, and what is pain, why can it not be good and it made me think of my body.

I am obviously a fan of body modification, and I understand a lot of people view it as abuse to the body (as some of my family members), but I view it as a very spiritual process.

When I first got my first "socially abnormal" piercing I was 18 and I got my lip pierced, at first it was just because I thought it would look cool, but now I have 8 piercings and 1 tattoo, and the other night I thought about a photo series I want to do. I want to photograph each of my piercings because i realize they are reflecitons of different parts of me. I view it like this ; each of my piercings is related to a part of my body that i use. I am a big fan of counterculture and whatnot, which is part of it, but it also reflects what I care about ;

ears 4 piercings ; listening
lips 2 piercings ; speaking (using my voice)
neck 1 piercing ; a connection into my spine and into my brain, thoughts
bridge 1 piercing ; my "third eye" , connected to my vision and how I see the world

I often get strange looks, strange reactions, weird questions, but as of late I have gotten very spiritual with my piercings. I have thought about how they have transformed me. Another part of it is that the perception of piercings is "hoodlum" and i want to break those stereotypes of what youth in america find important. Sort of a "i reject your reality and replace it with my own".

I just think it is so pertinent to what we were saying about class because everyone always asks first "didn't that hurt", and the answer is always the same "the needle going in has a pop, but it wasn't too bad", but the more I think about my body and how it is connected to my piercings I see it is "the needle goes in, and transformation comes out". I really think they have helped me delved out who accepts me for who i am, and how it reflects me as a person in this culture that I find hard to live in. For me they are all political statements, though they don't say it. They are representorial of my protest for women's rights, gay/lesbian/"two-spirit" rights, and all human rights, they are my war-protest

they are my ears, my voice, my mind, and my eyes in a world where we must be aware of who we are and how we are affecting the world, and people notice me.

I taught a workshop at Upward Bound this summer about body modification and got really involved, when we think of body modification outside the realm of what we normally see body modification is much more common in our culture , things like ; dieting, body building, suntanning, even a haircut is a body modification by definition. I just wish we were more encompassing with our definitions and respect the culture.I am currently in the process of deciding if i want to get my wrists pierced (on the upside not palmside). I figure in my transformation of spirituality it could represent hands as work, something tactile and tangible to make change. I could go on and on, but I won't.

WELL, that got more involved than I had originally intended, but I just a perspective about me, and part of the sharing process i hope we can all establish with each other.

GK / DAIVD ; how is piercing in your culture. I notice the markings on your face GK, and david you have at least one ear piercing, obv. not as extragent or extensive as mine, but how do your cultures view these kinds of modifications.

Interested in hearing other thoughts on other's perceptions of body mods.
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some of it is contextual to class, but you get the general sense of what I saying, just how I feel really.

WELL, I need to finish my study guide for my test tomorrow, then get ready for hopefully a pretty laid back October "break"/long weekend.

OUT !



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