When I am on my travels, one of the
things that really catches my interest is the various styles and
fashions each different culture exhibits. One thing that has really
stood out for me is the difference in the attitude to body
modification from country to country!
Coming from South Africa, I have a
fairly good grasp on the history of body modification from my
research of local African tribes. It was (and actually still is)
commonplace for rite of passage and certain rituals to include
scarification or some other form of permanent marking and tribes
across Africa, South East Asia and the Americas also have a long
history of piercings, especially those enlarged with large discs.
That is where the modern forms of body modification come from.
However, it is so different depending on where you go.
In my personal opinion, the most
extreme cases are in Japan where 'bagel heads' are the height of
fashion! That's people who have a bagel shaped object implanted under
the skin on the forehead surgically! In the UK tattoos are popular as
are some forms of body piercing including tongue, eyebrow and belly
button. Germany is also big on all types of body modification
including tattooing, piercing, implanting and scarification! The USA
too seem to have an affinity for making holes in their bodies! At the
other end of the scale some places frown on the practice. In
Argentina, men should not even sport earrings never mind any other
body piercing!
It's just one of the reason's that I
really enjoy travelling. It opens up a world of cultures and learning
that I just could not get at home. Not just about tolerance , or lack
of, regarding body modification, but also about many other issues
like clothing, food, religion and politics. I find it so interesting
learning about customs and traditions as we move from place to place.
My girlfriend and I actually keep a travel journal, and we mark in it
useful titbits to keep us out of trouble. For example, which
countries it is safe for her to wear shorts rather than a skirt or
whether or not a tip would offend. It's like our bible!
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